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Showing posts from June, 2009

Judging our political leaders

1 Samuel 15:34 - 16:13 Psalm 20 2 Corinthians 5.10-17 The Old Testament reading for the second Sunday in June was about a leadership struggle. How topical is that? Samuel had anointed Saul as king, feeling sure that he was God's chosen leader. But then things started to go wrong and Samuel began to have doubts. Part of the trouble with Saul was his unpredictability and mood swings. Sometimes he was a highly charismatic and effective leader, sometimes he seemed to alienate those closest to him. (Does that remind you of anyone?) But, finally, what upset Samuel was Saul's lack of killer instinct. On one occasion Saul led an army in a holy war against their enemies the Amalekites. Saul was told to utterly destroy everything but, instead, he and his soldiers kept the spoils of war which they had won in the battle. When Samuel challenged him about this act of disobedience, Saul insisted that he had only kept the spoils - sheep, cattle and goats - to offer as a sacrifice to the Lord.