Slouching Towards Saul When Selecting Leaders

In 1 Samuel 16, we find Samuel weeping. God’s people have recently rejected the counsel of the old prophet. Samuel acquiesced to their request for a king (at God’s command) and invested his energy in inaugurating Saul. But Saul rebelled against the Lord, and the Lord tore the kingdom from him.

So Samuel wept. He loved his protégé, Saul. Perhaps he wondered: Would his years of effort go to waste? If Saul is rejected, would the kingdom avoid chaos? Most of all, would the Lord care for his people?

God spoke to Samuel and said:

“How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” (1 Sam. 16:1)

Despite the swirl of unanswered questions, the Lord had a lesson to teach Samuel. It’s a lesson for us as well. Despite God’s rejection and the king’s rebellion, Samuel was still slouching towards Saul. Two adjustments were necessary to correct his heart posture. 

Adjustment One: Look Beyond Appearance

Like Samuel, pastors and planters—even parents—are responsible to identify potential in individuals and prosper that potential. That means selecting and raising up new leaders. How do we identify and prosper God-given leadership potential? What can we learn from Samuel’s leadership?

Samuel goes to Bethlehem and asks for Jesse’s sons. Jesse summons seven of his eight sons. Samuel sees the first—Eliab (the oldest)—and he is so captivated by his appearance that he’s already prepared to pull the trigger. Samuel has seen exactly one son, but he immediately thinks, “Surely this is the guy!” (v. 6)

Sadly, this was not the first time Samuel was dazzled by appearances. This problem went back to Saul. At his installation, Saul stood a foot above the crowd, and Samuel exclaimed:

“Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people!” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!” (1 Sam. 10:24)

But this time, God interrupts the prophet with his own perspective:

“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7)

This is the simple lesson for Samuel (and us) to learn: God sees success differently. Samuel valued appearance above all, but he discovered a transformational truth about God. God looks not at the outward appearance, but at the heart. The Lord chooses David — a man who is “better” than Saul (1 Sam. 15:28).

How is he better? We’ll come back to that. But for now, let’s ask: Is there any slouching in how I choose those I want to mentor?

Adjustment Two: Prioritize Character Before Gifts

To look at leaders through Samuel’s eyes means we value appearances above all. Samuel did this with kings. We do this, not with kings, but with celebrity pastors, kids, and candidates.

Celebrity pastors. Christians can be Saul-sighted when we allow gifted leaders whom we don’t know to influence us more than leaders that we do know. We see social media following, book sales, charisma and stage presence, and it immediately translates into credibility. We have ten thousand YouTube preachers in our pockets . . . but how many fathers in our lives? We can’t know their character, but we are still excessively attracted to their gifts.

Kids. Like Jesse of Bethlehem, it’s easy to parent by outward appearance. It’s evident that Jesse never saw David as King-material. Jesse didn’t even put David on the candidate list! To his family, David was unimpressive. He was the youngest, the smallest, and sported all the potential and talent of a certified sheep-herder. Why waste Samuel’s time with such an unqualified, ungifted candidate?

Parents, do you see the point? Jesse, too, slouched — not with kings, but with his own kids. It becomes pretty easy to reinforce the same gift-oriented perspective among our kids. It happens each time we show partiality against one of our kids. Or maybe it happens not through exclusion, but through praise.

It’s worth asking: What do your children hear you praise? In other people? In them? Do we only praise gifts in others – the things that generate awards, trophies or accolades? Or do we see and celebrate (and do they see us looking) inward character — like God did with David?

The more we praise grades, gifts, or talent over character, the more we train our kids to slouch towards Saul. What we praise in our kids communicates what we value in them—and in life. And when we overpraise gifts, we imply that they deserve the credit. Their identity begins to shift: “I am my gift. I am something that has been given to me.” But the purpose of gifts on Earth is to point to their giver in Heaven.

Leadership selection. Pastors, what do you look for when you’re seeking to identify a leadership candidate? Do you see how the Lord sees? Or do you, like Samuel, slouch towards Saul?

Pastors can be over-impressed with gifts. . . we can value achievement and charisma over character. Pastors, what “flags” your attention as leadership potential? Is it confidence? Eloquence? Breadth of knowledge? Accomplishments? Or is your interest piqued more by meekness? Obedience to God’s Word? Teachability? The qualities that get our attention — and the ones we highlight to other leaders — may signal whether we are looking at the heart or the portfolio.

Whether with celebrities, leadership candidates, or our own kids, we often miss what the Lord cares about, like Samuel did with Saul and Eliab.

How can we cure this slouching? Although the symptom is bad posture, we actually need heart-level surgery. We need Christ to implant Gospel–hope into our hearts.

The Chiropractic of Gospel Hope

Here we return to the earlier question: how is David “better” than Saul? In short, the story of David is not primarily an example to follow, but a revelation about God and humanity. David was as flawed as you and me. His heart posture is so bent that he sees the “outer appearance” of Bathsheba, and becomes a raving lunatic. He practically rapes her. He puts a hit out on her husband. And then he tries to cover it all up.

You see, David was mighty in battle, but powerless against the human heart. Israel needed another king, a greater king, who could overcome this greatest enemy. God’s point with David (and us) is that 1) God values the heart, and yet 2) even the “purest” heart was weak and depraved.

When we view the scope of his life, David is a good example of what God looks for, not because he is perfect, but because he is weak and sinful — and repentant. David is not the final king: his weaknesses point us towards the one who is. Through David, God reveals his mercy to sinners.

Therefore, Gospel hope frees us from self-dependence. When we read the story of David, our takeaway is not first “I have to make sure I succeed where Samuel and Jesse failed. I have to be better.” David wasn’t, you aren’t, and we won’t be. So our main goal, in leading or parenting, is not to perfect our heart, but to humble ourselves before a perfect God who redeems our heart. The cross corrects our slouching.

May we all—pastors, parents, prophets and people—have eyes to see where the Lord looks. And may we select leaders from the right posture of heart, not because we no longer slouch but because we choose leaders according to what God values. 

Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash