Saul lost his kingdom because he thought 99% obedience was "good enough." Discover why leadership demands totality and how to stop rationalizing your shortcuts.
Jeremy Haroldson concludes the "Committed" series with a brutal but necessary question: "Are you actually committed, or are you just involved?"
Using the tragic end of King Saul as a case study, this teaching exposes the danger of "selective obedience." Saul did most of what he was told, but he kept a little bit back for himself (and "for God," he claimed). That small percentage of compromise cost him his dynasty. If you find yourself making excuses for why you can't go "all in," this message is your wake-up call.
Jeremy defines the core conflict: "God calls us to complete obedience, not convenient obedience."
Saul obeyed as far as it was profitable for him. He destroyed the worthless things but kept the valuable livestock. This is "Transactional Leadership"—doing the right thing only when it pays off. True commitment is doing the right thing when it costs you everything. If your integrity has a price tag, you aren't committed; you're for sale.
When confronted, Saul didn't say, "I rebelled." He said, "I saved them to sacrifice to the Lord." Jeremy warns: "You cannot cover up rebellion with religion."
We all do this. We use spiritual or noble-sounding language to justify our lack of discipline. "I'm not lazy; I'm waiting on God." "I didn't lie; I managed the truth." Leaders who rationalize their small compromises eventually commit big failures. The first step to integrity is stopping the spin.
The consequence was severe: "Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king."
This isn't about God being mean; it's about structural integrity. You cannot build a Kingdom on a leader who won't follow the blueprint. "If you are not committed to the mission, the mission will eventually eject you." Authority flows through alignment. When you break alignment, you lose authority.
Jeremy makes a crucial distinction. David also messed up (big time), but he kept the kingdom. Why? "Commitment isn't about perfection; it's about posture."
When caught, Saul made excuses. When caught, David made a confession ("I have sinned"). A committed heart is soft and corrective. An uncommitted heart is hard and defensive. You don't have to be perfect to lead, but you do have to be honest.
You are either all in, or you are in the way. Saul tried to live in the middle—king on the throne, rebel in the heart—and it tore him apart.
Jeremy's challenge is binary: Are you committed? Yes or No. Stop trying to negotiate a 90% deal with God. The power, the anointing, and the legacy are found in the 100%.
Perfect for:
It is doing 90% of what was asked and ignoring the 10% that is difficult or costly. In the eyes of leadership (and God), partial obedience is classified as disobedience because it asserts that your judgment is superior to the command. It breaks the chain of command.
Because of the "Fear of Man." Saul cared more about what his soldiers thought than what God thought. He compromised standards to keep his approval rating high. This is the classic trap of insecure leadership: sacrificing the mission to please the crowd.
Start by eliminating the phrase "Yes, but..." from your vocabulary. When you know the right thing to do, do it immediately and completely, regardless of the cost. Practice "radical ownership" of your mistakes instead of defending them. Consistency in small things builds the muscle for big things.
Key Scripture Reference: 1 Samuel 15:22
"Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams."