1 Samuel 10:19
“And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.”
It is always a bad trade when we choose to follow a man and not God. It does not matter how good the man may be, for Saul was a “goodlier” man, trading God for man will always be a step down. As good of a man as Saul was, he was still a man. Yes, Saul was the best man in all of Israel, but at best he was still a sinner who needed the God Whom Israel didn’t want.
Think of this, they traded the God Who delivered them from Egypt for a man who had done nothing for them. They traded the God Who parted the Red Sea for a finite man who still needed Him for the miraculous. They traded the God Who gave them food and water in the wilderness for a powerless man who could only provide for them what God gave him. They traded Omnipotence for powerlessness. They traded Omniscience for man’s intellect. They traded Omnipresence for a man who could only be in one place at a time. They traded Righteousness for a sinner. They traded Wisdom for ignorance. They traded the God Who sticks closer than a brother for a man who had an agenda. I would call this a bad trade.
As much as we realize this was a bad trade for the Israelites, Christians make this trade on a daily basis. It is amazing how Christians trade God for their pastor. Yes, you should love and honor your pastor, but your pastor is just a man. Your pastor should not be a substitute for God. Christians worldwide serve God because their pastor tells them to, but when he compromises, they trade God for the presence of a pastor.
Christians commonly trade God for money. I have watched Christians leave a good church just so they could make more money and move to a place where there was no good church. There is nothing wrong with making money, but you should never trade God for a paycheck. You should never trade God for a higher paying position. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have a higher paying position, but if you have to give up what you do for God for that position, then that is a bad trade.
Likewise, I have watched many Christians trade God for friendship. Christians would rather have an earthly friend than a heavenly friend. Christians would rather spend a late night out at a friend’s house playing games than getting up early to read the Scriptures and pray. Again, this is a bad trade.
For what or who have you traded God? Judas Iscariot traded Him for thirty pieces of silver. Peter traded Him for the acceptance of a crowd. Samson traded him for a night of pleasure. Saul traded Him for a woman with a familiar spirit. Jonah traded Him for a bed in the bottom of a boat. Repeatedly God’s people trade Him for something of lesser value.
The greatest possession you will have is a close relationship with God. Don’t trade it for anything. Don’t trade it for a night of pleasure. Don’t trade it for bitterness or pride. Don’t trade it for a larger paycheck. Don’t trade it for the pleasures of the world. Don’t trade it for the promise of fame. Don’t trade it for greater possessions. Whatever you do, keep your relationship with God. Whenever the Devil comes and wants you to trade God for something else, then send him back from whence he came and keep God. With all of your being, hold on to your relationship with God and don’t trade it for anything.