1 Chronicles 10:13-14 explains, Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.

Imagine being hand chosen by God to be the first king over His people. Pretty high honor. You would also think the vetting process would have been the best. Yet, like the first man created, Adam, this first king was a failure.

God does not make us robots at any time in our experience with Him. He is faithful to lead, guide and provide opportunities for us but at some point in our journey with Him we must respond, obey, commit and just plain do!

What did Saul do to fail? Four things we need to avoid if we are to maintain our integrity and therefore our relationship with God.

First, we must make God first and highest priority. God describes unfaithfulness to Him as loving anything or anyone more than Him. Think of it as having a love for someone else greater than the love you have for your spouse. It just wont sit well with your partner and loving anything or anyone more than God doesn’t sit well with God. This includes loving our self, as Saul did, more than loving God.

Second, as a result of being unfaithful Saul was disobedient. What God wants will always be compromised by what we want if we love ourselves more than we love God. Obedience to God is easiest when what we want and what He wants are the same, when they differ, how we respond indicates our true loyalty or first love.

Third, wisdom comes from God and He invites us to ask Him for such, especially when we are in roles of leadership He placed us in. When we pursue other means or people to determine what we should do we again display unfaithfulness to God which will always lead to disobedience to God. Certainly the Bible advocates obtaining counsel from many wise advisers but that counsel must be placed below our diligence to know and obey the clear commands of God.

Finally, Saul didn’t spend daily time with God. Probably none of us read the Bible and pray every day but if our habit is to seek God frequently then when we need to know the will of God it will be clear to us. Living with God is living in a personal relationship with the Father of all as a created, loved child of His. This relationship is maintained and developed through frequent contact.

If we want success in this life that will be rewarded in the next life we must maintain our integrity with God by knowing Him and doing His will.