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1 Samuel 31:10 "[The Philistines put Saul's] armor in the temple of Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan."

 

What an ignoble end for God's chosen first king of Israel! When he was chosen, one would not have thought Saul would have ended up this way, but he strayed from God. Saul was always so concerned with protecting his image and how he appeared to others that he forgot to focus on what God wanted, so God was not with Saul when he died, at least not the way He had been in the past. Israel's enemies were able to behead Israel's king, display his armor in a false god's temple, and hang his body in public. For someone who was so concerned about appearances, Saul's body and memory were subjected to utter humiliation. Thankfully, God inspired others to rescue Saul's body (1 Samuel 31:11-13), but not before He allowed it to be displayed so dishonorably.

 

It is much more important to be concerned with how God sees us than how others do. There will always be people who judge us, misinterpret our motives, think poorly of us, or simply don't like us. There's nothing we can do about those people's opinions other than stay true to what God wants us to do. If we try to please everyone, we end up being untrue to ourselves and to God. We should think about how we want to be treated after death, do we want God to say to us "Well done, my good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21) or "I never knew you, depart from me" (Matthew 7:23)?

 

Knowing we want to be welcomed into heaven can strengthen us to withstand so much in this life. And knowing that only God can bring us there humbles us enough to learn that being true to Him is the only way to get where we ultimately want to go. And don't forget, we will get out bodies back in the end. We should live as if we want those bodies to be glorified, even if they bear the marks of suffering here on earth, just like Jesus' body does!