The Saul Complex

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Philippians 2:3 

God’s rejection of Saul for his disobedience. What causes Saul's disobedience? Saul had gone into hiding on the day of his public coronation. He hid under the "stuff" described in 1 Samuel 10:22. There was a major character flaw that the story revealed: He was insecure about himself, which expressed itself in his leadership.

Saul was the classic example of failed leadership and what happened when an insecure people came to power.  During Saul's reign, his heart shifted toward himself and he needed to be praised and acknowledged for his accomplishments. This was why he wanted to kill David because of a woman's words: "Saul has slained his thousands, and David his tens of thousands."

In addition to jealousy toward David, the Bible describes other flaws of Saul, including self-justifications to cover up his own mistakes, waging wars without God's advice, seeking validation to prove that he was great, and ultimately violating God's commandments, etc. The Saul complex can lead to other negative attributes such as disobedience, which led to God's rejection. 

Jesus is the best example of servant leadership. He says that He came to serve and not to be served and Jesus demonstrated servant leadership in contrast to Saul's self-serving leadership. Serving others requires humility and putting their interests first

In the key verse today, the Greek word "hēgeomai" meanis “to lead and “esteem” and the word repeats twice in just a short phrase, “Let (hēgeomai) each esteem (hēgeomai)." Here is my interpretation “to lead others, we need to have a healthy esteem of ourselves first, then we can esteem other people ”.

A healthy identity in God is crucial, as if we have a healthy identity in God, we will be able to be more like Jesus, which is the key to achieving God's goals. 

Knowing our value in Christ is a cure for the "Saul complex." When we become secure in Christ, we are equipped to know our value to others, so we can bring out the best in people and not see anyone as a threat, enabling us to lead as fathers and obey as sons.

Blessing prayer: Deliver us from insecurity and low self-esteem. Make us secure in you and reveal our true identity in Christ.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.