By Ife J. Ibitayo
For Part 1, “Mighty Presumption”, click here. For Part 2, “Putting First Things Second”, click here.
The last nail in the coffin of Saul’s leadership followed hot on the heels of a great victory. The shepherd boy David had just defeated the giant Goliath with a sling and a stone. The Israelites had routed the Philistinian army, and the conquering heroes returned home to much singing and fanfare. The women broke out in song, “‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!’ But this made Saul very angry. ‘What’s this?’ he said. ‘They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!’ So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David (1 Samuel 18:7-9).” Jealousy was the final rot that toppled the tree of Saul’s legacy.
Jealousy Rots Happiness
Firstly, jealousy wreaks havoc on our emotions. Jealous leaders are short-tempered (1 Samuel 20:30), fearful (1 Samuel 18:12), and paranoid (1 Samuel 22:13).
The stability of our emotions is rooted in the source of our identity. If we define our leadership based on something that’s continually evolving like the progress of our graduating class or Fortune’s top 500 CEOs, our emotions will always be in flux. When we feel like we’re ahead, we’ll be on top of the world, riding high on our surging pride. But if we fall behind, which we inevitably will at some point in our journey, we’ll be crushed by the weight of unmet expectations. Our identity must be rooted in something fixed and unchanging if we ever want to develop emotions that are tranquil and harmonious.
Jealousy Rots Friendship
Secondly, a jealous leader will drive away key advisors and associates. David served in Saul’s inner court long before he himself became king. Every day he soothed the king’s frayed nerves by strumming masterful songs on his lyre. But the day following David’s defeat of Goliath, Saul tried to impale the young man on the tip of his spear, twice (1 Samuel 18:11)! He even attacked his very own son, Jonathan, when he protected the shepherd boy (1 Samuel 20:33)!
Jealousy will transform our closest allies into our bitter rivals. If we hold on to this emotion, we’ll soon find that it really is “lonely at the top.”
Jealousy Rots Leadership
Lastly, jealousy prevents leaders from fulfilling their responsibilities as a leader. Saul enlisted Israel’s best and brightest to hunt down one of his most loyal citizens (1 Samuel 24:2). So distracted was he by his hunt for this shepherd boy that a foreign nation was able to penetrated deep into his territory in the meantime (1 Samuel 23:19-27)!
When a leader fixes their gaze on someone else, of course they won’t be in a position to lead their own people well. It’s like you’re driving your family on the highway in your beat-up Prius while staring out your window at the Maserati cruising next to you. It’s just a matter of time before you–and everyone with you–suffers harm. We have to fix our gaze straight ahead on whatever God has called us to do if we want to finish it well.
Conclusion
When Saul fell into jealousy, his kingdom fell as well. His sons died in battle (1 Samuel 31:2). His people fled from their homes for their very lives (1 Samuel 31:7). And his dying moments were ignoble and pitiful (1 Samuel 31:3-5). If we let jealousy consume our leadership, it will consume all we hoped to build as well.
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”
(Proverbs 14:30)