Only Sober in Jail

So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph with three thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. 1 Samuel 26:2

It’s natural to question the authenticity of any transformation claimed by the man (or woman) sitting in jail. Most people in jail have significant regrets and those who’re incarcerated usually know that they need to make some serious life changes. In their disaster, they will often decide to live a completely different life, committing to radical transformation. If they’re incarcerated for their fifth DWI, they promise to sober up. If they’ve burned family relationships, they promise to be a better son, brother, or father. And if they’ve run from God, they promise to follow his will for the rest of their lives. The proof of course, is in their behavior once they’re released. If, when released, the drunk does whatever it takes to stay sober, then his transformation was authentic. If, however, when he gets out, he goes right back to the bottle, then he may have had good intentions, but it was just jail talk.

The proof of any claim to transformation is in our behavior. This principle is illustrated in today’s passage, when King Saul once again set out to kill David. Just a couple of chapters earlier, when David spared Saul’s life, Saul claimed a change of heart, acknowledging that David would become king. Having had a near-death experience, Saul claimed transformation. Once life went back to normal though, Saul once again set out to kill David, proving that his promise to change had been empty words. I assume Saul meant it when he said he’d stop trying to kill David, but he didn’t really change anything and so, he just went right back to his old behavior.

I’ve done the same thing. While addicted to drugs, I promised a thousand times that I was done using. I changed nothing though and so, nothing changed. In treatment, I tried to convince my counselor that I was done using drugs and that I was going to follow God for the rest of my life. She smiled and nodded in a way that said she’d heard that countless times previously. When I got home, my wife was similarly skeptical. The only thing that was going to convince her that I’d actually changed was to see me live a completely different life – for a long time.

Most of us can identify with some self-destructive behavior that we’ve promised to stop, only to continue doing it. Change doesn’t come from saying we’ll change. Change comes from doing whatever it takes to abandon ourselves and follow God, embracing a completely different life.