Emotion Verses Logic: 1 Samuel 10:17-22
God gave us a logical brain so we can sift through our emotions, understand what is important, and make sound choices about His leading. This is one of the greatest divisions between humans and the remainder of the animal kingdom. I love my dog, but if I ask her to go for a walk when it is 95 degrees outside with a real feel of 108, she’s going to get excited. In the moment, all she knows is how much she wants to take a walk. She doesn’t have the capacity to understand how bad an idea it is to go for a walk in that kind of heat.
Samuel gathers the elders and the tribe of Benjamin is selected. From Benjamin, the family and then even Saul is selected. There’s one problem. When Saul is selected, he is nowhere to be found.
This demonstrates a character trait already experienced in 1 Samuel. Saul doesn’t look at the big picture. Saul doesn’t understand the scope of the situation. Saul feels his way through the moment rather than thinking about the future and preparing himself.
Look back to the events after Samuel anointed him. Arriving home, Saul related Samuel’s prophecy about the donkeys being found, but he said nothing else. He had the perfect opportunity to talk to an elder in his life. His uncle could have helped him navigate the coming moments. Saul could have been prepared, but he wasn’t. He buried the anointing deep inside, didn’t talk about it, and ignorantly went about life as normal.
Perhaps Saul’s actions stem from humility. Maybe he didn’t talk to his uncle so he wouldn’t brag. Maybe he hid among the baggage because he doesn’t like public acclamation. As a person who strongly dislikes public affirmation, I can jump on board with this possibility.
The problem, though, is humble people don’t behave as Saul does. Humble people to talk to mentors because mentors understand the difference between bragging and being mentored. Humble people don’t hide in fear, they step into the limelight and find a way to deflect it or make the moment end as quickly as possible. If Saul was acting out of humbleness, he would have talked quietly to his uncle, embraced God’s will, and been presently shy for the public declaration.
Saul isn’t humble. Saul is emotional at a time calling for rational action. Saul reacts out of emotion because he gave himself no other option. Saul fled responsible behavior. Saul avoided embracing God’s calling because he pushed reality aside instead of preparing himself.
There’s nothing wrong with emotion. Human beings are emotional people. Emotion helps us get through unforeseen stress and it helps us determine what makes us tick inside. However, emotion isn’t meant to rule over us. Emotion isn’t the place God wants us to go when making significant life-altering decisions. God gave us a logical brain so we can sift through our emotions, understand what is important, and make sound choices about His leading.
