Me, Me, Me, Me, Me

1 Samuel 22:8 Is that why you have all conspired against me? No one tells me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is concerned about me or tells me that my son has incited my servant to lie in wait for me, as he does today.” 

Today I am going to teach you how to warm up for your next opera gig! Me, Me, Me, Me, Me! Well, not really.
We all know people who focus on themselves too much. Every conversation seems to turn around to focus on them and what they are going through. They can’t or won’t seem to connect to the experiences of other people in any meaningful way. It is almost as if they are the only ones who matter.
Notice all the times that Saul focuses on himself in our passage today. Everything seems to be about him and the affect his circumstances are having on him. He doesn’t seem to care at all about anyone else. This is not a pretty picture of a king. Leaders are supposed to be leading on behalf of the people. They are supposed to be carrying out their duties for the benefit of those being led.
But this selfishness goes unchecked. Saul has been going downhill in this direction for a little while. He didn’t get here suddenly. His anger toward David and his intense fear have gotten worse and have now gripped him completely.
It gets so bad for Saul that he ends up killing 85 priests of the LORD. He is so paranoid that he risks ticking of the LORD by attacking these sacred men. The very people who are there as the LORD’s servants tasked with keeping the collective spiritual health of the whole nation are threatened. Saul gives voice to his fear and asks his officials to carry out his paranoid fears. But they refuse. So Saul lets a foreigner who has just entered his presence to do it and he slaughters them.
When we are too focused on ourselves, then others become expendable. Their value goes down in direct proportion to the value we place on ourselves. When we are more for our position in life, others simply become stepping stones or grave markers. When we think to highly of ourselves, then we think lowly of others.
So today, look for ways to value others. Take time to appreciate the contributions of others in your life, especially those closest to you who are often overlooked and forgotten.