Live a Life of Honor
Jon: Would you rather die with honor in war or survive the battlefield but compromise your values?
Bradon: What, that’s a crazy hard “would you rather” question.
Jon: Today, we will learn the importance of living with honor.
Discussion Episode
1 Samuel 31
About the Story
Jon: Last week’s story was about David and his men getting back their families and possessions after their town was raided while they were away.
Bradon: David’s men were very upset, as you can imagine. Long story short, they got everything back, and David encouraged his men by saying to them, “Don’t be Selfish in what the Lord has given you.”
Jon: Many didn’t want to share their newfound wealth, but David wouldn’t stand for that and made sure they shared.
Bradon: Now, what’s interesting about last week’s story was that it was a side story that happened while the Philistines and Israelites were gathering troops for war. The battlefield is the scene of today’s story.
Jon: That reminds me, you haven’t answered the question?
Bradon: That’s cause it’s a super difficult question, and I don’t have an answer!
Jon: Would you rather die with honour in war or survive the battlefield but compromise your values?
Bradon: I don’t know; I really don’t like the idea of dying. I am still young and want to do so much.
Jon: But would you want to live with yourself knowing that you compromised your values?
Bradon: That’s exactly why it’s so hard. I think I would feel guilt for the rest of my life, which would be a terrible way to live. Besides, if I die, I am just going to heaven anyway, which is way better than life here. Soooo. I need more time.
Jon: Lol, ok. You get more time, but you are not off the hook.
Application
Jon: Bradon, before we get to our lesson, you need to answer the question. Would you rather die with honour in war or survive the battlefield but compromise your values?
Bradon: Well, I’d like to think I would die with honour, but I don’t know how I would respond until I am on the battlefield. What about you, what’s your answer?
Jon: Well, I am glad you asked. I am going to choose option three.
Bradon: Hold on, that’s not how this game works. You can’t just make up a new option.
Jon: Bare with me. I would choose option three: I would live a life of honour. This means that if I am on the battlefield and I die, then I would die with honor because I lived with honor. I mean, that’s the ideal way to go about it anyway.
Bradon: I like that answer. It’s sneaky good. I think this begs the question what does it mean to live a life with honour?
Jon: Well, we certainly saw Saul not do that. He was always so afraid, which often prevented him from obeying God.
Bradon: He definitely lacked courage. People need courage if they are going to live a life committed to Jesus Christ.
Jon: I would agree with that. So, living a life of honour means obeying God no matter what.
Bradon: That’s right, no matter how scary or difficult it might be.
Jon: Saul refused to obey God several times. As a result, God no longer supported Saul and became silent whenever Saul tried to speak with him. Saul made an enemy of God; he did things his way instead of obediently following God’s direction.
Bradon: So our lesson today is this. Live a life of honor.
Jon: Obey God no matter what, and things are going to go well for you because you are for God’s good, and God is for your good.
Bradon: Live a life of honor.
