Hello, hello, and hello. 🙋🏾♀️👋🏾
Welcome to Juuju’s warped mind where she takes the reality that the world holds onto and twists it to fit her story line. I have known this woman for close to three decades now and i am still in awe at the workings of her mind 🙌🏾🙌🏾
She currently is in a limbo and maybe the anxiety she thought she had kept at bay is slowly creeping but whatever it is, she is committed to taking it a day at a time. Echoing her new found mantra “shitty/crappy situation, not a shitty/crappy life” to get her through the days. If you feel generous, say a word of prayer for her. 🤲🏾
In any case, to keep with Juuju’s desire to not wail on here, I would stop rambling right now. I return the keys to Juuju now as we continue in our Envying the Villain series.
Enjoy.
Hey my lovers, welcome to today’s episode of JuujuWednesday. How have you been? I hope you are doing fun fthingz. 🤭🎉❤️
When I spoke about Eliab last week, it felt like I was reaching for his goodness because, come on, dude didn’t even have that much of a robust story about him. There wasn’t enough to find a redemption for him. I did it though, that’s what I do. Fish and flesh out situations.
Well if you thought I was reaching because Eliab didn’t have that much of a story, how about me reaching in the story of a man who had about half of a book dedicated to his story.
I told you, I like to reach.
This man was the tallest, best looking man in Israel and as if God wasn’t generous enough in making him desirable, his father was “a wealthy, influential man”. And as I would come to find out reading about him in First Samuel chapters 9 to 31, he was a wise man of logic who knew the importance of seeking directions.
There was a wealthy, influential man named Kish from the tribe of Benjamin… His son… was the most handsome man in Israel … taller than anyone else in the land.
1 Samuel 9 verse 1
I speak of the first king in Israel, Saul the Benjaminite. Today, we are becoming King Saul.
When Saul was first introduced in 1 Samuel chapter 9, he was described in the kindest words and I guess dude didn’t let all of his good qualities get to him because the first scene featured him running an errand for his father with a servant. He even listened to said servant; so one could say Saul was down to earth despite his many outstanding characteristics.
… he told Saul, “Take a servant with you, and go look for the donkeys.” So Saul took one of the servants and traveled through the hill country…
1 Samuel 9 verse 3
The errand Saul had to run for his father was seeking an herd of donkeys that had been lost and after searching for so long, they didn’t find the animals; Saul and his servant were ready to give up. After all, his father had the means to replace a thousand more if he so pleased and Saul made a logical point of his father being more worried about them than the donkeys. His servant had then at this point offered Saul some counsel to seek out an higher power which led them to Samuel.
To cut the story short, Saul became the first king of Israel and i would like to believe he ruled well but my standard of leadership and governance may be bottom barrel; I am a Nigerian living in Nigeria.
In the very least, there was no mention of corruption in his ruling and giving the circumstances, that being the Philistines besieging them every two market days, Saul was a good ruler to his people. He judged them fairly. Saul was good at his job.
There was one thing though, Saul began to lose this streak of seeking guidance from an higher power and instead sought his own wisdom. He did things that he thought was wise. Like the time he didn’t or couldn’t wait for Samuel as his subjects were growing restless. Why was Samuel sev late? And as a king, he took matters into his own hands and made the sacrifice. Then there was the sparing the life of that king and the cattle as spoils of war because, well aesthetics. How would you prove your kill if there is nothing to show for it?
Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn’t come. Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away. So he demanded, “Bring me the … offerings!” And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself.
1 Samuel 13 verses 8 and 9
And that marked the beginning of his end. I wish I had time to tell you all about Saul but I don’t – read the chapters to get a full grasp of how good a king Saul was, a shitty person but a good king.
Or you could listen to the audio versions on YouVersion App.
This is why I think it would be smart of us to become Sauls, Pre Fame Saul. Saul began his life as we would know it seeking direction, counsel and answers however when he began to trust his ‘instincts’ he flopped. Even when things fell to shit for him, he still sought a sorceress out for counsel.
Be a man, woman who seeks counsels. In the multitude of counsel there is safety. There are instances, personally, where I had no idea of how to proceed and simply talking about it in the bid to ‘pick a brain’ pointed me in the right direction. You have to hear yourself speak, in the speaking, you find answers. And if you don’t find answers in your own words, the person listening to you would be able to put things in perspective for you.
Without good direction, people lose their way;
Proverbs 11 verse 14 (MSG)
the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances.
Well, this is not to say that you seek and take any form of counsel – take wise counsels from people that you know have your best interest at heart and your values align. And of course there is the Counsellor and the One who is the Spirit of Counsel and truth.
Once Saul stopped waiting, seeking counsel, he crumbled. This is one of the major distinction between him and his successor, that little boy would always seek the face of God at every step.
What should we leave here with today? I think it is that you need to be the pre-fame Saul. Seek counsel, be patient and don’t attempt to kill anyone.
Bye you guys, see you next week for our last Envying the Villain piece. We would be closing with Ne…
Ciao lovers. ✌🏾😘
Life of Juuju 