The Worst Procedure

When the leadership turned corrupt, two Godly men, Jonathan and Ahimelech, stayed loyal and tried to do right at the same time. Both were destroyed. Two other Godly men, Samuel and David, deserted, and they survived. And then there was Doeg...

When King Saul sentenced Ahimelech and the other priests to death, Saul's soldiers refused his order to kill them. It was obvious that the priests were innocent of any plot to kill Saul. Doeg, knowing that the priests were innocent, obeyed Saul's order to murder them.

Doeg was what some Christian leaders want--on the outside. He obeyed orders blindly, ignoring the fact that they were wrong. But Doeg's "loyalty" didn't come from Godliness. Doeg had "set up" King Saul to murder the priests, and Doeg's loyalty was the result of evil, not good.

Don't ever show that kind of loyalty to a person. Get fired, get demoted, get slandered, get expelled, but don't ever show that kind of loyalty to a person.

Another Correct Procedure

David also found himself caught in the middle when King Saul turned corrupt. He had started out by driving an evil spirit away from Saul. Then he had killed Goliath. Then he had successfully led Saul's army. But as Saul looked at David's success, Saul didn't see a young man who was a blessing to him. He saw a rival for the throne.

Church politics is one of the ugliest parts of the Christian life, but you have to learn how to deal with it. When David was unfairly demoted, he behaved himself wisely, and he continued to be a blessing to Saul. When he finally had to leave, he allowed Jonathan to bring about reconciliations between himself and Saul.

But David eventually made a final decision: he left Saul for good. In doing so, David deserted an army that needed him. He lost his chance to be a good influence on Saul. For years, he was separated from his wife. And when David's best friend needed him the most, David wasn't there.

Did David do the right thing in leaving Saul? He continued to serve God in exile, but on a smaller scale than he had before. Eventually, though, God raised up David to be king  for forty years, defeating David's enemies on every side.

Many of those who stayed loyal to Saul were destroyed, but David, who separated from Saul, was successful. As painful as it is, when leadership turns corrupt, you need to leave.