Examples for Our Admonition

3, 4. (a) What does the Bible contain that can help us to develop the right view toward counsel and discipline? (b) How did King Saul react to counsel, and with what result?

³ God’s Word contains real-life experiences of individuals who received needed counsel. At times, the counsel was accompanied by discipline. One such individual was King Saul of Israel. He failed to obey Jehovah regarding the nation of Amalek. The Amalekites had opposed God’s servants, and Jehovah’s divine judgment was that neither the Amalekites nor their livestock should be spared. But King Saul did spare their king and the best of their animals.​—1 Samuel 15:1-11.

⁴ Jehovah sent the prophet Samuel to reprove Saul. What was Saul’s reaction? He argued that he did conquer the Amalekites but simply decided to spare their king. That, however, was contrary to Jehovah’s command. (1 Samuel 15:20) Saul tried to shift the blame to the people for sparing the livestock, saying: “I feared the people and so obeyed their voice.” (1 Samuel 15:24) He seemed more concerned with his pride, even asking Samuel to honor him in front of the people. (1 Samuel 15:30) Eventually, Jehovah rejected Saul as king.​—1 Samuel 16:1.

6. (a) Why did both Saul and Uzziah resist counsel? (b) Why is resisting counsel a serious problem today?

⁶ Why did both Saul and Uzziah find it difficult to accept counsel? The basic problem was pride, each thinking too highly of himself. Many bring grief on themselves because of this trait. They seem to feel that acknowledging counsel implies some deficiency in them or hurts their reputation. But pride is a weakness. Pride beclouds a person’s thinking so that he tends to resist the help provided by Jehovah through his Word and organization. Thus, Jehovah warns: “Pride is before a crash, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.”​—Proverbs 16:18; Romans 12:3.