1 Samuel 15:15
And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
When we first see Saul, we see a man that God said was goodlier than any man in Israel. When we first look at Saul, we see a man who was humble, did not believe he deserved to be king, and was willing to do anything God told him to do. However, sin changed this good man into someone we didn’t recognize. This goodlier man became a vindictive and evil man. Sin changed Saul into a bad person, but if we could remove that sin, we could remove the bad Saul and turn him back into the goodlier Saul.
Sin always changes people for the worse. Many good people are turned into bad people because of sin. Sin always turns a good person into a bad person. When you look at Saul’s life after he sinned, there were several actions that changed Saul into the bad person he became, and these same actions are always evident in the person who sins. Let me point out these actions.
First, sin caused Saul to disobey God’s commands. Disobedience breeds disobedience; you cannot disobey God one time without continuing to disobey Him if you don't deal with your sin. The person living in sin will add disobedience to their initial disobedience to their hurt.
Second, sin caused Saul to disrespect God’s man. Saul lied to Samuel’s face thinking that Samuel could not hear the bleating of the sheep and see Agag with the spoils. People who once highly respected the man of God will turn to totally disrespecting him when they live in sin. They will lie to the man of God without having a thought about it because their sin causes them to disrespect God and anyone who represents Him.
Third, sin caused Saul to embrace lying. Lying is the greatest form of disrespect to God and to mankind. To lie to someone is to care less that you are being deceitful with them. When you can lie and it does not bother you at all, you are revealing the pride in your heart that sin has brought in. The only thing lying will do for you is create distrust in those you lied to and destroy the closest relationships you once enjoyed.
Fourth, sin caused Saul to have an excuse, and to blame his sin on others. People living in sin never take responsibility for their own actions; they always blame what they have done on others. Others are their excuse for why they did wrong, and in blaming others, they destroy their testimony and the relationships they had with others.
Fifth, sin caused Saul to be more concerned with how man saw him rather than God’s perception of him. Instead of getting right, he was more concerned that those he led saw him in a good manner. How God sees you is far more important than how man perceives you.
My friend, sin will turn you into someone that others won't recognize. Sin breaks you down and turns you into a bad person that you often don’t recognize. Confess and forsake your sin, and you will find that the sin which is making you bad will be gone, and the good person that others know will return. I challenge you to deal with your sin so we can find the good person we all know you to be.