WRONG DECISION

1 Samuel 8 – Samuel was growing old, and the sons he had appointed as judges didn’t walk in the right ways as their father had. The elders came to Samuel wanting him to appoint a king. Though God warned that the king would take much from the people, they still demanded to have a king like all of their neighboring nations. So, God gave them what they asked for.

This chapter can be hard to read because it is clear that this was a wrong decision, and the people will end up paying dearly for getting what they didn’t need.

As writers we have to allow our characters to make blatantly wrong decisions sometimes. Tension is raised in the reader when it is clear that the character will have to pay. However, much can be learned from looking back at wrong choices, and character growth can be shown.

Create a scene with a character making an obvious wrong choice.

Jump ahead to when the character realizes what was learned.

Could this addition make a stronger character? Could this scenario make more tension and depth in your story? If you answered yes, consider adding these scenes into your work in progress or filing it for future use.

As Christian authors, we must constantly stay in God’s will so we won’t make a wrong decision. There might be times when we are tempted to choose to waver in what we know to be right just to be published or get noticed. But, God’s plan and timing is right and perfect no matter how impatient we become.