To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice
"Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." — 1 Samuel 15:22
The Exchange We Keep Attempting
Saul's mistake was not a lack of religion. He had plenty of religion. He kept back the best animals specifically in order to sacrifice them to God.
His mistake was believing that religious activity could be substituted for obedience.
That trade is attempted constantly, and it is almost always sincere.
We give money instead of forgiving someone. The cheque is easier than the conversation.
We serve on committees instead of dealing with what God has been convicting us about. Activity is easier than repentance.
We attend more instead of confessing what we already know. Presence is easier than honesty.
We take on ministry instead of putting our own household in order. Public work is easier than private obedience.
In every case God is being offered something valuable in place of something He actually asked for. And in every case He declines the trade.
Why God Will Not Take the Trade
Because the substitute leaves you in charge.
When you choose what to give Him, you remain the one deciding. When you obey what He asked, He is. That is the entire difference, and it is why He is unmoved by the size of the sacrifice.
"Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High." (Psalm 50:13–14)
"To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice." (Proverbs 21:3)
"I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." (Matthew 9:13)
The theme runs through the whole Bible. God has never been short of resources. He has always been short of obedient people.
Obedience Is the Mark of the Chosen
There is a sentence of Jesus that puzzles people, and this principle unlocks it:
"For many are called, but few are chosen." (Matthew 22:14)
Why are few chosen? Because few are obedient. The chosen ones are the obedient ones.
That is not a doctrine of works. It is a description of who actually goes on with God. A great many are called. Most of them negotiate, delay, substitute, and eventually settle into a comfortable arrangement in which God is honored and not obeyed.
"No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)
Point to Ponder
God has never been short of resources. He has always been short of obedient people.
Verse to Remember
"Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." — 1 Samuel 15:22
Question to Consider
What am I giving God instead of the thing He actually asked for?
Today's Practice
Make two columns on a page.
Left column: what I give God. Everything you actually do — attendance, giving, service, reading, prayer, volunteering, hospitality. Be generous with yourself; list it all.
Right column: what He has asked me for. The specific things you know He has put His finger on and you have not done. The conversation. The confession. The person to forgive. The habit to stop. The thing to remove from your house. The apology to make. The call to answer.
Now look at the two columns together and ask the honest question: am I using the left to avoid the right?
Then take one item from the right column — the one you have avoided longest — and do it today. Not plan it. Do it.
Obedience is not measured in intention.
Prayer
Father, I have been paying You in a currency You never asked for.
I have given You activity and attendance and money and service, and all the while there has been something specific You asked of me that I have not done. I knew it. I kept myself busy so I would not have to think about it.
Forgive me. You are not fooled and I am tired of trying.
Show me plainly what You have asked and I have not done. Take away my excuses. And give me the will to do the thing today rather than schedule it again.
To obey is better than sacrifice. I have believed the opposite for years. Change what I believe, and change what I do.
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Few are chosen because few are obedient. The chosen ones are simply the ones who did what He said.