February 15, 2024

I Samuel 15.22 (NIV)
“To obey is better than sacrifice.”

No amount of religious ritual can substitute for doing what God commands.*

Sacrifices were a part of the law so it would seem that if you sacrificed, you were being obedient. But sacrifice was not meant to be an empty ritual. One could maintain the appearance of obedience by merely going through the motions with no heart involvement at all. Obedience that God requires isn’t just an outward act – it’s a condition of the heart.

According to one scholar, the Jews in the Old Testament “sometimes viewed their animal sacrifices . . . not as an act of commitment and fellowship with God, but as a way to manipulate God into putting his stamp of approval on their plans.”* We, too, are guilty of making deals with God: we will go to church if he will heal a loved one’s cancer or help us get that new car; it is much easier to throw money at a need in the church than it is to bring our thoughts and will into submission to his will. . . .We can go through the motions of obedience and still be guilty of disobedience.

What God seeks in every person is not sacrifice, but a humble spirit, and a devotion to the Lord that is expressed in obedience.*

*Quote sources available upon request.