And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
1 Samuel 15:22-23
The noted missionary and author Elisabeth Elliot once related a story from her childhood. Her brother Thomas loved to play with paper bags saved from the grocery store. He would stack them and spread them out and entertain himself for hours. However, the rule his mother had given him was that once he was done playing he had to put the bags away rather than leaving them out. Elisabeth said that one day her mother came in to find the floor covered in bags and Thomas nowhere to be seen. Thomas was standing by the piano where his father was playing hymns, and he was singing. When his mother expressed her displeasure he said, “But Mom, I want to sing.” Their father, Philipp Thomas, Jr. told the boy, “It’s no good singing God’s praise if you’re disobedient.”
Many times people attempt to excuse their disobedience to God by pointing out all the good things they are doing. But we cannot obtain God’s favor and approval by earning “brownie points” to make up for our sins. God is looking for people who are obedient far more than He is looking for people who are talented. Though we will never fully reach the goal, all of us should be striving to be like Jesus, and one of the ways in which we can do that is in our obedience to God. “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29). When we know that something is right to do, we should do it quickly, happily, and thoroughly.
