Sunday Soaking: Obedience Trumps Sacrifice

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”
I Samuel 15:22

These convicting words from Samuel to King Saul should pierce our hearts today, just as they did God’s people then. Clearly, our heavenly Father does not define obedience as checking off the boxes and merely going through the motions on the outside.

In God’s economy, motivation matters.

Even in the Old Testament, God’s expectation was not only about keeping the law. Then and now God wants our hearts.

The truth above shared by Samuel is confirmed by the writer of Proverbs:

“To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.”
Proverbs 21:3

“The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked,
but the prayer of the upright pleases him.”
Proverbs 15:8

We take on an “older-brother” mindset when we foolishly believe our outward behavior earns us points with God. This attitude quickly spirals downward to an attitude of entitlement: “God, you owe me.” Older brother (and older sister!) types becomes frustrated, resentful, and even angry when hard things come … because they feel like God did not keep His end of the bargain!

The true follower of God obeys Him from a heart of love, not a transactional (“If I do this, then God, you will do that!”) motivation. We must be on our guard to ensure this mindset does not creep in.

Having the right attitude today is no guarantee that our motives are pure tomorrow. We protect ourselves by staying close to God, abiding in Him and in His Word.

And we can always ask, “God, give me pure motives! Show me where I need a course correction or a motivation adjustment. I pray my acts of obedience are motivated by love and gratefulness. I pray that all I do to obey You is a response to what You have already done for me.”

Let’s stop focusing on sacrificing for God, and choose instead to lovingly obey Him.


Did you miss the most recent teaching video from our Romans Bible study? Be sure to check it out!

I hope you’ll also subscribe to the Cross My Heart channel and be sure to check your notification settings so you’ll always be informed when we share a new video!

This entry was posted in Sunday Soaking. Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Sunday Soaking: Obedience Trumps Sacrifice

  1. Karen Shrum says:

    How do I subscribe to the Cross My Heart Channel to watch videos?

    • LauraMac says:

      Karen — So grateful for your question and interest in our video teaching. You can go here: http://www.YouTube.com/CrossMyHeartMinistry and click the SUBSCRIBE button. You do have to be logged in to Google (which means you have to have a Gmail account.) If you don’t have gmail, it’s easy (and free) to sign up. Bless you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *