Obedience More Than Sacrifice

Have you ever done anything for the wrong reason?  Or have you ever done something for someone that you believed was the right thing, only to find out that you were way out of line? 

Allow me to clarify.  Sometimes we are guilty of doing good things for people only so that we will feel better about ourselves.  Sometimes we do good things for others so that we will look good.   This is doing something for the wrong reason.

Early in my marriage there were times I made my wife upset.  (I know that is hard to imagine, but it’s true!)  A couple of times I tried to apologize by buying her flowers and having them delivered to her.  I thought I was doing the right thing; it works in the movies.  However, I quickly learned that my wife does not like that.  It cheapens her.  She does not want me to buy her love.  She does not desire flowers that wilt away, she desires a husband who does not act like a moron. 

Unfortunately, when it comes to our relationship with God, we make these same mistakes.  We approach our daily walk and our church attendance with the wrong attitude too often.  Too many of us believe that church is all about us, and all about the impression we make on others while we are there.  There are many church members whose primary goal is to maintain their control, maintain the status quo, and do things as they have always been done, because they know how church should be done.  Some church members have “done church” for so long on their own that there is no need to ask God for His will. 

It is sad that so many of us completely disregard God when it comes to church and our “Christianity.”  We have made God into nothing more than a means to an end.  We talk about Him just enough to gain access to power and control and comfort, and we call it sacrifice and service.  We know the religious things to say and do, but our hearts are as black as coal.  Our mission statements look good on a sign, but our hearts despise those who do not look, act, and think like we do.

In contrast, I believe Scripture is crystal clear on what God desires from His children.  Ecclesiastes 5:1-4 “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.  Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. (2)Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.  God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.  (3)As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words.  (4)When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it.  He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.” 

In 1 Samuel 15:22 Samuel states “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?  To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

And finally in Luke 6:46 Jesus asks “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

It is past time that the church wake up and repent.  Our lives are not our own.  Our churches are not our own.  We exist to give glory to our deserving Father in Heaven and to make His name known throughout the world.  These two things happen when we obey, not when we serve and worship ourselves. 

May we stop running our mouths like fools and start obeying like the children of God that we are.  May our motives become pure and our desires fall in line with the will of our Father in Heaven.