Scripture

Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

~1 Samuel 15:22, NLT

Quote

God loves obedience.

~Jim Nesbitt

The mother of five had a pre-schooler named Tommy. Tommy’s siblings were older and their parents had been more strict with them and they allowed Tommy to do things that they never allowed the others to do. One of the things Tommy loved to do was get out all of the paper grocery bags {if you can remember paper bags} and arrange them in the kitchen floor. Tommy’s one rule was; when he was through playing, he had to put the bags back in the proper place. His dad was a preacher and could play the piano and sing. Tommy was playing with the bags in the kitchen when he heard his daddy singing in the living room, so he left the bags in the floor and joined his dad in the living room. When mom comes after Tommy, who had not cleaned up his mess, she said, “Tommy, you must come back to the kitchen and clean up your mess.” Tommy grabbed his dad and looked at his mom and said, “Right now, I am singing songs to Jesus.” Tommy thought he had his mother in a corner but dad stopped playing and looked Tommy in the eye and said, “To obey is better than sacrifice.”

We are commanded in scripture to do many things: share our faith, pray, help the poor, love our neighbors, attend worship faithfully, give and honor our parents just to mention a few. We have no power to control people’s response to our endeavors. People may not listen when we try to share our faith. The poor may never say thanks for the alms we give. Our prays may seem to go unanswered. If we tithe, there is no guarantee that God will bless us in a financial way. We don’t even have a guarantee that our parents will love and respect us when we honor them but our joy in not in the results; the joy is in our obedience. All we have to do is obey. It is essential that children learn to obey. It is just as important for disciples to learn the discipline of following. No one can lead until they learn to follow. If you don’t believe me, ask Moses. He tried to lead and failed. God directed him to Jethro for 40 years of training. Ultimately, Moses became a great leader but only after he learned to obey. Obedience is a first principle, the sooner you learn this discipline, the sooner you will be blessed with joy and peace. The world thinks you get joy and peace from success, but the world is wrong.

Extra

Practically everyone loves Friday and this one could be busy. The LORD enabled me to keep all my appointments yesterday and I pray for His help today. I hope you have a great day and a great weekend. Be back with you on Monday, LORD willing.