"To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice." Prov. 21:3
I'm quite sure that I'm not the only parent whose children try to use all kinds of clever tactics to get out of doing something they have been asked to do. Like most kids, mine occasionally act as if cleaning their room is some form of modern day torture. They honestly would rather clean toilets than clean their own room that houses all of their stuff.
Yesterday morning was no different. I had specifically told my oldest child on the previous night at bedtime that his bedroom was in desperate need of attention and that cleaning it should be the first thing he does after his feet hit the ground the next the morning. Well, I should have known that whenever he came and snuggled up with me in bed as the sun was rising the following day, that there was more to it than just him desiring some quality time with mom. Although I cherish the fact that he hasn't outgrown snuggling with his Mama, I quickly realized that he had an ulterior motive.
Later in the morning whenever I saw that his bedroom was still a wreck, I asked him why it was that he hadn't cleaned it yet. His sweet, yet devious response was, "But I didn't do it because I wanted to spend some time with you, Mama!". I jokingly reminded him that because we homeschool, he and I already spend A LOT of time together! I then refreshed his memory on a Bible verse that we learned a couple of years back:
That verse is spoken by the prophet Samuel to King Saul after Saul had failed to completely obey the Lord in a certain situation. Saul thought that he could get away with his sin because his lack of complete obedience should be justified by his intent to offer up a sacrifice to the Lord. Well, just as I didn't buy Camron's excuse, the Lord had no room for Saul's excuse either.
Saul had been commanded by the Lord to take his army and TOTALLY annihilate the Amalekites because of all of the trouble they had caused Israel. Saul was specifically commanded to go and attack them and to totally destroy everything that belongs to them, including their families and their livestock (1 Sam. 15:3). The Lord was very specific in His instructions. However, Saul was only partially obedient in the way he followed through with those instructions.
We're told a few verses later that Saul spared the life of their king, as well as all of the best sheep, cattle, and lambs that they could find. When Samuel approached Saul and called him out on his failure to follow God's specific instructions, Saul claimed that he was going to use those animals to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. Although I very seriously doubt that Samuel bought the truthfulness to Saul's claim, he then reminded him that the Lord finds much more delight in seeing His children walk in obedience than in any of the offerings or sacrifices they could offer (1 Sam. 15:22).
Are you ever guilty of justifying your financial gifts or worship attendance as an adequate replacement for complete obedience to the Lord?
On more than one occasion I've heard people say something to this effect:
"Gee whiz, I put money in the offering plate when it goes by and I even sing whenever it's time to sing. What else does God want from me?"
Well, all of those things are great, but what He wants is COMPLETE obedience in every aspect of our lives. Does that mean that He expects perfection out of us? Of course not, but He does desire holiness from us, which is achieved by being obedient to His Word and His will for our lives.
Unfortunately, there happens to be some groups out there that would tell you that people who strive for obedience are legalistic. Well, I am a staunch opponent to legalism, which is following the letter of the law and missing out on the heart of the law, but I was so pleased to read this statement the other day:
You can rest easy in knowing that being obedient to what God commands and desires from the lives of His believers does not intrinsically make you legalistic. Keep your heart in tune with God's and keep your focus on being Christ-like, not on checking off a "to-do" list of all of the Christ-like qualities you would like exemplify in a given day. Remember, just as God was able to see the true motives of Saul's heart, He sees deep down into all of our hearts and can see whether our obedience is honest and pure, or if we've gotten lost in the letter of the law somewhere.
Disobedience to the Lord's commands is a painful road to walk down. The consequences for Saul's disobedience was probably the worst thing he could imagine at that time. Samuel was forced to tell Saul:
I'm quite sure that I'm not the only parent whose children try to use all kinds of clever tactics to get out of doing something they have been asked to do. Like most kids, mine occasionally act as if cleaning their room is some form of modern day torture. They honestly would rather clean toilets than clean their own room that houses all of their stuff.
Yesterday morning was no different. I had specifically told my oldest child on the previous night at bedtime that his bedroom was in desperate need of attention and that cleaning it should be the first thing he does after his feet hit the ground the next the morning. Well, I should have known that whenever he came and snuggled up with me in bed as the sun was rising the following day, that there was more to it than just him desiring some quality time with mom. Although I cherish the fact that he hasn't outgrown snuggling with his Mama, I quickly realized that he had an ulterior motive.
Later in the morning whenever I saw that his bedroom was still a wreck, I asked him why it was that he hadn't cleaned it yet. His sweet, yet devious response was, "But I didn't do it because I wanted to spend some time with you, Mama!". I jokingly reminded him that because we homeschool, he and I already spend A LOT of time together! I then refreshed his memory on a Bible verse that we learned a couple of years back:
"To obey is better than sacrifice." 1 Samuel 15:22c
That verse is spoken by the prophet Samuel to King Saul after Saul had failed to completely obey the Lord in a certain situation. Saul thought that he could get away with his sin because his lack of complete obedience should be justified by his intent to offer up a sacrifice to the Lord. Well, just as I didn't buy Camron's excuse, the Lord had no room for Saul's excuse either.
Saul had been commanded by the Lord to take his army and TOTALLY annihilate the Amalekites because of all of the trouble they had caused Israel. Saul was specifically commanded to go and attack them and to totally destroy everything that belongs to them, including their families and their livestock (1 Sam. 15:3). The Lord was very specific in His instructions. However, Saul was only partially obedient in the way he followed through with those instructions.
We're told a few verses later that Saul spared the life of their king, as well as all of the best sheep, cattle, and lambs that they could find. When Samuel approached Saul and called him out on his failure to follow God's specific instructions, Saul claimed that he was going to use those animals to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. Although I very seriously doubt that Samuel bought the truthfulness to Saul's claim, he then reminded him that the Lord finds much more delight in seeing His children walk in obedience than in any of the offerings or sacrifices they could offer (1 Sam. 15:22).
Are you ever guilty of justifying your financial gifts or worship attendance as an adequate replacement for complete obedience to the Lord?
On more than one occasion I've heard people say something to this effect:
"Gee whiz, I put money in the offering plate when it goes by and I even sing whenever it's time to sing. What else does God want from me?"
Well, all of those things are great, but what He wants is COMPLETE obedience in every aspect of our lives. Does that mean that He expects perfection out of us? Of course not, but He does desire holiness from us, which is achieved by being obedient to His Word and His will for our lives.
Unfortunately, there happens to be some groups out there that would tell you that people who strive for obedience are legalistic. Well, I am a staunch opponent to legalism, which is following the letter of the law and missing out on the heart of the law, but I was so pleased to read this statement the other day:
"Stop calling obedience to Jesus legalism!" -- Pastor Eric Mason
You can rest easy in knowing that being obedient to what God commands and desires from the lives of His believers does not intrinsically make you legalistic. Keep your heart in tune with God's and keep your focus on being Christ-like, not on checking off a "to-do" list of all of the Christ-like qualities you would like exemplify in a given day. Remember, just as God was able to see the true motives of Saul's heart, He sees deep down into all of our hearts and can see whether our obedience is honest and pure, or if we've gotten lost in the letter of the law somewhere.
Disobedience to the Lord's commands is a painful road to walk down. The consequences for Saul's disobedience was probably the worst thing he could imagine at that time. Samuel was forced to tell Saul:
"You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel." 1 Sam. 15:26b
God doesn't desire our obedience for any other reason than for us to be living and breathing examples of Christ to a lost world. We're all going to fail and fall short of God's desire for our lives (Rom. 3:23), but praise God for the gift of mercy and grace!
If God has specifically placed a calling on your life to do something for Him, be obedient to His calling.
If God prompts you to go out of your way to do something nice for a stranger, don't quench that urge.
If you're not living out the calling that He has placed on the life of every believer to share the Gospel with a lost and dying world, then choose to be obedient to His Great Commission today.
Whatever it is that God is personally speaking to you about today, don't allow any sinful excuses get in your way of being completely obedient to Him. Just like I enjoyed some extra snuggle time with my son, God appreciates your worship and your offerings, but his ultimate desire for your life is obedience.
If God has specifically placed a calling on your life to do something for Him, be obedient to His calling.
If God prompts you to go out of your way to do something nice for a stranger, don't quench that urge.
If you're not living out the calling that He has placed on the life of every believer to share the Gospel with a lost and dying world, then choose to be obedient to His Great Commission today.
Whatever it is that God is personally speaking to you about today, don't allow any sinful excuses get in your way of being completely obedient to Him. Just like I enjoyed some extra snuggle time with my son, God appreciates your worship and your offerings, but his ultimate desire for your life is obedience.
Thank you....your children are so blessed to have parents like you two. I will try to follow your advice and this afternoon...I plan to share this lesson with them.......my tactics on same situation have been much further away from God....forgive me Lord.....and I will lift them higher.....God truly has given us all we need to know in His Holy Bible..it amazes me and surprises me daily. You are precious Staci.
ReplyDelete