Obedience with sacrifice. At this point, you may be reminded of the phrase “To obey is better than to sacrifice.” It is what Prophet Samuel said to Saul when Saul disobeyed God’s command to completely destroy the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:22). Instead of destroying everything, Saul spared “the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord.” Although we may think Saul’s sacrifice should’ve pleased God, it was considered “evil in the sight of the Lord” (1 Samuel 15:19). Because even the best sacrifice without obedience gains nothing.

Obeying is indeed better than sacrificing. But that does not mean that sacrificing is a bad thing – obedience just comes first. When God gave Noah detailed instructions on how to build the ark and the animals and food to fill it with (Genesis 6:15-21), we are told that Noah “did all that God commanded him” (Genesis 6:22) – he obeyed. And when Noah and his family finally came out of the ark after 370 days, he “built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and burnt offerings on the altar” (Genesis 8:20). It is important to note that Noah made this sacrifice voluntarily. And when God smelled the sweet-scented aroma, He regretted the flood and vowed to never destroy man like that again. The sacrifice soothed God’s anger at human sin; although human nature had not changed since the flood, God’s attitude had changed. Such is the effect of sacrifice that comes after obedience – it touches God’s own heart.

The issue is that a lot of us tend to make a lot of sacrifices without first obeying. We sacrifice our time and money to serve in church – we compose gospel music, sing in the choir, play instruments, join the church media team, create videos, flyers, posts, etc. But we fail to obey God by praying consistently and reading the Word. What good are all these sacrifices if we do not have constant fellowship with Him? As He puts it in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” That is how God knows you love Him – by obeying Him. Or as Pastor Stephanie Ike puts it, “God’s love language is obedience.”

Next time you hear the phrase “To obey is better than to sacrifice,” remember that sacrificing is not a bad thing. Rather, it is a great thing, especially when it complements obedience. Obedience with sacrifice touches God’s own heart.

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