So much has been said about religion, and much less about obedience. At least as far as Christianity is concerned.
Perhaps you are wondering why I said religion. Why would I contrast religion with obedience in the first place? Isn’t religion all about obeying God?
The problem with religion, is that it encourages sacrifice a lot more than necessary. And if you are careful enough, you realize most people who obey and sacrifice to follow God, tend to rely a lot on their personal strength and wisdom. Which isn’t what the bible says.
There is this verse which is very controversial and digs deep into the flaws of religion. It reads: So Samuel said:
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
This was what Samuel replied to Saul, when he (Saul) failed wait on the Lord. And chose not to kill all the animals as the Lord commanded after the war over Amalek. Moreover, Saul not only spared the healthy animals but decided to use them as a sacrifice to the Lord for the triumph Israel had made. However God was not pleased. Not because Saul sacrificed animal plunder to Him, but because Saul disobeyed God in sparing these animals in the first place. When God had told him (Saul), to kill everything in Amalek, without sparing anything.
Obedience to the Lord’s voice is more valuable than trying to look holy before Him. Or trying to please Him. The Lord is more pleased with a Christian who hearkens to His word than one who tithes more but lives a double sided life. One who looks holy on the outside but very rotten on the inside. This kind, God detests.
The Parable of the Two sons.
If we go to one of the infamous parables Jesus gave to the Pharisees, who were always questioning every single miracle He performed.
28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went.30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They said to Him, “The first.”
The first. The ones who even though didn’t feel like obeying, did so anyway. As for the latter, the religious, the ones who think every one else is unholy and only them are good before God. This kind is what Samuel was trying to infer, from the previous verse. Obedience is better than trying to be holy.
It is no good to pretend to be humble or good, just to be recognized by God. That’s pride and self righteousness; which is very far from salvation through Christ. The salvation that is received by grace not through works.
For this very reason, Christ once said:
Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16 And when the scribes [c]and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His
disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, [d]to repentance.”
Jesus came for sinners, not those who think they are already holy. In that, those who yield to His voice, know that they, on their own, can’t make themselves righteous. But through continual obedience they can be made whole through Christ. And these, obedient sheep, are worthy to be recognized as Sons of God. Not because those acting holy are any worse, no. However those who obey, are the ones who actually yield to the will of the Father. And if they are the ones in the will of the Father, they have the glory of the Father. While those who try to sacrifice and act holy using their personal strength, are only yielding to the will of their flesh. Pride, self righteousness and sanctimoniousness. This is far from the will of God. And far from actually pleasing God.
The right way to please God
So if you really want to please God. It’s only more reasonable to yield to His Spirit. His word, His will. Not trying to act holier, nor spending more time in church. All these in their goodness; what good will they really add to the Lord, if you can’t do the hard things He is asking you to do? What good is it to show everyone around you that you are holy, but have failed to do the one thing the Holy Spirit has convicted you of, for the last one month?
At the end, it’s not about how far you went. Not in how long you spent speaking in tongues, nor how many altar calls you made in your church. It’s about the impact you had, in the little you did. That’s what matters. And the only way to have the biggest impact in your walk with God. Is in obeying the voice of God, every single time.
