—To obey is better than sacrifice–1Sam.15:22
Our text comes from the words of Samuel to the rebellious king Saul. James urges us to “be doers of the Word” and that is just one of many verses that command us to obey God. An article in “Senior Living” illustrates our obligation to obey like this:
“Imagine that you are the president of a company and find it necessary to travel out of the country and spend extended time abroad. So you tell your employees, “Manage things while I’m away, and I’ll write you regularly. When I do, I’ll instruct you in what you should do from now until I return from my trip.”
So you leave and stay away for a couple of years. During that time, you write often, communicating your desires and concerns. One day you return. Walking up to the front door of the company, you quickly notice that everything is a mess—weeds are growing in the flower beds, windows are broken across the front of the building, and the secretary at the front desk is asleep!
Without hesitation, you call everyone together and ask, “What happened? Didn’t you get my letters?” Your employees answer and say, “Yes! We got all your letters. Some of us have memorized them. In fact, we even get together each week and talk about them!”
It doesn’t matter how much they would’ve read your letters. What really matters is whether or not they would’ve followed what you told them. In the same way, there are so many people who read the Word of God, yet they never truly do what it says.
So when it comes to the Bible, don’t just read—do! Follow God’s precepts for living and experience the full joy that comes with surrender and obedience.—Ask God to help you not just read His Word, but live it out each day!”
