Scripture reference: 1 Samuel 15:22

Many Christians believe the way to please God is to give up or sacrifice certain things in their lives. The idea is that giving up, refraining from, or sacrificing certain activities or elements of life shows one's devotion and obedience to God. However, this scripture states specifically that God does not equate sacrifice with obedience. What God considers obedience is doing exactly what He says to do; not coming up with things to not do as a way of showing obedience. And God does not buy any worldly reasoning that our ideas of showing our devotion to God should be as acceptable to Him and obeying His commands.

Let us observe what the Lord God Almighty tells us through His prophet, Isaiah. "I am sick of your sacrifices. Don't bring me any more of them. ... Who wants your sacrifices when you have no sorrow for your sins? ... Your holy celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath, and your special days for fasting - even your most pious meetings - all are frauds! I want nothing more to do with them. I hate them all; I can't stand the sight of them." (Isaiah 1:11-14 TLB)

In this passage God gets to the heart of His real objective. He wants sincere contrite hearts truly repentant of our sins. He wants to see that we are fully aware of how our sinful behavior has hurt Him, and are filled with sorrow because of that knowledge. In short, God, who looks into a man's heart, wants to know that we really love Him so much that we hurt in our heart when we do not do as He commands us. Simply performing certain rituals, like going to church and saying grace before a meal, and not doing certain things, like drinking alcohol or dancing, does not meet with God's approval. It does not show Him that we are sorrowful for our disobedience to Him; and it does not show that we are following His commands.

Now the question arises, just what does God command us to do? How can we show our obedience to Him? The answers to these questions can be found quite easily in the scriptures. All we need to do is turn to the teachings of Jesus as presented in the gospels. We need look no further than the words of Christ while he was among us.

When can start with the Sermon on the Mount as recorded in Matthew chapters 5 through 7. In the beginning of that great sermon Jesus tells us that we are the salt of the Earth. What does that mean? Well, salt was and is still used to cure and preserve meat. A modern cured and smoked ham has a salty taste because it is first soak for several days in a salt water solution, and then smoked. Salting meat and fish to preserve it is still done all over the world today. So Jesus is telling us that we are to be the element in the which world cures and preserves the souls of men. And if we do not do that, then we are useless, and shall be cast out of the kingdom of God.

Next Jesus tells us that we are to be a light in the world. We are to be a transmitter of the light of God's glory. His light is to shine through us to all the world, so that those who are living in the darkness of not knowing God may find their way into his redeeming light. And how do we do this? By our deeds; by the way we live every day life. It is by always having a kind word for everyone we encounter; by offering a helping hand whenever the opportunity arises; by comforting sorrow, and nursing the sick; by feeding the hungry and welcoming the stranger. In these ways we are obeying God's commands. This is a true demonstration of our heart felt devotion to Him. It is in these ways that we offer a worship to God which he finds pleasing and acceptable.

The most clear set of commands from God concerning our behavior in regular, daily life, and a sign of our true devotion to and worship of God, can be found in Matthew 25:334-40. In this passage Jesus tells us exactly what is expected of us. We are to feed the hungry, give drink to those who thirst, care for the sick, and visit the imprisoned. In these ways Jesus says we are caring for Him. It is those who obey these simple instructions Christ calls righteous.

It should be noted what Jesus does not say. He does not say that we are to perform any rituals, observe any specials days, dress a certain way, listen to a certain type of music, or forbid certain activities. And the reason should be obvious. In feeding others, quenching the thirst of others, caring for others, and visiting others in distress, we are putting others first. We are putting the needs of others before our own wants and concerns. This is the central theme of all of the teachings of Jesus. For by putting those whom God loves first in our life, we are putting God first in our life. Conversely, when we make rituals and rules that please us and make us feel religious the most important elements in our life, we are putting ourself first. We are putting our need to feel pious in the center of our life; and that is God's place. He wants to be in the center of our life, because He has made us first in His life. We are His central focus; therefore, God should always be the central focus of our life. And we make Him the central focus of life by following the few simple commands He has given us through our Savior Christ Jesus.

Paul admonishes us to be as Christ. He tells us to remember that Jesus willingly gave up all the privileges of being the Son of God to serve the hungry, thirsty, sick, and imprisoned. We, therefore, are to follow Christ's example, and do as He did. Paul tells us that doing so is our true worship of God through Christ. By doing as Jesus instructed in Matthew 25:34-40 we are obeying God's commands and giving Him the worship and glory He is due. This is the sign of true obedience.

May the grace of God, the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the peace of the Holy Spirit be with you. Amen.