Armchair Theologian: Obedience vs. Sacrifice - [Matthew]
“But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22Why is obedience better than sacrifice?
Maybe because obedience involves the only thing that is truly ours.
When we sacrifice, give a tithe, etc., we’re giving back to God. But really, it’s all his, right? (that’s a rhetorical question; the answer is yes) So, while sacrifice is good and pleases God, we’re not giving Him anything that He doesn’t already own.
But there is one thing God gave us that’s all our own… our will. In obeying God, we choose of our own free will to submit ourselves to Him (as Oswald Chambers points out, we can't give up or lay down our free will. It must be exercised).
Is sacrifice commanded? Yes. So it’s fair to say that when we sacrifice to God, we are obeying Him. But clearly, with the differentiation being made in this verse, there’s something more to obedience than just satisfying a requirement.
And by ‘sacrificing’ what we selfishly want to obey God, using our free will, the one thing that is truly ours, we’re able to give God ‘delight’.
[end ping ]
posted by Etcetera at 8:51 AM
1 Comments:
"In the last analysis, faith is not a way of speaking or even of thinking; it is a way of living. Maurice Blondel said, "If you want to know what a person really believes, don't listen to what he says but watch what he does." Only the practice of faith can verify what we believe. Does faith permeate the whole of your life? Does it form your judgments about death? About success? Does it influence the way you read the newspaper? Do you have a divine sense of humor that sees through people and events into the unfolding plan of God? When things are turbulent on the surface of your life, do you retain a quiet calm, firmly fixed in ultimate reality? As Therese of Lisieux said, "Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing. God alone remains."
B. Manning - The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus
I would add that doing comes from being, and faith comes from hearing who the Word says you are. And that has nothing to do with what you do...you are loved just as you are, without doing anything more or less. But once you be that, watch out for action.
Obedience has a bit of a nasty connotation, unless you're an unconditionally loving father who wants the best for his children.
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