Do you bargain with God? Perhaps you say, “God, I will do this thing for You, but in return… I want this other thing.” In 1 Samuel 15, the Lord sent a message to King Saul through Samuel telling him to completely destroy the Amalekite nation… completely… everything including the animals. So Saul went and did as the Lord instructed, destroying everything… except he greedily decided that it would be a waste to get rid of everything, so he decided to spare the life of Agag (the Amalekite king) and also to keep the best of the sheep and the cattle… the fattest… and really decided to keep anything else that appealed to his men or to himself. Because of this, the Lord then decided that he would select another to become the king of Israel. When Samuel told Saul that he had sinned against God by his disobedience, Saul responded by saying (v. 20-22), “‘But I did obey the Lord. I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep and cattle and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.’ But Samuel replied, ‘What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to him is much better than offering the fat of rams.’”

God is calling each of us to obedience… without compromises… without bargaining. If we aren’t being obedient to His calling, then He is not interested in our offerings and our sacrifices. I don’t know about you, but I am thankful for the example of what NOT to do that is found in Saul’s actions in this passage. Lord, I long to be obedient to Your calling… help me, Father, to remain steadfast in Your Word and in prayer.