Actions Trump Words

When God commanded Saul to settle accounts with some old enemies, the Amalekites, Saul partially obeyed. As a result, God rejected him as king. Saul’s sin may seem insignificant to us, but who are we to say that something is small if it is a big deal to God? Who are we to say that it doesn’t matter? If God says it matters, then it matters.

God looks at the heart. God sees things that we don’t see. And God could already see that Saul’s heart had turned away.

Some people say, "What’s wrong with having a little fun? I’ll know when to stop."

But sin is sin, and "little" sins always lead to "big" sins. That’s where it starts.

I read about a Malaysian man who holds the world record for kissing venomous snakes. He has kissed a king cobra 51 times. We can have that attitude toward sin: I can handle this. It will never bite me. It will never get me. Then one day, that little kiss will prove to be your undoing. It will become a kiss of death.

As the prophet Samuel told Saul, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry" (1 Samuel 15:23).

Sometimes people who blatantly sin think they can make it up to God. They think, I’ll give more in the offering. . . . I’ll sing louder at church. . . . I’ll go to a midweek Bible study. But obedience is better than sacrifice. It is not a matter of obeying God whenever we find it easy or convenient or popular. Jesus said, "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you" (John 15:14).

God wants us to obey Him. He is more interested in our actions than our words.