“Samuel said, Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:20-22)

Saul was given a task by the Lord: “Utterly destroy” the nation of Amalek. He was told to spare nothing, but he brought back King Agag and the choicest spoils. A few verses later in this passage, we see why Saul didn’t obey. Saul’s reason: “Because I feared the people and listened to their voice.” The desire to please his men instead of obeying God caused Saul to listen to their voice instead of God’s as spoken through Samuel.

One of the coach’s responsibilities in any sport is the position of his players. There are designed plays where each player will need to be in order for the play to succeed. What if every player on the team decided to their own thing and play where they wanted to play instead of where the coach placed them? Utter chaos!

The same is true in our spiritual lives with Jesus. When we do our own thing, there is disorder in our lives. God has given us His Holy Spirit to empower us to live an obedient life. The more we know Him through His Word, the more easily we’ll hear His voice and obey when He desires to move us.

– Mickey Weston serves as the Executive Director of Unlimited Potential Inc. He played five seasons in the MLB for the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets.

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