The Supreme Thing in Christian
Life by J. R. Miller To obey is better than
sacrifice, 1 Samuel 15, 22. Many people set a great deal
more stress on religious rituals than upon practical obedience. They will be faithful in attendance
upon church services, devout and reverent in worship, and
yet in their daily life they will disregard the plain commandments
of God, they fill the week with selfishness, pride, bitterness,
and evil speaking, and then go to church on Sunday with a great
show of devotion to engage in the worship of God. But what
God desires before our worship can be acceptable is that we
obey what He commands us. He bids us to love one another,
to be unselfish, patient, kind, honest, pure, true. And unless we obey these commands,
our religious rituals, no matter how conspicuous, how costly,
how seemingly devout and reverent, are not acceptable to God. There
are many other phases of the truth. It is exact obedience
which God desires, and not something else of our own substituted. When he tells a mother to care
for her child, he is not satisfied if she neglects that duty to
attend church. When God wants a man to help
a poor family in some obscure street, He is not satisfied if
instead of that lowly service, the man does some brilliant thing
that seems to bring ten times as much honor to the Lord. The
supreme thing in Christian life is to obey God. Without obedience,
nothing else counts. The obedience must also be exact,
just what God commands, not something else. If you love me, you will
keep my commandments. John 14, 15.