“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 Sam 15:22, NIV) The way of King Saul was the way of disobedience. Though in some ways it seems he tried to obey God, his obedience was incomplete.  Obeying the voice of God was not the most important thing to Saul. He was as prone to substitute his own opinion for the word of the Lord as he was to obey it, and this proved to be his downfall. It also serves to highlight the primary difference between Saul and David. We see in David’s life many failures which were as bad or worse than those of Saul—or so it seems from our perspective. But the key to understanding Saul’s rejection by God and David’s acceptance with God lies in the desire of their hearts. Saul was self-centered while David—weak though he was—was God-centered. 

            We read in 1 Samuel 15 how Saul’s self-centeredness manifested itself in incomplete obedience. This was the occasion when his anointing by God was revoked and given to another. God had instructed the king to “utterly destroy” every living thing among the Amalekites (1 Sam. 15:3). The instructions to which God held Saul accountable were clearly given and could not be misunderstood. But Saul thought that his way was better and made more sense than did God’s. “But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs--everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.” (1 Sam. 15:9, NIV). This disobedience was viewed by God with such contempt that He regretted making Saul king. When Saul tried to explain that he was only going according to common sense, God answered with these words: “To obey is better than to sacrifice.”

            God would rather have us obey Him than to devise some method of pleasing Him based on our own subjective reasoning. Without obedience, we say to God that we know more than He does. We affirm by our actions that we don’t believe in Him as the Sovereign Lord of the universe. Obedience is always better than any human substitution. Ask only what pleases the Lord when it comes to matters of faith, worship and service.