Obedience is the Way

When my kids were young the school they attended had a tree on campus with limbs low enough to climb or hang onto. The school rule was to stay out of the tree. The principal related at a parent-teacher night about a boy who was caught hanging on a limb while rhythmically swinging and singing "O B E D IENCE, obedience is the very best way to show that I believe."

King Saul was head and shoulders above his countrymen but it was as if it put his head in the clouds, as though he couldn't see that his feet were still on the ground. He made the mistake of believing his own "press". When Samuel gave him instructions from God, Saul would follow much of the instruction but not all. This ultimately cost him his kingdom.

I have a friend who listens in conversation until she hears the trigger word then proceeds to react or answer what she thinks about where the conversation is going without waiting to hear it completely. This may have been the habit of Saul. He was often close but "no cigar".

In 1 Samuel 15 Samuel instructs Saul this way: (22-23 Msg) "Do you think all God wants are sacrifices—empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production. Not doing what God tells you is far worse than fooling around in the occult. Getting self-important around God is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors. Because you said No to God's command, he says No to your kingship."

Whoa! Disobedience is worse than the occult. Who'da thunk it? I wouldn't give the occult a second thought but am I that serious about full obedience (he said while swinging from the limb of the obedience tree)?