Have you ever been in one of those situation where a child disobeys but does something nice? I've got four children so this has happened more than once in my household. I give one of my children an instruction, something like, clean your room while we're gone tonight. When I return they are so excited to show me what they did, washed/dried/put away all the dishes or did their laundry and their siblings or cleaned the living room, etc., everything - anything - but what they were told to do.
I feel guilty for punishing them. But only for a short time. And they always look at me the same, with that completely lost look on their face. But, I did way more than just clean my room, doesn't matter, you were told to clean your room. I appreciate their extra work, but doing something you want in order to get out of doing something you don't want to do doesn't work.
King Saul found himself in this same situation and honestly I think we Christians do this way more than we'd like to admit.
Here's what happened to Saul. The Prophet Samuel told Saul that God wanted him to utterly destroy the Amalekites (this was pay back for something they had done to Israel many years before and God had made a promise to wipe them out because of it) and all their animals. Saul was to kill everything and burn the rest - no plunder from the city could be taken. But when Samuel arrived after the victory over Amalek he found that Saul and the soldiers had done what God commanded... almost. They killed everything that was worthless or despised but the best animals and even gold, etc., they kept in order to sacrifice it to God as an offering.
There's a couple problems with this.
- Obeying God mostly, is not obeying at all. The command was kill everything and destroy the rest - anything short of that was disobedience.
- The sacrifice God wanted was the destruction of Amalek and everything in the city. When Saul took the best and left the rest He gave to God the worst as a sacrifice and kept the best for himself.
- Giving God something He doesn't want and didn't ask for does not make disobeying Him, and keeping from Him what He did ask for, okay.
I think that many Christians today obey God partly and think they're doing enough, or like Saul, fooling themselves into thinking that they have obeyed when they have only obeyed partially. Perhaps they have believed and confessed and repented but refuse to be immersed - even though the Bible commands that we be baptized just as it does that we confess, repent and believe. Partial obedience is not obedience.
Another thing I notice Christians are really good at, like Saul, is giving God what we don't want any longer and expecting Him to happy with our leftovers. People from every church and denomination will give to the church their old vacuums and furniture and broken down, used up, whatever and then go purchase for themselves brand new items. Just like Saul left for God in Amalek all the disposed and worthless and took the best for themselves. (Yes, I know they were "sacrificing them to God" but that is not what God asked for the "sacrifice" was what was left in Amalek and burned.) I wonder if God were actually present in the flesh in our churches if we would give Him our broken down and worthless stuff and buy the new for ourselves or if it would be the other way around.
Finally we try to manipulate God by substituting what we want to give Him for what He asks for. Perhaps the best example of this is in the area of finances. We substitute other gifts, sacrifices or inconveniences for what He asked for, a small portion of what He has given us as a token of understanding that it came from Him in the first place. I knew a person in a church I pastored who refused to give financially but volunteered their time to keep the churches books and counted those hours spent in that service as their tithe. But that is not what God asked for. He didn't say 10% of whatever you want to give me. He said, 10% of your increase or income.
How have you been at obeying God completely? Do you give Him only you're willing to give? Or do you give what He asks for? Do you "sacrifice" your worst and worthless to Him or do you give Him your best? Does He get the leftovers or does He get first dibs?
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