II Samuel 15:22-23
So Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great 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. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king."
Hard words....
But words I needed to hear this morning.
I need to be reminded that choices, even the simplest, have consequences that affect my life.
I need to be reminded that when my self-centered, selfish, sin-nature gets involved in my thought process, I'm headed for a terrible fall. Not because God is mad at me or wants to whack me, but simply because I have taken my life into my own hands. I have removed myself out from under the grace of God (Galatians 5:4).
I spent time reading in I Samuel about the demise of King Saul. From being crowned as the new King of Israel, Saul's life ended with him falling on his own sword rather than be captured by the Philistines. I guess the telling part in this sad, sordid story is found in the words of I Samuel 16:14- But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him. Saul had operated under the name of the LORD, but did so by carrying out his own personal agenda. Going against God's instructions and doing it his way. Then, when Saul was caught, he tried to spin his sin in such a way as to make it look like it was no big deal.
In the passage from I Samuel 15, we see the big "TWO" that plague those who are in addiction. Rebellion and Stubbornness. God equates these two as being under the heading of witchcraft, iniquity and idolatry. Those who possess these qualities have long since tossed aside any moral compass and have dedicated themselves to feeding the sin nature what ever it desires and demands. Such is fertile ground for addiction to grow and fester and bring about its harvest of death. Such thought and behavior is why it takes a Power "greater than ourselves " to restore us to sanity ( or the ability to make sound decisions). Our Higher Power, Jesus Christ, is the only answer to this dilemma. Let me rephrase this. Jesus is the only answer that can not only solve our addition problem, but then turn around and give us life. Real life. Abundant life. Life beyond the bottle or the pill. Life that doesn't include a pipe or a needle. Life that isn't dictated to by court systems or legal trouble, but rather is directed by God, through the work of His Holy Spirit in us.
This Power that I speak of is the GRACE of God. The empowering presence of God, in my life, that enables me to be who God created me to be, and to do what God has called me to do. I stand in the grace of God. As you move down the steps, you suddenly realize that the greatest attribute is to be humble. To simply admit the need for help, that you are powerless. There in that vacuum and emptiness God will come and fill you up.
To obey is better than running around trying to short cut or act religious. Just do it.
God on you....
mb
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