Better than Sacrifice...

I Samuel 15:22 | NASB

Samuel said,

“Has the Lord as much 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.”

Psalm 51:16-17 | NASB

“For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; 
 You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; 
 A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

Micah 6:6-8 | NKJV

“With what shall I come before the Lord, 
 And bow myself before the High God? 
 Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, 
With calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, 
Ten thousand rivers of oil? 
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, 
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O man, what is good; 
 And what does the Lord require of you
 But to do justly, 
To love mercy, 
And to walk humbly with your God?”

Hosea 6:6 | NASB

“For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, 
 And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

            It is easy for man to go through the motions of service, to bring our sacrifices, our offerings to God and to think that we have honored our God as He has commanded us to.  Feeling in doing so that we are holy, that we are pleasing God, meeting His standards.  How mistaken are we in thinking so.  What are sacrifices and offerings when our hearts are not right, when the rest of our lives are not in alignment with righteousness, are not obedient to our Heavenly Father? God is interested in our hearts.  Where is our heart?  Is our heart humble before our God, is it loving mercy, doing justice, are we broken over our sin and repentant of it to our Father, are our hearts wholly His, loyal to our God or are we trying to divide our affections between masters?  Feigning allegiance to our Father while still chasing after worldly desires and pleasures?  God is more interested in our obedient, humble hearts than our sacrifices.  I love the verses in Micah where he exaggerates with what he shall possibly bring before the Lord to please Him, a thousand rams? Ten thousand rivers of oil? His first born? No… the simple answer is this… He has shown you O man what is good; and what the Lord requires of you: do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God!  This is what God longs for, more than our elaborate and showy sacrifices: humble obedient hearts.  But we need to be so careful, does that mean there will never be any sacrifices required?  No it does not, for being obedient and humbly taking up our cross in following Christ will indeed require sacrifices and hardships.  But we are not to look at these sacrifices as being better or more important than being obedient.  Obedience is what pleases God, more than sacrifice.  So let us walk humbly in obedience to our God, doing justice, loving mercy, showing our loyalty to Him in all that we do, and when obedience requires sacrifice, let us give freely as we have so freely been given to.