God of Leftovers

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 listen than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22

For those of you with children, imagine that after a meal, you asked them to clear the table and wash their dishes. Now imagine that, instead of complying, they refused, scraped their leftovers onto your plate, and walked away leaving a pile of dirty dishes on the table. When confronted about their behavior, they explained that they did you a favor by giving you their leftover chicken. You gently explained that you didn’t want leftover chicken and that you simply wanted them to clean the table. No. I don’t want to do that. Enjoy my leftovers.

Maybe it didn’t involve left over chicken, but in my addiction, I did something similar to God. As I spiraled further into drugs, I felt God telling me to go to treatment, seek help, and get sober. I didn’t want to go to treatment though, so I tried to appease God and my conscience by putting money in the offering plate every Sunday. Sure, I’m struggling with drugs, but I’m still giving generously to God. I can’t be that bad. God didn’t want me to give up my money though. He wanted me to give up my drugs. He wanted me sober, and he wanted my obedience. My father asked me to clear the table, and I gave him my left over chicken.

This was the same mistake made by King Saul in today’s passage. In the story, God instructed Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites. Instead of complying, Saul spared their king and kept the best of the livestock. When confronted about his disobedience by the prophet Samuel, Saul justified his sin by explaining that he planned to sacrifice the animals to God. Knowing he’d done wrong, Saul tried to appease Samuel, God, and his conscience by giving God his leftovers. God wasn’t fooled though. For his sin, Saul lost his kingdom.

If I call myself a Christian, Jesus expects that I obey him. Daily, I am to abandon my way so that I may follow his. He asks that I hate my sin and that I love my neighbor as myself, seeking a life of service to those around me. All of that is a lot of hard work though. So, instead of complying, I do what I want and then try to appease God and my conscience by giving him money. God doesn’t want my spare change though. Rather, he wants me, and he wants my obedience. As God, he isn’t fooled or satisfied by my leftovers.