We’ve all felt the tug of the Spirit regarding a specific sin. Sometimes, we know the Lord requires obedience, but we try to fool Him by diverting His attention from the sin in question to our accomplishments in some other area. “If I make sacrifices in this area,” we reason, “He won’t notice I’m refusing to obey in that area.”

Saul tried the same tactic. Samuel the prophet ordered Saul and his men to annihilate the Amalekites down to the last donkey, but “they were not willing to destroy them” (1 Sam. 15:9). Afterwards, God declared, “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me” (v. 11).

True to form, Saul defended himself: “[I] spared the best sheep and cattle in order to offer a sacrifice to the Lord” (v. 15). Essentially, Saul was saying, “I did it for You, Lord!” Samuel’s response in modern-day English would have sounded something like this: “Seriously, Saul? You think you can placate God regarding your disobedience by making a sacrifice for which He never asked?”

Finally, Saul confessed, “I have sinned. … Because I was afraid of the people” (v. 24). The Israelites wanted Saul to spare the king and the best livestock. Saul submitted to the fear of man, hoping the Lord would overlook what he didn’t do and pay attention to what he did do… but it wasn’t that easy.

Does this story hit a nerve? Today, don’t delay—choose radical obedience. “Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams” (1 Sam. 15:22).