Benjamin Franklin said, “Well done is better than well said.” When someone says, “This is better than that,” they are making a comparison that reveals a value judgment. Saul valued his opinion more than God’s Word. He also feared the people, obeyed their voice and ignored the voice of God. 1 Samuel 15:22 reads, “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.’” Listen up for three lessons to live a better life.

Beware of inappropriate dependence. Saul admitted that he “feared the people and obeyed their voice” (1 Samuel 15:24b). First Samuel 15:23, 26 reads, “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 also has rejected you from being king ... But Samuel said to Saul, ‘I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.’” Proverbs 3:5-6 reads, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” You must wholly trust God!

Beware of incomplete obedience. First Samuel 15:9, 13-15 reads, “But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. ... Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, ‘Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.’ But Samuel said, ‘What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?’ And Saul said, ‘They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.’” Partial obedience is disobedience.

Beware of insufficient repentance. First Samuel 15:24-25 reads, “Then Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.’” Saul’s repentance was insufficient, in part, because he offered an excuse for not fearing and obeying God. “But Samuel said to Saul, ‘I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel’” (1 Samuel 15:26). Just because someone says, “I have sinned,” does not mean they have genuinely repented, and attempting to worship God with an unrepentant heart is meaningless.

Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, of Robertsdale, is the author of "Don't Miss the Revival! Messages for Revival and Spiritual Awakening from Isaiah.