Great Reflection from The Word Among Us
The Importance of Obedience I did indeed obey the Lord. (1 Samuel 15:20) Poor King Saul! Until Samuel confronted him, he had no idea he had disobeyed God. As far as he was concerned, he had just wiped out a formidable enemy, as God had instructed. He just hadn’t gotten around to dealing with their king yet. Surely that was a minor omission. He had even improved on God’s commandment: instead of destroying all the livestock, he had set aside the choicest animals to offer as a sacrifice. Was that really such a bad thing? Sometimes what God asks of us is very clear. We gladly carry out most of it, except for one minor detail. We work through our painful memories until we can forgive everyone who hurt us—except one person. We’re willing to extend the kiss of peace to anyone at Mass—except that man whom you saw at the mall walking arm in arm with another man. It’s also tempting to add to God’s simple commands and then impose our additions on other people. For instance, in situation