Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams. Religious people use worship in order to connect with the divine. The problem comes when ritual becomes the be-all and end-all of the divine-human relationship. God, in fact, is woven into every aspect of human life if we have the eyes to see and cannot be limited to the time we set apart for our ritual actions. The prophetic word uttered by Samuel reminded Saul, and us, to see the big picture of God’s presence in all that we say and do. By trying to limit God just to the moments of sacrifice Saul sought to create a space for himself apart from God and this is what the prophet objected to.
