Inner Obedience Beyond Ritual

Neville's Inner Vision

On 1 Samuel 15:21 I hear the inner voice tell me that the people bring spoils to Gilgal, as if ceremony could compensate for a divided heart. The spoil stands for the little gains, opinions, and comforts clung to while claiming devotion; the commandment to utterly destroy becomes a test of whether the mind will obey the inner decree or perform an external rite. In Neville's language, God is the I AM within, and true worship is the alignment of outward acts with that inner decision. To interpret this verse, I accept that the surface story mirrors a mental condition: one may honor the Lord with words and offerings while the inner state remains unconquered. The remedy is inward obedience: revise the assumption that ritual suffices when the heart is still collecting spoils. When I identify with the authority of I AM, the impulse to rationalize fades, and the feeling of right order fills the chest. The real sacrifice is surrendering every attachment that contradicts the inner law, not hoarding them for a ceremonial blaze.