While we were getting out of the van one day, Chloe had a small bag of candy in her hand. Somehow a few pieces dropped to the garage floor. This was no big deal, but I feared they would attract ants, so I stooped down to pick them up.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Chloe squat down next to me. Recognizing that the garage probably isn't the cleanest environment, I knew if I let Chloe help me pick up the candy, some of it would inevitably find its way into her mouth. I told her that I would get the candy, and she could go on into the house.

This, however, wasn't good enough for Chloe. She said, "I can help you, Daddy," and picked up a few pieces. I held out my hand for her to give me the candy. "I appreciate it, Chloe, but I don't want you to help me. I want you to do what I told you."

Chloe helping me showed me several things. First, it showed me that she cared enough about her mistake to make it right. She'd made a mess, and she wanted to clean it up. Second, it showed me that she wanted to help me, which was just downright sweet. Third, it showed me that she was not going to obey me.

This third fact was, obviously, the most troubling. As her father, she needs to follow my directions. If I tell her to do something, she should do it. If I tell her not to do something, she should refrain from doing it. I would rather have her obey me than do something that I don't want her to do, even though she thinks she's doing me a favor.

It reminds me of what God told Saul after he disobeyed God's instructions and kept some of the spoils of his battle with the Amalekites, specifically the sheep and cattle. When the prophet Samuel asked him why he'd disobeyed God, Saul said he'd spared the sheep and cattle so he could sacrifice them to God.

God responded, "To obey is better than sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15:22). God didn't want Saul's sacrifice if in doing it he was going to disobey God - regardless of how good Saul's intentions may have been. Likewise, as good as Chloe's intentions were, I wanted her to obey me, not do something for me in spite of what I'd already asked her to do.

God wants his children to obey him.

Are you obeying your heavenly father?

Parrish Myers is pastor of Pine Crest Baptist Church in Gainesville.
His column appears every other week in Sunday Life.