Solomon’s words here undoubtedly sound familiar. In fact, they are nearly identical with his father David’s confession in Psalm 51, Samuel’s admonition to Saul in I Samuel 15, and God’s own words to Judah in Micah 6 and Isaiah 1. This commonly repeated theme is so common because it exposes a common misapprehension of God. Man convinces himself that God is ok with negotiation and compromise of terms of obedience. This thought usually goes something like this: “Since I faithfully attend church and love good theology, it is ok that I …” But God does not sit at a bargaining table. His throne is in heaven, and from His holy perch, He sees through and despises hypocrisy. Church attendance, a love of theology, and every other Christian action pleases God only when it comes from a heart that is fully devoted to Him. God does love worship (sacrifice), but not when the worship ceases the moment the service ends, and we return to regularly scheduled programming. The worship that God accepts is worship that flows into every area of life, where the driving motive behind every action is, “I want to live in a way that is pleasing to God.”