1 Samuel 15:22

And Samuel saith, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? A mechanical worship without true loyalty of the heart is not acceptable to Him. Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams. This principle, of the utter worthlessness of a dead worship, especially when it goes side by side with a lack of obedience to the Lord, has held in the Church of God at all times, and should be considered most carefully by all those whose churchgoing is a matter of mere routine.