Is deafness worse than the occult?

1 Sam 15:22-23 "Then Samuel said,
Do you think all God wants are sacrifices—
empty rituals just for show?
He wants you to listen to him!
Plain listening is the thing,
not staging a lavish religious production.
Not doing what God tells you
is far worse than fooling around in the occult."

I've often thought that the occult is really bad. And it is. But what about not listening to God? Bad? Yeah, maybe, but not that bad. This verse says it is far worse to not listen to God than to be involved in the occult.

In 1 Samuel 16, Samuel gets the word from God to go and anoint the next king. He has his own ideas about which son of Jesse might be the right one to be chosen. But the one who God wanted wasn't even in attendance at the worship event. If Samuel had not listened to God and failed to ask Jesse if he had more sons than those who were present, who would have ended up king? I doubt it would have been David. And that would have been disastrous.

Not listening to God is not just an act of disobedience it also results in us making wrong choices because we trust in our own wisdom instead of trusting in God.

Maybe not listening is worse than the occult after all.

Forgive me God for not placing the correct importance on stopping and listening for your guidance and direction.