Let’s be honest. Obedience is hard. We require it of our children and our employees, but drive faster than the speed limit because rules and laws don’t apply to us. It’s not a speed limit, just a speed suggestion. Obedience is about others, not about us. Obedience is about others submitting us, not us submitting to others. There’s no way I’m submitting to someone else’s rules for my life. There’s no way I’m submitting my will to someone else’s will for my life. Rules are only suggestions, not legitimate and absolute laws to follow. Who has the right to command obedience in my life anyway? Well, I guess that’s one side of the story, but how about the other side?
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Let thy child’s first lesson be obedience and the second may be what thou wilt.” In other words, if we learn obedience, all other lessons in life will be easy. The problem is obedience is not easy. It is a lesson in life that is often learned too late. If we learned obedience earlier in life, just think about how much pain, discomfort, and mistakes could have been avoided. Here are a few thoughts about disobedience and obedience.
We disobey because of rebellion
From the beginning of humanity, people have been rebellious. This rebellion is basically because we are selfish and seek our own desires. These selfish desires cause us to rebel against God’s word.
We disobey and experience intended and unintended consequences
Whenever we disobey God’s word there are always intended and unintended consequences. Intended consequences are the specific things things/results that happen as a result of your disobedience and sin. The unintended consequences are those consequences that you never intended.
We disobey because it is often more exciting than obedience
For some reason, disobedience seems more exciting than obedience. Maybe it is the rebel in us. Maybe it is the sin nature in us. Either way, it seems more exciting to disobey. The truth is, disobedience is not exciting, it is sinful.
Disobedience brings discipline
God gives us instruction to protect us and to help us through life. God’s instruction to us is for our good, not to bring hardship. When we disobey, God, like any good father, administers discipline in our lives.
We obey the one we love
Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Obedience is rooted in respect and love. We expect our children to obey out of respect and love, and this exactly the way God looks at us. There is an expectation that we obey His commands because we love Him. Love is a powerful motivator.
We obey out of abiding submission
We submit to one who has authority in our lives. In the case of a Christ-follower, we submit to God because He has ultimate authority over us. John wrote, “Whoever keeps His commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us” (1 John 3:24). We obey the Lord because we abide in Him and He in us.
We obey out of choice
Obedience is really a choice. We can either choose to obey or choose to disobey. But, it is a choice. Joshua said, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8). As we meditate on God’s word day and night, it should penetrate our hearts. Joshua said that we should, “be careful to do.” This is an act of choice.
Obedience brings blessing
Blessing is a result of unselfish obedience. When we unselfishly obey God with the right motives, God blesses us. This blessing arrives in different ways, but God still blesses us. It may not be monetarily, but God still blesses us.
Sometimes, we obey out of fear, which is the wrong motive. As you live out your day, gauge your obedience. Is it out of love or fear?