We never took Elphie to obedience school. By the time we got her she was an adult dog and Alycia and I didn’t really care to spend the money to teach an old dog new tricks. Elphie was house trained when we got her and that was good enough for us. She doesn’t do any tricks, but she’s really cute and loves getting belly rubs.
For dogs obedience is a matter of trained behavior. Dogs get treats when they obey commands so they give in to their Pavlovian responses. Unfortunately obedience is a little more difficult for us. We’re not constrained solely by instinct; God has given us free will. We have the choice to obey God’s commands and receive the benefits. We also have the choice to disobey God’s commands and face the consequences.
The topic of obedience came up in our bible study on Sunday night. Our study guide on the book of James asked the question: if God has already forgiven us, then why would we bother being obedient to him? That’s a really good question; why would we choose to be obedient to God?
We’re not dogs who are forced into obedience.
Being obedient to God isn’t always the path of least resistance.
Obedience doesn’t always look as fun as disobedience.
On the surface and through the prism of this world, obedience is laughable. Choosing to live our lives within the constraints of God’s authority makes no sense to our culture. We’re told that the only authority should be what feels good and doesn’t hurt anyone else; anything within those very broad lines is fair game.
Living within those broad lines, though, doesn’t give us the life for which we were created. God created us to be much more than hedonists acquiescing to every lust or desire. He created us to live lives of love, beauty, truth, grace and purpose; simply living at the whim of our fickle desires keeps us from experiencing that life.
As I look across my life, I can honestly say I have never once regretted being obedient to God. Obedience has never led me to a place of wishing that I had made different choices. Conversely, I have always regretted every act of disobedience. In the moment disobedience seems fun and enjoyable but, in the cold light of day, I always recognize that it leads me to death and destruction.
No matter how many people tell us obedience is better, we still choose to be disobedient. Heck, I’m writing this post right now and there’s a good chance I’ll choose disobedience before the end of the week. The work of the Holy Spirit, though, continually brings us further in line with God’s will and desire for our lives. We may start living between broad lines, but as the Holy Spirit works in our lives and we surrender more and more of ourselves to him, we actually find ourselves walking on the narrow road. And when we’re on the narrow road of obedience, we actually find more freedom than we ever could have imagined.
Why are you obedient to God?
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