And if you’re someone who winces at the word obedience—why is that?
Sometimes it feels like our churches are filled with older sons, as in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15): our obedience is for the purpose of getting things from God.
We try to be faithful because we feel that warrants more love from our Father. Like the older son who got angry when the younger son received a feast after rebelling against his Dad. The older son said,
“All these years I have faithfully served you—not once disobeying you. And I have never received a party like this! But my younger brother, who wastes his inheritance on sinful, fleshly pursuits is celebrated when he returns home.”
The older brother saw his obedience as something his father was indebted to. He didn’t obey because he loved his father, he obeyed because he loved the blessings his father would give him.
I look around at many conservative Anabaptists and see this same pattern happening.
We gain a sense of self-righteousness because we obey particular principles that make us stick out. It’s obvious we’re “extra obedient.”
That’s why we tend to demonize other Christians who don’t obey as we do. Surely they don’t get as much love from God since they aren’t being as faithful.
Timothy Keller says,
“If like the elder brother, you believe God ought to bless you and help you because you have worked so hard to obey him and be a good person, then Jesus may be your helper, your example, even your inspiration, but he is not your Savior. You are serving as your own Savior.”
He goes on to say that there are two ways to serve as our own Savior: “One is by breaking all the moral laws and setting our own course, and one is by keeping all the moral laws and being very, very good.”
This piety—being very, very good—is what is making many of my generation react. While we obey physically, there is mayhem in our private lives.
But we keep it hush, hush. Throw it under the rug. There’s too high a reputation to protect.
So people leave.
That kind of “faithful obedience” backed up with lack of depth, authenticity and transparency turns off anyone truly seeking the life of God.
But does that mean we should quit obeying?
Are we any more on the right track if we throw out principles simply because the people teaching them aren’t perfect in their walk with God?
We’re all about love and extending grace, but it seems like we have an inability to extend it to our own people. Our love and grace goes only as far as our own agendas. If it gets us what we want, we’re all for it. But not if it means we need to accept what we have.
Isn’t that inconsistency? The same thing that we experience with the people that frustrate us?
The sin of the brothers in this parable is that they weren’t concerned about their father’s pleasure; only their own.
Is our choice to lay aside biblical principles and reasonable applications to them based on a desire to bring greater pleasure to our Heavenly Father? Or is it just a desire for more personal freedom?
I know in my life I too quickly approach God out of selfish ambition. My drive for obedience to Him can be born from wanting to look good to others. Other days, my resistance to obedience is because I don’t like having a lord.
Oh, that we would truly seek what brings pleasure and glory to God. That God’s glory would be our focus and goal in obedience, in ministry, and in love for people.
Question: Why do you obey God? Let’s talk about it here.
Recommendation: The book I refer to by Timothy Keller is The Prodigal God. I highly recommend reading this short discourse on recovering the heart of the Christian faith. You can get it on Amazon here.
Recommendation: The book I refer to by Timothy Keller is 