Obey

When our dog, Hershey, was a puppy, just a couple of months old, we took her to obedience school at our vet's office. For six weeks, we and a bunch of other dog owners went through various routines to help our pet to learn how to obey various commands and expectations. And we noticed, after those weeks, that she became very selective as to who she listened to and who she didn't. Rachel and I had taken her to the class, therefore she listened to us and more specifically to me better than she ever listened to Cathy or Christopher...which was rather frustrating to Cathy particularly. Hershey got very good at choosing which voice to listen to.

We get pretty good at choosing what voices we want to listen to also. We listen to the voices we like, to the things we want to do already, and we ignore or even disobey the voices that call us to do things we don't want to do or don't like. And when it comes to the commands in the Bible, we prefer to listen to the things we want to listen to, the things we like, and we ignore the things we don't like. We call them "outdated" or "irrelevant" to our lives.

Love your neighbor? Sure, I'll do that, as long as I can choose who my neighbor is and as long as it's someone just like me. Forgive the one who wrongs you? Well, I will, if they ask me to forgive them first and if they are really, really sorry.

Sound familiar?

And so when I come to Wesley's thirteenth question, I cringe a bit inside: Do I disobey God in anything?

Wow.

Do I disobey God in anything? Anything. Not just in the things I like. But do I disobey God in anything? That's a question that, if we're really, really honest, we have to answer "yes" to. At least I do. I disobey God in so many ways each and every day.

It's easy to think of the so-called "big sins," the obvious things, but what about the "smaller" things in everyday life?

Jesus says that before we offer our gift during worship we should make sure we're not angry with someone and, if we are, we should leave our gift behind and go pursue reconciliation (Matthew 5:23-24). He says if we call anyone a fool, we are in danger of hell (Matthew 5:22). He tells us if we look at someone of the opposite sex with lust we are already committing adultery (Matthew 5:28). He tells us to keep our vows (Matthew 5:37), to let an evil person slap us on the cheek (Matthew 5:39), and to love those who hate and persecute us (Matthew 5:44). And that's only one chapter in the book of Matthew. I've probably broken many of those already today! Maybe you have, too!

Do I disobey God in anything?

I tend to speed just a little bit when I drive, and the Bible says to obey the governing authorities (Romans 13:1).

I want others to think better of me, so I might stretch the truth from time to time, and the Bible says, clear and simple, do not lie (Colossians 3:9).

I can tell you one command from God I have never broken. It's in Deuteronomy 14:21: "Do not boil a young goat in its mother's milk." I have never done that. I have been completely obedient to that command.

But...in so many other ways, I have chosen to listen to other voices than to God's. I'm working on it. I don't know that I'll ever be able to answer "yes" to the question. But, by God's grace, I'm better at listening now than I was a year ago. And, by that same grace, I'll be better a year from now at listening and obeying than I am today.

Do I disobey God in anything? Yes, I do. I'm guessing you do, too. And that's why we need grace and mercy. Thank God that he does not judge us as we deserve, but loves us in spite of our sin.