Monday, January 12, 2015

The Fruit of Obedience

“Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Deuteronomy 8:11-14 NIV)

During the Christmas Break, I finished reading the New Testament, and, as is my practice, began again reading the Old Testament, starting with Genesis.  Many feel the Old Testament is irrelevant to Christians with all its emphasis on laws and regulations, but I continue to find there great truths and very practical guidance.  

As I began reading Deuteronomy last week, this passage stood out to me because it reveals a very common human flaw: when things are going well, we tend to forget God and become less dependent on Him. For example, working with college students I see this happen often when students get into romantic relationships.  Many prior to finding “the one,” seek the Lord, pray to Him to lead them to “the one,” and then when they find him or her, suddenly their whole worlds become consumed with the relationship.  Thoughts of the Lord, time with Him, and serving Him are now crowded out by the love in their hearts for another human being.  

My wife and I recently bought a new house after a year’s search.  It has everything we wanted and we see ourselves being very content here. And perhaps it is why this passage got my attention.  It would be very easy for us to become so focused on our house, fixing it up, decorating it just the way we want, and enjoying living in it to the point that we forget who provided it for us, and that it was provided to us for the purpose of ministry, not just for us to enjoy. And there is the danger that we like it so much that we cling to it, making it a kind of idol that we will be reluctant to give up.  

When it comes to the Lord, we have to hold everything else loosely, whether it be someone we love, our job, our home, etc.  Nothing can take priority over the Lord.  That is why Moses says, “Do not forget the Lord your God.”  He has to be number one in our lives.  Yet, we are so prone to forget Him or lessen His place in our lives.  And, ironically, as with the Israelites, it is often the blessings of the Lord that lead us to forget Him.  We get so focused on enjoying the good gifts that we forget the Giver!

However, Moses offers a solution to this problem: obedience.  We often assume that obedience follows commitment, but it actually is the other way around.  Commitment is the ever-growing fruit of faithful obedience. If we are obedient, our hearts will follow. Thus, if we are being obedient to the Lord in the midst of our daily lives, the good things that come our way will not easily distract us.  We will instead be grateful and remember from Whom these blessings come, because our growing commitment to Him will prevent us from allowing our hearts to be wooed by anything else. 

Today, consider how you can obey the Lord.  Remember that obedience is a matter of the will and commitment is a matter of the heart.  If you are willing to be obedient, your heart will follow.

© Jim Musser 2015

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