Disobedience comes in three forms: not doing what you are asked to do at all (Matthew 21: 28-31a), doing what you are asked to do at a later time (delayed obedience), and doing a part of the whole homework. (selective obedience or incomplete obedience, 1 Kings 13: 1 onwards). Many people in the Bible experimented with all three types of disobedience and it brought various consequences (Deut. 28: 15ff), including a break in communion with God.
In 1 Samuel 15, King Saul did not fully surrender to God’s commandments and suffered for it: he was rejected as king of Israel. Many Christians behave like King Saul: partial obedience to God’s word, mission and vision, revelation, and direction. Partial obedience or selective obedience is still disobedience. When Samuel told Saul that “to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Sam. 15: 22b), he did not mean that sacrifice is not important. He was telling Saul that total obedience is a sacrifice in itself. He was drawing Saul’s attention to the wrong motives for making the sacrifice. You are deluding yourself when you justify disobedience in the name of ‘sacrifice’.
Moses and Aaron were not forgiven for partial obedience (Num. 20: 7-12); They did not enter the Promised Land (Num. 33:38; Deuteronomy 32: 48-52). The story of Moses should be a lesson for all Christian leaders. Moses spoke with God face to face (Num. 12: 6-8), and God defended him when Aaron and Miriam accused him (Num. 12), yet he was not spared because of his incomplete obedience. It doesn’t matter if you’ve told God that you will; what matters is that you have done it?
Every time you disobey God’s word, you get in the way of His plan and will for your life. To build a solid Christian foundation and persevere in the Christian faith, the believer must not only pray and study God’s Word constantly, but must do what the Word says (James 1:22; Matthew 7: 24-27 ). In Paul’s second epistle to Timothy, he notes that it is only by putting God’s word into practice that the believer matures (Heb 5:14). Only by feeding on the mother’s breast milk does a baby grow; Likewise, in the Christian life, we cannot grow without feeding on the spiritual milk of God’s word.
The tests of your love for God are the opportunities that present themselves to act, whether to obey or disobey God. In other words, every opportunity to obey or disobey God is proof of your love for Him: “If you love me, you will obey what I command you.” (John 14:15) Therefore, our ability to follow simple instructions given by God, not our ability to preach or pray, shows that we love God and that we are growing in our walk with Him.
I challenge you to live for Christ and not allow lukewarm to seep into your life. Friendship with God is not about working for God; it is about walking with God in obedience to his word. If you do what you preach, it will be difficult for you to become lukewarm.
Copyright (c) 2010 by Michael Okyere Asante
