Food for thought. Remember when you were young and your mom told you to clean your room? You listened to her voice, heard her words and then went about your way, totally ignoring what she had told you to do. Now if she were one of the “oblivious moms” so prevalent in today’s world, she would have responded to your behavior with by saying, “I thought I told you to clean your room...At least, I thought I did. Maybe I didn’t after all...Never mind, be a good boy/girl and be sure to clean your room. If you do, there will be something good for you.” Of course, you left the room unkempt, knowing that your mom would not only forget that she told you to clean it, but also there would be no consequences to your disobedient actions. Besides you would eventually get the treats promised even without doing what she had asked you to do. The shame is that so many have parents who treat them this way, allowing disobedience to continue without punishment and so many adults believe this is the norm of parenthood and childrearing. It is no wonder that self-centeredness is the prevailing attitude of the day! Ah, but here I am digressing.
Whether or not our moms or dads were “oblivious” in their parenting skills, how many of us fell prey to the same attitude of disobedience when we were young? I wonder if we realized that such a reckless heart motivation was what the Bible calls “rebellion”, especially if the disobedience is not just a one-time occurrence but a systemic problem. When we think of rebellion, it usually is in terms of overthrowing a government, a dire solution to a political dilemma. However, the Lord looks at rebellion differently. He sees it in terms of a negative reation to an established authority, specifically authority He has put in place, whether it relates in terms of people, such as parents, ministers, or governmental officials, or in reference to His Word. So, in either case, God views continuous disobedience to the authorities that He has set up in our lives, not as mere mistakes but as the serious sin of rebellion, equating it with the abomination of witchcraft (rf. I Samuel 15:23).
Therefore, as we pursue this subject further, are there precepts in the Scripture that we consistently violate because we simply don’t like and refuse to follow? For example, even though we know that we are not to take our anger against someone to bed with us according to Ephesians 4:26, we do it time and time again, nursing internal bitterness toward that someone against the very witness that Christ would have us to exhibit! Not only is this disobedience, it has become rebellion because of the repetition involved. When we have taught better and we do worse, knowing all the while what we do is in violation, we sin by rebellion.
A second example is in the area of priorities of life. Genesis 1 and 2 states everything we need to know in reference to how God wants us to set up the way we should live. He should be first (1:1–“In the beginning, God...”) and foremost. This first place is in regards to our relationship with Him, not having to do with our service to or worship of Him. That comes later. Secondly, He wants our family to hold precedence over everything else, with spouse first (1:27) then the children (1:28a). In third place God calls us to support said family for the six days of the week as the equivalent that He “worked” to bring about the creation of the universe (1:28b-30). Fourth and finally, He makes provision for us to worship and serve (2:2-3). Some would immediately criticize this set-up of priorities, stating that work is higher than worship, thus giving people an excuse to pursue their career goals rather than worship the Lord on Sundays. Actually, this is not true if one’s priorities are in this correct order. If one has a right relationship with God, one will have an intense desire to worship Him, thus making provision to worship and serve Him, carving out the necessary time in the work week for the Sabbath rest, time with one’s family and for spending quality time with the Lord. No, the priorities as arranged by God are very correct. When we fail to measure ourselves and abide by them, we are the ones in rebellion and disobedience.
Finally, if the Bible speaks in the harshest terms of those who practice witchcraft, those who cast spells, those who divine magic and practice sorcery or necromancy, calling all of the above an abomination (rf. Deuteronomy 18:9-14), where does the Christian community find the license to participate in the sacred occultic holiday of Halloween? One would have to be completely blind as to not see the imagery of evil associated with this perceived “holy day” that is dedicated to the celebration of all that is dark and wicked in the hearts of men. Yet, year after year, Christians of every stripe continue to involve themselves in this pagan ritual with no thought of how such action violates the mandate of Scripture for us to “come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (rf. II Corinthians 6:17-18) Indeed, the greatest evangelistic impact we could ever make in this case would be by our absence not by our presence even as we chose obedience over rebellion in reference to His Word.
God calls us to hear and obey. To do so will make us inevitably different and distinct from the world around us. This is what He showed us in His Son, Jesus. This is what it means to be one of His disciples. Let us commit to the path of obedience today.
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