Often I see the obeying of the rules, or the espousing of the rules and the need to obey them. The thing is, it is only in when seen are these the case. More often I see the lack of obeying or the talking against the rules when there appears to be no one watching or no one is there to “notice”. I have heard and spoken the phrase: “True integrity is what you do when no one is watching”. I do not know who it was that said it, but it is true and you could substitute obedience in the place of integrity at will.
“1And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.” — Deuteronomy 28:1 (ESV)
This passage in Deuteronomy is more to the blessings that come with obedience, but I am more interested this morning in the faithful obedience. In my opening paragraph I mention what you do when no one is watching and the idea that true obedience is what you do when there is no one standing around with their thumb on you to ensure your compliance. Substituting “faithfully” for “true” makes a lot of sense to me. I have to be willing to do the right thing and execute them every time to ensure that I am fully obeying. My commitment to God is the same. I am to do is will “all the time” not just when someone is watching or someone can see.
I want to be clear and indicate that I am speaking of when we know just what to do and what not to do. There will be times and I have had them, when I was unaware of the rule(s) and therefore did not follow them. For those I am still accountable to the consequences of not following, however I did not knowingly disobey and therefore did not go against faithful obedience. Now, going forward, I know and must faithfully obey even if I disagree. I can and should work to get things changed, but I still must obey in the future.
It is important to know what actions/rules we are to take/obey. In knowing them, we are responsible for them, all the time. Whether I agree or not or someone is watching or not, I am still responsible to obey. I am to “faithfully obey the voice of the LORD”. When I know, I know and therefore am held to knowing. Whether in public or in private, I am responsible to obey. Even when nobody is there to see, God still is. And you can see in the verse above that when we are there and in obedience, faithfully to God, we are rewarded and set “high above all the nations of the earth”.
What actions/rules have you been given to take/obey? Are you taking/obeying them all the time regardless of who or if someone is watching? What might be different if you were to faithfully obey the LORD and clearly take/obey the actions/rules?
Trevor's Thoughts 