Be Obedient Now!
"But why do you call Me “Lord, Lord,”
and not do the things which I say?"
Luke 6:46
Young children learn quickly what disobedience is—the failure
to carry out a parent’s instructions. A concept that is harder to
grasp, however nonetheless important, is the notion of delayed
obedience, carrying out a task later
instead of when the parent
expects it to be done. It’s simply a
matter of priorities: a parent
versus the child’s. Children learn this
important life lesson:
Delayed obedience is the same as disobedience.
When the Israelite exiles began returning to Jerusalem from
captivity in Persia, their priorities were misplaced. Instead of
focus on rebuilding “God’s house,” the temple in Jerusalem,
they focused attention on building their own pleasant houses.
And the prophet Haggai took them to task for it (Haggai 1:9).
Their attitude had been, “We will build God’s house, just not
right now.” When it comes to giving to the Lord, we can slip
into delayed obedience: “I need to use God’s tithe for a few
months to cover some bills, but I’ll make it up later.”
As the prophet Samuel told King Saul, God loves
obedience better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22).
That applies to our obligations, including giving.
"Obedience to legitimate authority is one of
the fruits and evidences of Christian sincerity."
Charles Hodge
