Obedience
1 John 5:3, John 14:15, John 15:10, Genesis 35:1, 7
The main aim of this teaching is to alert you to the fact that ‘obedience’ is not a choice. I know this may sound very untrue and hard to grasp, but it is my aim that, to the best of my knowledge, I would be able to make things clear.
Concept 1: Free will
Free will is simply the ability for us, humans, to choose our actions. And it is a gift from God. God gave us the ability to choose what we want to do. Irrespective of situation or circumstance, however, there are other reasons why we don’t just choose things. In every human, free will is present and ultimate. Free will is above every other of our choices.
Concept 2: Choices
Apart form the influence of free will; we (humans) also have a lower level of decision making called - choices.
In this context, we choose without necessarily drawing from the power of free will.
It is this dimension of choice that I say obedience is not based on.
Obedience is not something you choose whether to do or not, obedience is part of the make up of life.
It will be clear in the course of this teaching that our perspective of obedience affects our disposition towards it.
As long as we think obedience is a choice, we put ourselves in a position to choose for or against it.
Example:
As an engineer, we design a lot of things, including lifts. For every lift designed, there is a maximum capacity (i.e. load it can carry). This is boldly written in the lift. This warning requires obedience, and you really do not have a choice on whether to obey or not. The limit is part of the design of the lift. (Obedience is part of the make up of life)
If you disobey, you will face the consequences, (i.e. lift being stuck or get broken, endangering lives). However, you should know that the consequences of disobedience were not designed with you in mind. You were not the reason for the stated punishment.
The punishment also was part of the design.
When God told Adam not to eat of the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden, God was not trying to test Adam or put him in a risky situation. That instruction was just part of the design of the garden. And surely there were consequences for disobeying.
The laws of a nation are put in place not because they are looking for people to jail, but because that is the design for a peaceful nation for all the inhabitants.
In fact, if you obey, you are not doing anyone a favour; you are only doing your part in making the design work.
Your parent giving rules about certain things is their way of making your life better. It may not be right, but once you know obedience is not a choice, you can work your way backwards and find the ultimate design for that situation.
Concept 3 – Better than sacrifice
1 Samuel 15 vs. 22: “Obedience is better than sacrifice”. Adam disobeyed and the sacrifices of animals could not restore the relationship with God.
The sacrifice of Jesus brought us back to God – those who are willing.
When you acknowledge that God is the creator of the universe, then you will realise that whatever He tells you to do is part of the ultimate design.... and obedience becomes part of the package.
When can you disobey?
Ø When it is not part of the ultimate design.
Ø When it goes against God’s will.
In conclusion, obedience is a short cut to gaining other’s trust.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
IOU (INTEGRITY)
INTEGRITY
Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. (OALD)
Integrity is the basing of one's actions on an internally consistent framework of principles.
Integrity is a personal choice. However, as humans and as Christians, our integrity has to be based on God’s laws.
In simple terms, I will define integrity as
“Godly principles that we choose to live by individually and consistently”
Integrity makes people respect you.
One of the reasons (amongst many) that people are bullied either as adults or young adults is because they are too simple.
People will carry you the way you carry yourself.
If you present yourself as unserious, disrespectful and abusive, people will react to you just like that.
In short, without integrity, people will walk over you.
How can we obtain integrity?
Draw a Line, then draw a second line – Be conscious of your limits. The first line will tell you the things you would like to do or not do in other to become a man or woman of integrity. The second line on the inside will serve as a safety margin to help you stick to your principles .
Become aware of choices – Head or tail do not work, make conscious effort to choose right in accordance to the principles you want to live by.
Accountability – You can’t do it all alone. Find someone you can be reporting to, to help in the times of trouble. It will help you stay on track.
Indicators of Integrity
The golden rule: “Do unto others as you would like them to do to you” (Luke 6 vs. 31). Integrity requires you to understand the need for consistency in warfare (daily living). As written by an author, knowledge and imagination are required to work this rule. Firstly, you must know the effects of your actions, and secondly you must be able to put yourself in the position of the recipient and ask yourself “can I take what I have just given”
Size does not matter: Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. (Luke 16 vs. 10). Are your actions in small matters or small environments the same as those in bigger ones? When you are alone and no one is watching do you still do the things you proclaim as good? Or you are like a chameleon that changes to the colour of the environment.
YES = YES: Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5 vs. 37). A confused soldier is on his/her way to defeat. Likewise, if you, as a soldier are giving false information or confusing the people around, then you are just whiskers away from defeat because very soon no one will believe whatever you have to say.
Living a life of integrity is a must for us believers, albeit it may be hard, but the battle is always on and more importantly, God’s grace is sufficient.
Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. (OALD)
Integrity is the basing of one's actions on an internally consistent framework of principles.
Integrity is a personal choice. However, as humans and as Christians, our integrity has to be based on God’s laws.
In simple terms, I will define integrity as
“Godly principles that we choose to live by individually and consistently”
Integrity makes people respect you.
One of the reasons (amongst many) that people are bullied either as adults or young adults is because they are too simple.
People will carry you the way you carry yourself.
If you present yourself as unserious, disrespectful and abusive, people will react to you just like that.
In short, without integrity, people will walk over you.
How can we obtain integrity?
Draw a Line, then draw a second line – Be conscious of your limits. The first line will tell you the things you would like to do or not do in other to become a man or woman of integrity. The second line on the inside will serve as a safety margin to help you stick to your principles .
Become aware of choices – Head or tail do not work, make conscious effort to choose right in accordance to the principles you want to live by.
Accountability – You can’t do it all alone. Find someone you can be reporting to, to help in the times of trouble. It will help you stay on track.
Indicators of Integrity
The golden rule: “Do unto others as you would like them to do to you” (Luke 6 vs. 31). Integrity requires you to understand the need for consistency in warfare (daily living). As written by an author, knowledge and imagination are required to work this rule. Firstly, you must know the effects of your actions, and secondly you must be able to put yourself in the position of the recipient and ask yourself “can I take what I have just given”
Size does not matter: Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. (Luke 16 vs. 10). Are your actions in small matters or small environments the same as those in bigger ones? When you are alone and no one is watching do you still do the things you proclaim as good? Or you are like a chameleon that changes to the colour of the environment.
YES = YES: Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5 vs. 37). A confused soldier is on his/her way to defeat. Likewise, if you, as a soldier are giving false information or confusing the people around, then you are just whiskers away from defeat because very soon no one will believe whatever you have to say.
Living a life of integrity is a must for us believers, albeit it may be hard, but the battle is always on and more importantly, God’s grace is sufficient.
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