OBEDIENCE

The more a man does right the less confident he will become in his own righteousness 

Obedience is doing right to manifest love for God. It is the conformity of one’s words and deeds to what He intends for our lives through the subordination of personal will and desire. A man of faith commits himself to obedience not to earn God’s love but to reflect his love for God.

Prior to making the commitment to obedience a man will lean on his own understanding and only do what what is right in his own eyes. This is self-righteousness. But because this will lead him down crooked paths, he will find himself misaligned with his creator and in a constant state of unrest. He will not know peace and cannot know peace because he has placed his hope in human hands. To know peace, he must put his trust in God and subordinate his own will.

Subordination is a decision that leads to a process because the flesh does not easily release its grip over a man’s heart. Once committed, the man must begin to do right as best he can, knowing that the vestiges of his former self-righteousness will often overcome his desire to be obedient, and he will fail.

But from each failure must come a renewed determination to do right, reinforced by the belief that through the strength that God gives him anything is possible. Slowly, through doing right, the man’s confidence will shift from himself to God.

The more a man does right the less confident he will become in his own righteousness