Obedience?

I know someone who believes with all his heart that he is obedient to the authority that God has placed over his life. I also know the person in that authority and know that he does not find his charge to be at all obedient except in doing things he wishes to do. The one in authority has tried in countless ways for a number of years to point this out but to no effect. The disobedience continues unabated while its very existence is denied firmly and without qualification. There is every evidence that the disobedient one is acting with a clear conscience.

Who is right? I would think it would be the one in authority who is able to judge whether or not the one in his charge is being disobedient. Sure, there might be times of misunderstanding, times when he has not made his direction clear. But surely not over the span of years, countless conversations, and various attempts at discipline.

Does this remind you of anyone? Most people I know believe they are obedient to God. Even atheists believe they are doing the right thing according to some moral code whose origin they can't quite explain. But perhaps more troubling are professing, Bible-believing, church-attending Christians who – despite years of admonitions from the pulpit, warnings from friends and the clear direction from the Word of God – pronounce themselves obedient when, by any objective reading of the God's Word, they are not.

The Bible tells us that a person’s conscience may become seared so that it is no longer effective – that the person may be able to walk in sin without even a twinge of guilt. I suspect it’s not an all-or-nothing condition: I think a conscience can become seared in a particular area.

So saying something’s right doesn’t necessarily make it so. Is there anyone in authority anywhere in your life who has been trying to tell you that your ways are not right? A boss, a pastor, a parent, a teacher or a professor? Can you still hear them?

Fitting It Together

I’ve noticed that, when God wants to emphasize something, He often speaks to me in a number of different ways, For example, it is pretty much a given that the topic of the pastor’s sermon on Sunday will be exactly what God has been speaking to me during the week. Or my favorite Christian blogger will echo what God had been saying to me during my morning devotional. This morning, our youth pastor’s blogs reinforced a nudge God has been giving me over the past week or two.

But God is hardly limited to speaking through Christians or the Bible. I find that, just as often, He speaks through someone who doesn’t know Him, who doesn’t follow Him and who probably thinks that hearing from God is a lot of hooey. It might be a friend of mine, a co-worker or a “random” encounter – all are vessels used by God to speak clearly into my life.

We see this in the Bible also (and if we didn’t, I hope you’d question this post!) – perhaps most famously with Balaam’s donkey (Numbers 22:22-35), But look at Revelation: how many times does God work through not just unbelievers but those who actively work against Him?! Just see how often power and ability is given by God to the forces of evil to accomplish His will.

So next time I see someone clearly flouting God’s will, His way and His plans, may I remember that God has not only permitted this, He intends to use it for a greater good that I could ever imagine.