The word “obedience” tends to invoke a negative reaction in most people. Dogs go to obedience school, children are expected to be obedient to their parents. So by the time you’re a teen, you rather focus on independence than obedience. But when it comes to your relationship with God, the call to obedience never abates. If anything, it grows louder.
Why is it important to stay true to God’s Word, especially in a culture that labels Biblical morals as outdated and Christians as intolerant? Is obedience to God a big deal?
Full disclosure: This post was inspired by a sermon given by my pastor a few Sundays ago. Yet another reason why young Christians absolutely need to go to church!
Hi, I’m Lauren Thell, author of Christian YA fiction and blogger for teens who are ready to exceed the world’s expectations.
In This Article
Playing for Team Jesus
I was never a big sports fanatic, but it’s happened often enough for even me to hear about it: a basketball player makes the perfect shot—right into the opposing team’s basket. Or a football player gets confused on the field and races the ball right into the wrong end zone, scoring six points for the other team. If this happened to you, I imagine it tops your list of Most Embarrassing Moments Ever.
It’s humiliating to score points for the wrong team.
As a Christian, you are a member of a very important team, with Jesus as your captain. Jesus sends us out with this command:
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
Mark 16:15
Every soul collected for Christ, every heart that turns to him and says, “You first,” is another point for Team Jesus. Yours included. Boo-yah! But sometimes we unintentionally score points for the other team. How? By not staying true to God’s Word.
You score points for Satan’s team when you:
- Excuse the little lie you told your parents as “not a big deal.” (Exodus 20:12)
- Pick up that trashy novel or head to that racy website. (Ephesians 5:3)
- Encourage a friend who is harboring same-sex tendencies to go with his feelings instead of steering him to what God says about homosexuality. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
- Choose cohabitation with your boyfriend over God’s plan for sex and marriage. (Hebrews 13:4)
That’s right, any time we excuse sin or twist the words of the Bible to fit our current culture—or ignore parts of it altogether—we score for the other team. One little sin is all Satan needs to gain his footing and start piling on the points.
Don’t be caught in the wrong end zone.
Be Faithful to Your Team
This isn’t just a lesson about keeping one step ahead of Satan’s team, however. It’s about making sure your team—Team Jesus—wins. Kills it, in fact. If you look at obedience to God as a chore or, worse, a completely ridiculous idea, you’ll miss the glorious summit because you stumbled on one pebble.
Obedience isn’t something Christian teens do because they’re slaves at the hands of a relentless master. You stay true to God’s word because you recognize he is the ultimate source of pleasure, unsurpassed by any rush or gain you could ever experience on Earth.
Obedience is the ultimate show of team loyalty.
If you look at obedience to God as a chore, you’ll miss the glorious summit because you stumbled on one pebble.
Stay True to God’s Word to Prove Your Faith & Trust
Some commands are easy to follow. If you go around murdering people, you’ll end up in prison and people won’t like you very much. The same goes for stealing, lying, and cheating. Such offenses have obvious and uncomfortable consequences. But coveting? Is that really so bad? Or what about going a little too far with my boyfriend when we both want it? Who are we hurting?
This is where following God’s commands shows faith and trust. You trust that he’s given you these commands because there’s some substantial benefit to you. And you have faith in him as a source of pleasure above all else. God gives us rules because he knows what we need even if we don’t know it ourselves. I go more into this in The Most Important Reason to Obey God. (Spoiler alert: It’s because he loves you.)
Stay True to God’s Word to Show You’re Ready to Do Great Things
Obedience is the ultimate show of team loyalty.
If you want to be asked to do something great, you have to be ready to do something great. It’s as simple as that. I don’t trust my littlest kids to handle a paint roller because they can’t even raid the crayon drawer without making a mess. Your obedience says to God, “I believe in you and I’m ready to go where you want me to go.”
Stay True to God’s Word to Experience the Blessings of Holy Living
By and large, the #1 misconception about obedience is that it’s supposed to be miserable. Like community service, taking a third job to pay off debt, or shoveling manure in the stifling July heat.
So untrue! As I said in The Holy Teenage Life: Real Faith, Real Happiness, you don’t have to choose between targets. For the Christian teen, happiness and holiness are the same bullseye!
Stay True to God’s Word to Demonstrate Your Love For God
The #1 misconception about obedience is that it’s supposed to be miserable.
Obedience is, if nothing else, a true act of worship. It might not feel like it compared to raising your hands in the air and belting out “Bless the Lord” at the top of your lungs. But when you follow his commands, you speak his love language.
Is that a foreign concept to you? See my post How to Love God.
Stay true to God’s Word, even when it’s not popular, and you will reap the benefits in eternity.
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