Obey

"Now this is the commandment-the statues and the rules-that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's sons, by keeping all his statues and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long.  Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey."  Deuteronomy 6:1-3

"Cheap grace means living as though God ignores or condones our sins. But forgiveness means that sin is real, and must be dealt with. We cannot ignore it, because God does not ignore it. The denial of sin is not grace: it is a lie. Cheap grace means living without the demand of obedience upon us.  And where there is no call for obedience, then all things are tolerated. "Do your own thing" becomes the motto. And so nothing can be labeled as "sinful." (Biblegateway.com)  

I hear that motto so frequently among friends, family, and lovers.  It seems it has become the motto of this century allowing God to be some sort of buffet-picking pieces and portions of Him that fit how we are living or choices we are making.  As if God should fit to us instead of us fitting to Him.  This allows for less accountability, responsibility, and a whole lot of excuses.  Don't get me wrong, there is no such thing as perfect obedience, but we also take no pride in refusing sin because many of us think, "Oh I'll be forgiven."  

God is not a hobby we take up or an occasional accompaniment to our lives.  God is a consistency meant to be understood not memorized as the characteristics we should hope to shape our lives by.  It is not an abstract nor undefined livelihood as the motto portrays.  It is about learning from our mistakes.  Obedience is concrete action which is expressed through God's knowledge.  It is used internally and externally in our every day lives.  It is the foundation of this relationship, knowledge, and love which makes us obedient.  He is our anchor in times of misguided chaos and even with our best intentions; when we focus on ourselves or our own feelings-we drift!

Certainly there is no perfect obedience.  There will be times we fall or make mistakes.  It is our job to be good students-listen, understand, and use both to portray God's word. . .His character!  So next time you feel yourself "doing your own thing" or about to make an unbecoming decision anchor yourself to God.  Would what you are about to do, try, etc. make Him proud?  Do right by God not by self!!!!