What Does it Mean to Obey?...Continued from page 2
Nicole Mahaney Whitacre
There are sensations of unbounded independence that are not true freedom because they deny truth and are destined for calamity. For example, two women may jump from an airplane and experience the thrilling freedom of free-falling. But there is a difference: one is encumbered by a parachute on her back and the other is free from this burden. Which person is most free? The one without the parachute feels free—even freer, since she does not feel the constraints of the parachute straps. But she is not truly free. She is in bondage to the force of gravity and to the deception that all is well because she feels unencumbered. This false sense of freedom is in fact bondage to calamity which is sure to happen after a fleeting moment of pleasure.3
Disobedience to authority isn’t true freedom but rather a dangerous choice with inevitable consequences. After describing the blessings of obedience in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, God spells out the consequences for His people if they do not obey His commands (vv. 15-68). If the many blessings did not convince you that obedience is a good idea, I would encourage you to read the rest of Deuteronomy 28. The alternative is terrible.
We all deserve these consequences, for who of us hasn’t disobeyed? Yet once again we see the marvelous mercy of God: His Son took all the punishment for our disobedience. What’s more, by His Spirit, we can now choose to obey: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now . . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13).
Janelle didn’t see at first how obeying Mom and confronting Mike would result in blessing. But she found out recently. You see, Mike and Janelle were married on June 1 of 2003.
Mike still remembers Janelle’s phone call that day, and now he is so grateful that she pointed out his sin. Today he is a young man with a passion for God and a love for his local church. In fact, he serves as a pastoral intern. Janelle’s submission to parental authority and her courage to confront made him realize that she was the kind of woman he wanted to marry (not to mention that he thought she was very pretty!).
Now this doesn’t mean that the next time you confront a guy, he’s the one you’re going to marry. But I guarantee that God’s blessings will be no less lavish on your life when you choose to obey your mom.
1. Paul David Tripp, Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P&R Publishing, 2001), 76.
2. Tedd Tripp, Shepherding a Child’s Heart (Wapwallopen, Pa.: Shepherd Press, 1995), 135.
3. John Piper, “A Vision of Biblical Complementarity: Manhood and Womanhood Defined According to the Bible,” in Recovering Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, ed. John Piper and Wayne Grudem (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1991), 47.