Have you ever disobeyed someone when they told you to do something that you just didn't want to do? I know I have. It's tough to just get up and get it over with. “Why can't someone else do it?” we ask. “But it's his turn!” we complain. We want to use whatever excuse that pops into our heads to prove that we shouldn't have to do what we've been told to do.
Now I'm going to get a bit more specific. Have you ever disobeyed God when He told you to do something that you don't want to do? If you answered no, then you must be pretty good. In fact, if you've never said no to something that God told you to do, then you must be perfect.
Wait a second – no one can be perfect! So if never having a moment in which you disobey God equals perfection, than everyone must at some point disobey the Lord!
That's exactly right. And guess what that disobedience to God is called; that's right, it's called sin. And everyone, yes everyone, is sins. It's a part of human nature; we naturally want to disobey God.
Back to my beginning metaphor. When someone, say your mom, tells you to take out the trash, what goes on in your brain? For most of us, unfortunately, we start automatically thinking of excuses of why we should not have to obey. Our brains tell us that we have so many reasons that we should not oblige to the request that said reasons outweigh those saying that we should oblige. And many times, we listen to our heads and disobey our moms. Now, doesn't it feel good not to have to take out the trash anymore? Sure it does – until mom sees you in front of the TV and the trash overflowing. What happens then? Well, you’re probably gonna get punished for disobeying her. That doesn't feel so nice, does it?
It's the same way with God. When He tells us to do something, and we don't obey, we can expect punishment. What will the punishment be? It depends. Keep reading and you'll see the punishment of a man who disobeyed God – and suffered the consequences.
Samuel said to Saul, “ . . . This is what the Lord Almighty says:
' . . . Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them.
Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants,
cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'”
I Samuel 15:1-3
In this passage, God wants to punish the Amalekites because while the Israelites were traveling through the desert on their way to Canaan, the descendants of Amalek had attacked them (see Exodus 17:8-16). They had defied God by standing against those He had chosen. It was time for their punishment, and God was not going to spare anyone.
When King Saul came back from attacking the Amalekites, he reported that he had killed everyone – except for their king, whose name was Agag. But God said to kill all of them! Well, that was only the first of Saul's mistakes. The Israelite king finished off everybody (except King Agag), but he spared the best of the animals. But God said to put all the animals to death, too! So why didn't Saul? We don't know. The Bible doesn't say. However, when the prophet Samuel confronted Saul for not having obeyed completely, the king did exactly what we usually do in the same kind of situation: he made up an excuse. And he used the worst kind of excuse that he possibly could have used; he said that he disobeyed God so that he could glorify Him.
Saul said that he brought the animals back so that he could sacrifice them to God. That was the excuse he gave. How did Samuel respond? By saying this:
But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifices, and to heed is better than
the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”
I Samuel 15:22-23
Read the last sentence of that passage again. “Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” Wow. Because Saul disobeyed Him, God rejected him a
s the ruler of Israel. The Lord said that he was not fit to be king anymore. That is harsh. Imagine becoming the President and then having your mom tell you that you can't anymore because you didn't take her advice on how to keep the country safe from the #coronavirus. That is what happened to Saul, just much worse, because he did not disobey his mom; he disobeyed God.
Now you see the importance of obedience, especially toward our Heavenly Father. If we disobey, we will be punished. But what if we obey? What happens if we do what's right in God's eyes?
Just like we get consequences for sinning, we get consequences for obeying, except when we obey, we get good consequences, like when we get ice cream because we cleaned our room, or when we get paid because we watched our younger siblings. Except, just like the consequences for sinning against God are worse than normal ones, consequences for obeying the Lord are a lot better, especially when we obey with a good attitude instead of grumbling.
Most consequences are temporary, right? Well, there are two very important ones that are eternal. There is a good one and a bad one. The bad one is death. Eternal death. In hell. Hell is the place we go when we ignore what God says and instead, we disobey. When you go to hell, you can't be excused like you can when your grounded. Hell is forever. Imagine that: a place of loneliness and fear, never being able to escape, but having to stay there forever.
However, we don't have to go to hell. That's the other consequence: eternal life in heaven. Heaven is where we go when we accept that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins – and then rose again (Matthew 27:11-28:10; Mark 15:1-16:8; Luke 22:66-24:12; John 18:28-20:10)! Jesus took the consequence for the sins that we committed; He died for us, and then He showed His power over death by coming back to life! Because of His sacrifice, we can go to heaven to live with God eternally. Once we accept that Jesus died for us and we confess that we have sinned, there is nothing that can stop us from going to heaven!
If you have not yet said that life-changing prayer, confessing your sins and accepting the gift of eternal life that God offers us, please say it now. You don't have to recite any exact words, just tell the Lord that you understand that you have sinned, and ask Him for forgiveness. Once you have done this, you can rest assured that if you really meant everything you just prayed, you have God's gift of eternal life, and nothing can change that. But before you do so, please read the next paragraph, just as a reminder of what you’re getting yourself into.
It will not be easy to be a Christian. Sometimes it will be downright scary. Jesus actually promised us that believers will suffer, but no matter what you go through, you can be sure of one thing: God is there for you. He will be watching over you, comforting you. Even through hard times, when it seems like no one understands, God does. He knows what you're feeling, and you can tell Him anything. He's a really good listener.
Please pray that God would help you to be obedient (and yes, to have a good attitude while you’re at it). You will still disobey Him sometimes, but when you do, just ask for forgiveness, and He will forgive you. Just try your best, and let the Holy Spirit work inside you, washing you clean of sin.
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