My daughter wanted to take some snacks after a heavy meal. But she was refused for obvious reasons. Later, she was jumping all over me and disturbing me. I told her she needed to go and sleep. Her response reflected the attitude of some Christians today; “Until you give me what I want, I would not go and sleep.” I lovingly corrected her; “That’s not good. This is nothing but negotiated obedience.”
Friend, beware of negotiated obedience. Beware of having a transactional relationship with God. Our relationship with God must be based on submission, not transaction. We lose all to gain all (Mark 10:28-30, Philippians 3:7-12). We obey God even when it is not convenient. We obey Him even when He seems not to dance to our tune or fulfil our request.
God can give you your desires, yet you are on the path of destruction (Psalms 106:15). Don’t take what would kill you. This name it and claim it Christianity without submission to God’s will would take people nowhere. God loves you too much to lose you. When I denied my daughter her snacks, I did not hate her. It was an expression of love (Hebrews 12:5-8).
You either lose to win or win to lose (Matthew 16:24-25). Most people go for the latter. They have been taught to armtwist God. They have been taught that what prayer cannot do does not exist. On the contrary, you cannot use prayer to get God to do what is not His will for your life. Prayer has not fully started until the will of God is known (Daniel 9:1-4, Matthew 6:9-10).
We must move our Christianity from transactional to relational. We love God for who He is, not just for what He gives. We obey Him even when it seemed we would gain nothing in the meantime. Obedience to God always ends well for us, even when it looks stupid in the immediate (Genesis 22:1-19, Job 36:11). Christianity without a life of obedience is another scam of a religion.
There is no better way to express your worship to God than to live a life of obedience (Romans 12:1-2). Obedience simply means trusting God enough to follow His lead. Disobedience is a subtle declaration that you doubt God’s love and wisdom. A life of obedience is a life convinced that God is wiser than man (1 Corinthians 1:25). He knows tomorrow more than you know yesterday. Amen!
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria