Why do you keep on saying that I am your Lord, when you refuse to do what I say? (Luke 6:46 CEV)
Disobedience to God is never a wise choice.
I am a former schoolteacher. I once had a principal who had students repeatedly in his office for misbehaving in the classroom. His favorite saying was, “If you always do what you always done, you’re always going to get what you’ve always gotten.” Unfortunately, many of them just kept getting what they had always gotten.
I have had students in my classroom that broke the rules, and I had to discipline them. Occasionally, the same student would violate the regulation again the next week, and when I gave him the same consequence, he looked at me like he had never heard of the rule or the consequence.
This student should have been given two consequences, one for the infraction and the other for being so clueless.
We can think about our youth and be amazed at how unaware they are of the consequences of their actions, but the truth of the matter is that God’s people in the Old and New Testaments have been just as lax in keeping God’s law.
The Prophet tells us in Jeremiah 11:7-8 how repeatedly disobedient Israel was to what God told them to do. God clearly explained to them the consequences of their disobedience, yet they seemingly were oblivious that they would always get what they had always gotten, the discipline of the Lord.
How have you responded when God has disciplined you? The sign of a truly repentant heart is the willingness to accept the correction of the Lord. At times, God’s dealings in our lives are not a lot of fun, but in the end, they produce the “peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11 ESV).
The length of God’s chastisement is generally determined by how quickly we embrace it as good and necessary for our spiritual growth. No one likes it, but we view it as the care of a loving heavenly Father.
Like my students, I must admit that I have been a bit clueless when God has had to take me to the woodshed. I can’t say that I have always been quick to learn, but the process has been worth it because it has led to the knowledge of God.
The image is used with permission by Microsoft.
Ken Barnes is the author of “Broken Vessels” published in February 2021 and “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”, published by YWAM Publishing in 2011.
Ken’s Website— https://kenbarnes.us/
Ken blogs at https://kenbarnes.us/blog/
Email- [email protected]
