There is a condition in the heart of man that plagues many who have not fully submitted to Christ. Having the desire to obey God enough to appease him, and yet not choosing to look deeply into His Word for clear direction on the course of our lives, these people go along as though they have obeyed when they really have not.
When we were raising children, often I was seen as mean and harsh, because I required obedience immediately and correctly. Often I was met with defiant facial expressions and partial obedience.
Hebrews 12:6 “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines and He scourges every son whom He receives."
A good example to demonstrate how our children defied our authority without actually refusing openly, is in the following story:
I told our son to take his coat up to his room, he balked, gave a disapproving look on his face, picked up his coat, and began up the stairs as slowly as he could go. When he reached the top of the stairs, he opened the door of the room he shared with two other brothers, tossed the coat in, closed the door, and walked away, feeling very proud of himself that he could “say” that he obeyed, but in fact, he did not.
The coat was to be hung on the back of a chair or in the closet. It was not obedience to throw the coat in the room to lay in the middle of the floor that others would have to walk around it or do the job of hanging it up for him.
The amusing thing about the partial obedience was that it would have taken two more steps and 10 seconds to do the job properly, but because there was rebellion in the heart of the child, he was determined to deliberately deceive, lying that he had obeyed, when in fact he defiantly did what he knew would anger his mother.
A mother’s anger in a case like this really has more to do with the hate and rebellion of the child than a coat laying on the floor. A child that does things with the intent of frustrating others, has a mean-spirited heart.
Covert aggression is the tactic that leads many people to harm those who have done nothing to them. These people will do things for their friends, in a “halfway” manner, while at the same time claiming to others that they blessed those they actually harmed.
When a child is told to weed the garden, the child may do half the garden or do such a terrible job that it appears as though it was not done at all, then we know we have a lazy and disobedient child. Unfortunately, I know adults who act the same way.
A child must be trained to love to work and to do that work as unto the Lord. Often when I was teaching my children to work, I would watch them and even work with them, so that they would be seeing what a finished product should look like. Spending time with them, showing them what you have done and would do, what you are teaching them to do. To tell a child what to do and then leave them to themselves, without checking their work after, is training the child to only be concerned about being able to “say” they did the work, even though their work is shoddy. We are to teach our children to be excellent in their work.
How many times has God told us to do something and we do it for a while, or only enough to say we did it, but in fact we never obeyed. God expects us to obey fully. When He tells us to weed the garden, then we should do our best to take out all the weeds, not only the big ones that can be seen but also the little ones that will eventually turn into big ones.
IN the physical world, we should be working hard, sweating, and toiling to produce work that can be seen by the world as “excellent.” In so doing we are glorifying God.
1 Corinthians 6: For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
In our spiritual lives, we should be confessing to God and others the needed change in our hearts, and asking God to change us.
We can weed a garden ourselves and produce good results, but our spiritual life must be handled by God. When we try to change ourselves we become self-righteous and our fruit will rot eventually.
When God changes us, then the change will be real and permanent.
Too many people are attempting to mold themselves into what they think God wants, in the very attempt, they are defying God’s mandate to trust Him.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
In the Spiritual we confess and ask God, in the physical we do our best and trust God to give us the strength to do it.
Often our physical work is a demonstration of our inner spirit. If we are lazy in the physical realm, then we are also spiritually lazy.
Knowing and saying the right things does not prove our condition, actions show more who we are than words and knowledge.
James 2:14-26
“14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
“18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.
24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.”
“25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?”
We are justified by faith alone in Christ, then we will see the fruit in our attitudes and our physical work as we pray for continual cleansing.
Hebrews 10:14 “For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are being sanctified. (cleansed) .”
Faith First then the Work Follows! Then the Lord continually prunes us, removing the deadwood, so that the tender plant is able to grow strong new growth.
