Definition of Obedience: “compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority.”
In 1961 the State of Israel brought Adolph Eichmann to trial in the German city of Nuremburg. Eichmann was being tried for his role in the Nazi “Final Solution” where he orchestrated the deportation of Jews, Gypsies and other dissidents to death camps across Germany and Poland. Eichmann’s defense was that he was following orders from his superiors. Psychological examinations revealed no evidence of mental health disorders which might explain his actions. There was some sense that there was something about German citizens that made them more likely to follow orders and perform these heinous acts.
Stanley Milgram wanted to find out if Eichmann’s blind following of orders were indeed specific to Germans or more widespread. He set up an experiment where a subject was led to believe that he was administering electric shock to a person whenever the person did not answer a question accurately (the shocking mechanism was not real). If the subject balked at increasing the voltage from 15 to 450 volts in 15 volt increments, he was prodded more and more forcefully to deliver the higher shock. 65% of the subjects administered shocks up to the max of 450 volts even if the victim screamed in pain and complained of heart problems or wanted out of the experiment. The conclusion being that we are all capable of following orders given by persons in what is considered to be an authority position.
In today’s Gospel we have the story of Joseph considering to quietly divorce Mary after he discovers that she is pregnant. The two have been betrothed (essentially they are married) but have not yet gone through the nissu’in (moving in together). These two stages can be separated for up to a year. Presumably to verify paternity if the woman should conceive. Societal pressure would lead to, by convention, Joseph divorcing Mary. And that is his intention until in a dream he is instructed by an angel to remain with her and take her under his roof. And he complies.
We know that Mary is often called the “New Eve” with the difference being that Mary’s says “Yes” to God’s request to carry His son. Eve, by contrast, turned her back on God’s command by eating of the fruit of the forbidden tree. But instead listening to the promptings of the devil.
We see several examples here where individuals are confronted with a decision as to whether follow orders. Whether or not to “comply with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority.” In all cases, except for Eve’s response to God, we see obedience. Some with favorable results and in other cases, such as with Eichmann, horrible results.
So if we are all capable of following ill-conceived orders, how do we decide what orders to follow and which to ignore? I think the answer to that question can be found in an alternate definition of obedience:
Biblical Definition of Obedience: “biblical obedience to God means to hear, trust, submit and surrender to God and his Word.”
Mary and Joseph did not hesitate to accept God’s command and to trust His Word. And the outcome was the salvation of the world through His Son, Jesus Christ. But how do we know when we are hearing God’s word? Well, this is from the website, “Counting My Blessings”. 5 ways to Know if Something is From God.
- Pray – Prayer is dialogue with God. And without talking to God, how are you going to know what He is asking us? How would you know the will of a teacher, parent, coach, etc. without being in dialogue with them?
- Does it Glorify God – If I do this thing that I am considering will it shine glory on God, will it improve my relationship with my family, will it lead me to serve others?
- Does it Agree with Scripture – God would never ask you to do something that is against His commandments. He would not ask you to steal, kill innocent life, lie, gossip, commit adultery. Regardless of what the end results might be. Former Notre Dame football coach, Lou Holtz, once said that there is “never a right time to do the wrong thing and there never is a wrong time to do the right thing”. And if you are uncertain as to what the right thing is…Get Out Your Bible.
- WAIT – If God is calling you to do the right thing, He will not cease calling because you have not taken His advice yet. Things will happen in God’s time. Don’t force it if you are uncertain if this is God’s will. The most grievous errors I have made in my life is when I decided that a certain path was right and forced things even in the face of turmoil. My wife and I are trying to decide whether it is correct for us to move to another state. We have been trying to make this decision for over 5 years. We have been gradually spending more time at our proposed new home state in order to allow things to play out gradually and assess things along the way.
- Trust God to Accomplish His Will in Your Life – If you give Him time, whatever time He needs, He will direct you along the right path. We have a culture who wants our answers NOW. But this is not how God operates. We know that God is reliable. We know He speaks the truth and we also know that He is reliable. This is the definition of trust.
Talk to God, Keep Him at the Forefront of your decisions, read about Him in Scripture, Wait for an answer and Trust He will be there for you. When the time is right, the correct decision will almost make itself. This is what Mary and Joseph did. They are a model for all of us.
On Another Note:
About a year ago I mentioned in one of my posts about a woman at the abortion clinic we pray at elected to not go through with the abortion and our prayer group helped her get started. She is doing well. Had the baby (very cute kid), is working, and has secure lodging. We have had several women elect to not go through with having an abortion and a few of these needed our help to get on their feet. We currently have a woman with three children, she just left an abusive situation and was homeless. We have her in temporary housing, she is working with a crisis pregnancy center and is getting medical care.
If you are willing to help with a donation, please PM me on Facebook and I can get you the info as to where to send funds. One of the made up criticisms of the pro life movement by the pro abortion people is that we do not care for the woman. Only the baby. That is not true and the community helping these women are proof of that. Thank you ahead of time.
