Obedience that Sticks.

I’ve been chewing on a statement a friend made;

“Obedience out of duty is good and pleasing, but it won’t stick. It has to be rooted in love.”
God gave me a perfect example of this during a junior high music concert this week.

We are sitting at the boy’s music concert this past Wednesday. There are many groups that perform during the evening and so the music students sit and watch as part of the audience unless they are performing. The concert lasted a little over two hours. Long. And while sitting for that long is a stretch for most parents, it was even more of a challenge for the junior high students. Some of the students were talkative, some were slightly rude and some, I wanted to bop on the head.

First: (duty)
My oldest son was sitting a row in front of the “bop them on the head section”. When the chatter became border line rude, a big, large dad got up and stood against the wall in the aisle next to them and stared. They quieted down a bit, but were still occasionally talking. Michael seemed nervous.

Second: (fear)
20 minutes later the chatter starts to get a little louder. It’s not border line rude anymore. It’s distracting. This time one of the music teachers (who Michael really respects) came and sat down with them. Instantly the whole section was SILENT. After a few minutes she returned to her seat. Michael seemed worried.

Third: (duty, fear AND LOVE)
Again, within 20 minutes, the section of junior high boys became loud. In the row behind Michael, a boy had an ipod that he was letting the kids around him listen to. It was beyond distracting. Even though Michael wasn’t directly involved in the rude behavior, he was close to it and definitely contributing to the noise of the section. I think he felt my eyes on him, because he looked back at me. With one look, I said it all - “I am not pleased.” He nodded to let me understand he KNEW. Then, he got up and moved seats to a quieter section. He seemed sad.

While talking to him later, I asked him why he moved. His response was simply, “Mom, I knew you wanted me to.” I asked him why he didn’t move earlier when the dad and teacher came over. He said, “Mom, I care a little about what they think of me, but I really care what you think.”

I’m always praying for my kids to walk in the ways of the Lord – praying that they will obey Him and be spared the pits of sin. But what God is showing me is that I need to pray they grasp His love for them and in turn, fall in love with their Father. Then, the obedience will just flow, and…..

IT WILL STICK!