Psalm 119:30 – I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me.
“Joyful obedience” may just be an oxymoron. What child ever says, “Yes, Mommy, I would love to do those dishes for you!” Or, what adult on a diet sees their favorite cake at a potluck and starts singing praise songs about their obedience not to eat that piece of cake?
I remember when Terry and I were first married. As we both worked full-time, we created a chore list for each of us to share the household chores during the week. We decided Terry would clean the floors. The first week of his “floor chore,” I happened to be watching him. (What wife doesn’t find it sexy watching her husband doing housework?) As I looked at his face, his expression showed how he really felt about doing this task. I had the nerve to say, “You could at least look happy when you are doing your share.”
Joyful obedience! We have talked about that comment on a few occasions, and we both agree that if we must do a job, it is better to do it joyfully. Even though we say that is what we need to do, I still catch myself often begrudging my daily house chores or work tasks. It is then that I know I need an attitude adjustment.
In my ministry time with parents who are struggling to have their teens obey the things they, as parents, are strongly committed to, I share that anything a teen does not personally own (commit to) will always be done out of a spirit of rebellion. Any obedience that is done out of a spirit of rebellion, instead of joy, will not fall in line with the blessing of God. I need to listen to what I preach.
As I was pondering the idea of joyfully doing my tasks, God showed me an area where I am really suffering from a negative attitude towards obedience. God is asking Terry and me to make some major changes in our finances, and “joyful” isn’t a word I use to describe my attitude. This recent financial plan to be out of debt in five years, and then to continue to live debt-free, came out of knowing we had to be obedient to God’s word. He is very clear in His word that we should not be a slave to the lender.
During this journey, God has opened my eyes to some truths. First, He helps me understand how deep this slave mentality gets into our psyche. He took me back to the time of Moses, when God’s people were in the desert for 40 years—not because God’s promises aren’t true, but because they were always looking back at what they had before. They literally could not see that if they obeyed God, focused on the future He had for them, and walked in obedience, the promised land would be so much sweeter.
I am working on shedding my slave mentality as I journey through this debt-free plan. I know I can only shed that mentality of slavery, not in rebellion but in a joyful position, thanking and trusting God. I know I am being rebellious when I see someone who has more than me and become envious, or every time I see things that I can’t buy, I become upset. I don’t want God to think that I don’t trust His plan for good for me. I really don’t want to stay where I am, so I have decided to change to a joyful stance and trust God that as I work and follow His plan, not mine, He will provide for all our needs.
I know that as I work on being joyful in all that I do, not only will God be pleased with my efforts, but my husband and my family will also benefit from my joy. Joyful obedience can become contagious.
