“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” Tim Notke
But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of the rams. 1 Samuel 15:22
Champion: “a person who fights or argues for a cause or on behalf of someone else” New Oxford American Dictionary
Malicious obedience is exactly what it sounds like. Chances are you either have committed it or seen it exercised it from time to time. It’s when someone gladly does exactly what another tells them, knowing, and even hoping it will result in failure. It’s generally caused by a lack of trust. Trust is like a rope, cut someone off from your end and you’ll be cut from theirs as well. Leadership requires trust, but the truth is, no one who is in a leadership position is perfect, and it’s best that the leader recognize that before their champions are turned into subordinates. Subordinates and bosses let each other hang themselves with their own rope. Subordinates and bosses have relationships based on hierarchy and not on respect. Subordinates and bosses are maliciously obedient to eachother. The world of leadership is constantly trying to perfect the balance of hierarchy and trust. But the truth is, relationships based solely on trust will always result in disappointment, and relationships based solely on hierarchy will always foster skepticism. Except one. 1 John 4:16 says that “God is love.” And so He is. We can feel it throughout our relationship and life with Him. But He is also a God to be obeyed. Sometimes we treat God like He’s another human. In wanting a close relationship with Him, we humanize Him, creating something we can understand. But just as humanizing our pets promotes them from the animal world. Humanizing God demotes Him from the divine. In Him is perfection. Trust in Him will never disappoint and obedience to Him will never fail. As leaders of men we must, in the words of Ronald Reagan, “Trust but verify.” But as followers of God, trust is verified through obedience. There is a time to worship, and there is a time to get off our knees. God’s work cannot be done through us when His words stop in us. We are His hands and His feet. We are His champions. Champions don’t sit, they work, they act like champions.
Daily Journaling Questions:
How did I help someone in kindness today?
What did I learn today?
What am I thankful for?
Who did I love today?
What about today do I want to remember forever?
What are my goals for tomorrow?
Thank you for reading. You mean a lot to me.
Jake
YOU ARE READING
Daily Self Growth Journal Pt. III
Non-FictionThis is the third in a series of interactive journals designed to help people grow personally, spiritually, and possibly even professionally. There is a daily message that contains a motivational quote, a Bible verse, a vocabulary word, and a messa...
