Obedience vs. Submission--Is There a Difference?
“Submission deals
with your attitude. Obedience deals with
your actions.”—John Bevere
*crickets*
Well, isn’t it?
Let’s look at that.
o·be·di·ence
noun
compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another's authority
compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another's authority
submission
noun
the action of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person
According to these definition, there’s not
really much difference. Of course, this
is how the world sees it. But is submission
simply another word for obedience? Let’s see if we can
rightly divide the Word, and get some guidance.
James
4: 1-3 NKJV
Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from
your desires for pleasure that
war in your members? 2 You lust and
do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet
you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you
may spend it on your
pleasures.
I think that we can
probably all agree that these attitudes would be the polar opposite of submission,
and the definition of selfishness.
James
4: 4-5 NKJV
4Adulterers
and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity
with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes
himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you
think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns
jealously”?
So…to NOT be submitted is
to make yourself a friend of the world, and therefore, an enemy of God? Not my words, y’all. The Word says so. And the sole source of our resistance to
submission is our PRIDE.
James 4:6
NKJV
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“God
resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
But gives grace to the humble.”
Well! If there is something
I desperately need, it’s the grace of God.
So maybe, I should lay down my personal ‘pride’ about…whatever.
James 4:7 NKJV
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee
from you.
Yes! I
like it when that dirtbag is on the run!
I WANT him to run far, far away from me.
All I have to do is obey, right?
James 4:8 NKJV
8 Draw near to
God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners;
and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning
and your joy to
gloom.
Hmmm…that sounds like an attitude
adjustment. That sounds like I don’t get
to keep my offended spirit. I don’t get
to nurse the emotional wounds inflicted by others. Like my pity-party will have to be canceled,
and in its place, I need schedule some soul-searching and some
heart-cleansing. Like self-righteous
indignation needs to be replaced by a spirit of reconciliation and restoration.
That is way more than just a sheer,
begrudging obedience, friends.
If any of you are parents, or teachers, or
work with children in any way, you will no doubt be able to relate to what I’m
saying. You know how, when a child has
been corrected, the first response of the child usually looks a LOT like an
offended spirit? They stomp. They pout.
They stick out the lower lip.
They might, if they have a chance, slam a door. Oh, sure, they stopped doing what they were
doing. Technically, they OBEYED.
Isn’t that good enough?
*returnofthecrickets*
Well…isn’t
it?
That doesn’t seem to be the spirit of James
4.
That’s because if you simply obey, but you haven’t done anything to
correct your attitude, you’ll harbor an offended spirit. It’s like you’ve offered refuge, or clemency,
to a deceiving spirit. Because offense is the opposite of love.
Remember 1 Corinthians 13?
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NKJV
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not
parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its
own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices
in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things.
Could you
possibly put offense in this
scripture, in place of love? Let’s try: “Offense suffers long and is kind; offense
does not envy; offense does not parade itself, is not puffed up; offense does
not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does
not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; offense bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Are you
laughing maniacally yet? Isn’t it
preposterous?
Obedience
without love is just a resentful following of directions. Obedience mixed with love is submission.
“But won’t
I just be letting someone stick it to me if I submit? Won’t I just make myself a doormat? A patsy?
A loser wearing a big sign that says ‘Kick Me’?”
What does
the Word say? Remember James 4? The very next verse says it all:
James
4: 10
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
When
you humble yourself, God knows.
When you humble yourself, He
sees. Yesterday, I posted about the
great man of God who just gained his heavenly reward, Bishop T. F. Tenney. He was known for his one-liners, and this one
has profoundly impacted my spirit: “It’s
YOUR job to humble yourself. It’s God’s
job to promote you. If you insist on
doing HIS job, He’ll do yours.”
That
tells me that I will never lose by
submission, because when I keep a humble, right attitude, God’s hands are
untied to take care of me, and He
will do it RIGHT. I don’t have to worry
about how. That is His job. Mine is to keep my spirit pure. This is not a new idea, either:
Proverbs 4:6 NKJV
Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
The
issues of life. If I diligently
work to keep my heart pure, and free from the trash that the enemy brings along
to cause an infection in my spirit, then the issues of life should remain in
their proper place. I won’t be derailed,
or sidelined by offense. I won’t allow
petty issues—or even big, traumatic issues—to send my life off-course. I’ll stay close to Him, drawing near to Him
every day. I’ll cleanse my hands and
purify my heart, and pray for Him to eliminate every symptom of
double-mindedness from my spirit. I’ll
seek reconciliation wherever possible, and pray for those who spitefully used
me. Lest you think I’m preaching to
everyone else, and not myself, I’m still a work in progress, y’all. God is definitely got His work cut out for Him, but I desire His help. I don’t want anything to impede my
relationship with Him. Psalm 24 sums it
up beautifully:
Psalm 24:3-5 NKJV
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
I’m
not worthy of it, Lord—but I am grateful
for your blessing. I pray that
submission to all worthy, holy things will
be a hallmark of the rest of my life. Amen!
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