Obedience or Performance?

In searching for some possible illustrations and images for my recent sermon, I came across this thought provoking piece:

Obedience is seeking God with your whole heart. Performance is having a quiet time because you’ll feel guilty if you don’t.

Obedience is finding ways to let the word of God dwell in you richly. Performance is quickly scanning a passage so you can check it off your Bible reading plan.

Obedience is inviting guests to your home for dinner. Performance is feeling anxious about whether every detail of the meal will be perfect.

Obedience is following God’s prompting to start a small group, Bible study or relationship. Performance is reluctance to let anyone else lead the group because they might not do it as well as you would.

Obedience is doing your best. Performance is wanting to be the best.

Obedience is saying yes to whatever God asks of you. Performance is saying yes to whatever people ask of you.

Obedience is following the promptings of God’s spirit. Performance is following a list of man-made requirements.

Obedience springs from a fear of God. Performance springs from a fear of failure.

My point in posting this is not to get hung up on the fact that this is all Law, i.e. I know we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone and no matter how “obedient” we are, it’s never going to be good enough in terms of earning salvation. Only Christ through his death and resurrection can forgive sins and assure us of eternal life. What I wanted to address is this: there is an aspect of this that certainly resonates with me and in some ways, I have to agree. However, is it wrong, at least in some instances, to start from the point of “performance” as truly desiring obedience? Take the first point, for example. How does one genuniely get into the practice of “seeking God with your whole heart?” I certainly want to, but I’m constantly fighting against my sinful nature to do so (c.f. Romans 7:7-25). In other words, couldn’t I view the “feeling guilty” as the prompting of the Holy Spirit to seek time in prayer? Or the comparison on reading the Bible. Obviously we shouldn’t demean it simply to a quick scanning of passages to check them off the list, but personally I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad place for someone to start, the operative word being start. At least it’s time spent in the Word rather than letting it sit on the shelf to gather dust.

~ by The Rev Russ on October 6, 2008.