Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. (Romans 7:1-6)
The law cannot touch a dead man. When there is a plane crash and many people die, usually the pilot (who is also dead) is concluded to be at fault. Even though the law cannot touch him personally it is still used to condemn (show his guilt) or vindicate him (show his innocence). The result is relevant to his family who want to remember him as a good man, they want him to be found to be innocent. So the law is still relevant to dead men, but the point Paul is making here is that the law cannot touch him personally because he is already dead. He uses the example of widowhood and remarriage, saying that the husband being dead makes all the difference in this case.
Paul says that this is a similar idea to how we need to live our faith. It's like you have died, your "old life" is gone, the acquaintances that dragged you down, the habits that you couldn't break, the frustrations that wouldn't go away. In their place you have Jesus who will give you love, freedom and peace.
Then Paul goes on to say something a little complicated about the law, which I'm not entirely sure about. This is the sense I make of it:
Before you were converted you were doing things that you knew were wrong (and the fact they were against the law was how you knew), you knew about right and wrong and chose to do wrong and knew you were guilty of death and much of what you did just brought death closer. But now Jesus has forgiven you for breaking the law and given you power to keep it so you have no problem with the law since your law-breaking that condemned you is now over. This power allows you to know God personally and obey him intuitively based on a thorough understanding of who he is and what he wants rather than by studying the details of the law and basing your system of morality entirely on the very specific things that he required and forbade the Hebrews thousands of years ago.
Some of us find it tempting to look for clear rules to follow. Jesus gives some rules and we should follow them, but there is much more to following Jesus than this. To really follow Jesus we must think about what he wants and do it without needing to be commanded. Acts of selfless service to others and witnessing are too complex to specifically mandate but Jesus wants us to do these things.
Monday, 15 September 2014
Sunday, 14 September 2014
Romans 6:23 // Self-made Man
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
Much has been made of this verse, but I will make it again. Death is quite a universal thing, there is nobody on earth today who is guaranteed to avoid death. Wages are defined as payment for work done. By doing sinful works we have earned our own death. If I do a good thing surely this is commendable but it doesn't change the fact that I also deserve death. If I died when I first sinned, as I justly ought to have, then I would not be able to do these good things I may have done later. So once I sin, everything I do after that is on borrowed time anyway, it is not to my credit. Anyway, as a creation I am obliged to do good doing it is not to my credit even if I (somehow) did it before I sinned (Luke 17:10).
But Jesus of Nazareth did not sin. Ever. Not only that, he did not need to do good or keep God's law for his own survival. Jesus is God, and as such he answers to no one and for him choosing to do good is purely to his credit, he does not owe the world anything. Let me explain this. We talk about a self-made man, I think Jesus was the only one in history, but I'll get to that.
Imagine a rich man, who left home young and started working two jobs. Once he had some savings he invested them, and his money began to multiply. Soon he began to buy up successful businesses and his wealth multiplied as his guidance caused them to expand and become even more profitable. This man never asked for anything for nothing, he acquired his riches by his hard work and intelligence. We would call him a self-made man. But this is entirely false. Many people work for him every day, if they died suddenly he would be ruined. Clever men set up the companies that he bought, and made them successful enough for him to invest in them. Many people worked hard for years to make his investment stocks profitable. Somebody gave him his first job, before he had any known skills or experience and before he had a chance to prove his good work ethic. His parents gave him everything for years, and even gave him some of what he needed to become the great man he did. They also brought him into the world in the first place. All along the way, God was there behind the scenes. Opening the womb, germinating the plants for food, keeping the sun in place for human survival, sending the rain for drinking, giving forgiveness to the hearts of every man and thus allowing the survival of civilisation. Nobody is a self-made man or woman.
Except Jesus. Jesus was not created, there was never a time that he did not exist. As the commander of Jehovah's angelic armies he co-ruled the universe but willingly came to earth on a mission to save you and me. Why Jesus came may always be a mystery, we call it love, but what does 'love' even mean?What does it really mean?
Jesus never chose to do wrong, not as a supernatural being, not as a natural man. He did not need to ever die. He did not need to ever forgive anyone. He did not need to go hungry or sleep with a blanket that was too thin. He did not need to put up with bullying. He certainly did not need to be falsely accused of a crime against God (himself!) and tortured and executed for it. But Jesus chose all these things so that no matter what you have done, you can be his friend, you can change. Jesus will change you if you let him, but he needs to be in control. Jesus does not want anyone to claim to be a self-made man. He wants every person to acknowledge the truth, I am a Jesus-made man, so I can return to the manufacturer for repairs, the only person who has the tools to fix me.
Jesus can.
Much has been made of this verse, but I will make it again. Death is quite a universal thing, there is nobody on earth today who is guaranteed to avoid death. Wages are defined as payment for work done. By doing sinful works we have earned our own death. If I do a good thing surely this is commendable but it doesn't change the fact that I also deserve death. If I died when I first sinned, as I justly ought to have, then I would not be able to do these good things I may have done later. So once I sin, everything I do after that is on borrowed time anyway, it is not to my credit. Anyway, as a creation I am obliged to do good doing it is not to my credit even if I (somehow) did it before I sinned (Luke 17:10).
But Jesus of Nazareth did not sin. Ever. Not only that, he did not need to do good or keep God's law for his own survival. Jesus is God, and as such he answers to no one and for him choosing to do good is purely to his credit, he does not owe the world anything. Let me explain this. We talk about a self-made man, I think Jesus was the only one in history, but I'll get to that.
Imagine a rich man, who left home young and started working two jobs. Once he had some savings he invested them, and his money began to multiply. Soon he began to buy up successful businesses and his wealth multiplied as his guidance caused them to expand and become even more profitable. This man never asked for anything for nothing, he acquired his riches by his hard work and intelligence. We would call him a self-made man. But this is entirely false. Many people work for him every day, if they died suddenly he would be ruined. Clever men set up the companies that he bought, and made them successful enough for him to invest in them. Many people worked hard for years to make his investment stocks profitable. Somebody gave him his first job, before he had any known skills or experience and before he had a chance to prove his good work ethic. His parents gave him everything for years, and even gave him some of what he needed to become the great man he did. They also brought him into the world in the first place. All along the way, God was there behind the scenes. Opening the womb, germinating the plants for food, keeping the sun in place for human survival, sending the rain for drinking, giving forgiveness to the hearts of every man and thus allowing the survival of civilisation. Nobody is a self-made man or woman.
Except Jesus. Jesus was not created, there was never a time that he did not exist. As the commander of Jehovah's angelic armies he co-ruled the universe but willingly came to earth on a mission to save you and me. Why Jesus came may always be a mystery, we call it love, but what does 'love' even mean?What does it really mean?
Jesus never chose to do wrong, not as a supernatural being, not as a natural man. He did not need to ever die. He did not need to ever forgive anyone. He did not need to go hungry or sleep with a blanket that was too thin. He did not need to put up with bullying. He certainly did not need to be falsely accused of a crime against God (himself!) and tortured and executed for it. But Jesus chose all these things so that no matter what you have done, you can be his friend, you can change. Jesus will change you if you let him, but he needs to be in control. Jesus does not want anyone to claim to be a self-made man. He wants every person to acknowledge the truth, I am a Jesus-made man, so I can return to the manufacturer for repairs, the only person who has the tools to fix me.
Jesus can.
Wednesday, 10 September 2014
Romans 6:20-22 // Key to Awesomeness
For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (Romans 6:20-22)
As unconverted people, we do not really feel the pain of our sin. We are quite happy carrying on and managing as we are, and religious people don't know what they are talking about when they say absurd things about "a God shaped hole in your heart" or "you can't have purpose or fulfilment without Christ". It does not make sense to us why we need to believe some things or obey some rules so we can live in some strange place forever.
The solution to the unconverted heart that was copied from the Greeks by the Jews and passed to the Roman church from early days was this: the unconverted fear pain though they have no interest in heaven. So it would be taught that unless they were converted they would be tortured forever in the Greek-style underworld. This fear of eternal torture finally scared me into accepting Jesus as my saviour, but it was a hard road from there before I was really converted and accepted him as my lord. I needed to be ground to the dust by inner turmoil and see myself failing at life before I was ready to say to Jesus "okay, why don't you try it then?" I didn't word it exactly that way, but it was a bit like that. I just knew I could not have a "perfect" life with myself in charge, it was actually very good, but not perfect and I wanted "perfect" very badly.
It is the quest for the good life that God uses to motivate us in this passage. Paul asks the converted: did you enjoy sin? The obvious answer is "no, not really". It's true, the stupid sins I was risking my life with did not really give me pleasure at all. But the pure pleasures started coming when I gave my heart to Jesus. Of course I had incredible peace and joy at first, but it didn't stop there. There was a transition period, where things were mixed, but the real joys were coming through and it was undeniable that they were owing to God, whereas the negatives were clearly the result of the policy I had previously pursued.
Holiness. It means a bunch of different things to a bunch of different people. I know there's a proper definition related to something being set aside for a religious ritual, but my reading of the Bible suggests to me that can't be all it means. What is a holy person like? Is it a person that always dresses in a white robe and walks around chanting Psalms? I don't think that picture fits the Bible very well. From my reading of the Bible, I would say holy can be a kind of opposite to "sinner". I know that the opposite of sin is actually righteousness, so there is a bit of a difference here. Perhaps holiness is about doing everything for the purpose of the Glory of God (to make God look good), which obviously means abstaining from sin but is it limited to that? I doubt it.
After conversion, we are not able to sin without fear of punishment. We are led to live for Christ. When a man lives for himself, we don't like him. When a man lives for Christ, people my age have only one word to describe that kind of person (forgive our tiny vocabulary) he is "awesome". Being in tune with the ruler of the universe is the key to awesomeness. If you want to be an awesome person, always making the right choices, always saying the right things, knowing how to be happy and make others happy too, your first step is to ask Jesus to be your lord and saviour.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. (Psalm 111:10)
Note: My first paragraph is not intended to disparage the claim that every person has a deep longing for God. I think this claim is probably true (Eccles 3:11?) in the sense that everyone needs God to be fully satisfied. I was drawing attention to the fact that most non-Christians I meet do not acknowledge a longing for God and seem to be sincere about it. They do have a longing for the real God, but that's different to the God they have heard about. I hope that those of you who relate to the first paragraph see in the other paragraphs that there are good reasons to come to Jesus even if you experience neither fear of hell nor intense spiritual longing.
As unconverted people, we do not really feel the pain of our sin. We are quite happy carrying on and managing as we are, and religious people don't know what they are talking about when they say absurd things about "a God shaped hole in your heart" or "you can't have purpose or fulfilment without Christ". It does not make sense to us why we need to believe some things or obey some rules so we can live in some strange place forever.
The solution to the unconverted heart that was copied from the Greeks by the Jews and passed to the Roman church from early days was this: the unconverted fear pain though they have no interest in heaven. So it would be taught that unless they were converted they would be tortured forever in the Greek-style underworld. This fear of eternal torture finally scared me into accepting Jesus as my saviour, but it was a hard road from there before I was really converted and accepted him as my lord. I needed to be ground to the dust by inner turmoil and see myself failing at life before I was ready to say to Jesus "okay, why don't you try it then?" I didn't word it exactly that way, but it was a bit like that. I just knew I could not have a "perfect" life with myself in charge, it was actually very good, but not perfect and I wanted "perfect" very badly.
It is the quest for the good life that God uses to motivate us in this passage. Paul asks the converted: did you enjoy sin? The obvious answer is "no, not really". It's true, the stupid sins I was risking my life with did not really give me pleasure at all. But the pure pleasures started coming when I gave my heart to Jesus. Of course I had incredible peace and joy at first, but it didn't stop there. There was a transition period, where things were mixed, but the real joys were coming through and it was undeniable that they were owing to God, whereas the negatives were clearly the result of the policy I had previously pursued.
Holiness. It means a bunch of different things to a bunch of different people. I know there's a proper definition related to something being set aside for a religious ritual, but my reading of the Bible suggests to me that can't be all it means. What is a holy person like? Is it a person that always dresses in a white robe and walks around chanting Psalms? I don't think that picture fits the Bible very well. From my reading of the Bible, I would say holy can be a kind of opposite to "sinner". I know that the opposite of sin is actually righteousness, so there is a bit of a difference here. Perhaps holiness is about doing everything for the purpose of the Glory of God (to make God look good), which obviously means abstaining from sin but is it limited to that? I doubt it.
After conversion, we are not able to sin without fear of punishment. We are led to live for Christ. When a man lives for himself, we don't like him. When a man lives for Christ, people my age have only one word to describe that kind of person (forgive our tiny vocabulary) he is "awesome". Being in tune with the ruler of the universe is the key to awesomeness. If you want to be an awesome person, always making the right choices, always saying the right things, knowing how to be happy and make others happy too, your first step is to ask Jesus to be your lord and saviour.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. (Psalm 111:10)
Note: My first paragraph is not intended to disparage the claim that every person has a deep longing for God. I think this claim is probably true (Eccles 3:11?) in the sense that everyone needs God to be fully satisfied. I was drawing attention to the fact that most non-Christians I meet do not acknowledge a longing for God and seem to be sincere about it. They do have a longing for the real God, but that's different to the God they have heard about. I hope that those of you who relate to the first paragraph see in the other paragraphs that there are good reasons to come to Jesus even if you experience neither fear of hell nor intense spiritual longing.
Tuesday, 9 September 2014
Contemplate
My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord. (Psalm 104:34)
This psalm is good for meditating on God, that is, thinking, contemplating about God. It is worth doing.
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Thinking, contemplating about God is a sure way to make me more like him. It is worth doing.
This psalm is good for meditating on God, that is, thinking, contemplating about God. It is worth doing.
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Thinking, contemplating about God is a sure way to make me more like him. It is worth doing.
Wednesday, 3 September 2014
Romans 6:19 // Upgrade Your Mind
I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. (Romans 6:19)
Paul speaks (and writes) to people in a way that takes their weakness and sinfulness into account. When I accepted this fact it was quite life-changing for me. I used to be quite sophisticated and enjoy confusing or impressing people with my vocabulary, and perhaps I still get a bit of pleasure from it from time to time. But I have learned that there is nothing good about an excellent explanation if it is not suited to the person being spoken to. It is not correct to say that others should learn more so they can understand me, so a long time now I have realised that it is my responsibility to express myself in such a way that the majority of people can understand.
I have tried to do that on this blog, I avoid large or unusual words, though I am often tempted to use them. Using big words is not a sign of intelligence, it is a sign of a large vocabulary. A large vocabulary usually comes with a broad knowledge, but not always with understanding. Unless I can express something in the way that a twelve year old would understand I do not really understand it. If I need to resort to special theologian words (jargon) it is evidence that my understanding is lacking.
Unfortunately we often measure the wisdom of the man by the length of his words. But this is not logical.
Teachers, speak however you need to so that your students will understand. Students, listen and obey to upgrade your mind and you will be able to understand more and more. Learning experience from the highly experienced is the easiest way to level up.
Paul speaks (and writes) to people in a way that takes their weakness and sinfulness into account. When I accepted this fact it was quite life-changing for me. I used to be quite sophisticated and enjoy confusing or impressing people with my vocabulary, and perhaps I still get a bit of pleasure from it from time to time. But I have learned that there is nothing good about an excellent explanation if it is not suited to the person being spoken to. It is not correct to say that others should learn more so they can understand me, so a long time now I have realised that it is my responsibility to express myself in such a way that the majority of people can understand.
I have tried to do that on this blog, I avoid large or unusual words, though I am often tempted to use them. Using big words is not a sign of intelligence, it is a sign of a large vocabulary. A large vocabulary usually comes with a broad knowledge, but not always with understanding. Unless I can express something in the way that a twelve year old would understand I do not really understand it. If I need to resort to special theologian words (jargon) it is evidence that my understanding is lacking.
Unfortunately we often measure the wisdom of the man by the length of his words. But this is not logical.
Teachers, speak however you need to so that your students will understand. Students, listen and obey to upgrade your mind and you will be able to understand more and more. Learning experience from the highly experienced is the easiest way to level up.
Monday, 1 September 2014
Romans 6:17-18 // Obsessive Compulsive Legalistic Order
But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. (Romans 6:17-18)
We were the servants of sin. I would say this applies to all of us. Why would we thank God that we were the servants of sin? Because that is not the whole sentence. I just make that point to remind myself to always be careful how you take part of a sentence out of context. Paul thanks God that the Romans have done what was preached to them and done it with all their heart. Not simply believed, but done. Not because they want to be seen to do the right thing but because they want to do it with all their heart.
They have accepted that form of doctrine, that was delivered or preached to them. This is an interesting statement to me. They have not modified what they heard to suit themselves. Or it may imply that the gospel they heard was not quite right but it saved them anyway because they had faith in God. Both could be true I think.
Because they wholeheartedly did what the preacher told them to do, they were made free from sin, it no longer had any hold on them. Instead they became addicted to doing the right thing. Sin is normal for this world, and sinning does not shock people much. But righteousness is exceptional, it shocks people and they respond very positively or very negatively.
You may be struggling with some sin. Is there something achievable that you have been told to do by the preacher but you are not doing?
You may feel like you are in fact saved. Do people think you are strangely addicted to doing right? Do you ever get called a legalist? Ask God to search your heart for sin and to change you by the power of the Holy Spirit living in you.
Being called a legalist is not a problem if it is not true. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. (Luke 6:26) Being called a "moderate" is usually a worse sign, though being moderate in reality is a good thing of course.
Decide that you will do anything Jesus tells you to, anything at all. His word is true and will help you to live a good life like you cannot imagine, you will not regret it.
We were the servants of sin. I would say this applies to all of us. Why would we thank God that we were the servants of sin? Because that is not the whole sentence. I just make that point to remind myself to always be careful how you take part of a sentence out of context. Paul thanks God that the Romans have done what was preached to them and done it with all their heart. Not simply believed, but done. Not because they want to be seen to do the right thing but because they want to do it with all their heart.
They have accepted that form of doctrine, that was delivered or preached to them. This is an interesting statement to me. They have not modified what they heard to suit themselves. Or it may imply that the gospel they heard was not quite right but it saved them anyway because they had faith in God. Both could be true I think.
Because they wholeheartedly did what the preacher told them to do, they were made free from sin, it no longer had any hold on them. Instead they became addicted to doing the right thing. Sin is normal for this world, and sinning does not shock people much. But righteousness is exceptional, it shocks people and they respond very positively or very negatively.
You may be struggling with some sin. Is there something achievable that you have been told to do by the preacher but you are not doing?
You may feel like you are in fact saved. Do people think you are strangely addicted to doing right? Do you ever get called a legalist? Ask God to search your heart for sin and to change you by the power of the Holy Spirit living in you.
Being called a legalist is not a problem if it is not true. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. (Luke 6:26) Being called a "moderate" is usually a worse sign, though being moderate in reality is a good thing of course.
Decide that you will do anything Jesus tells you to, anything at all. His word is true and will help you to live a good life like you cannot imagine, you will not regret it.
Sunday, 31 August 2014
Romans 6:15-16 // Instinctive Obedience
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (Romans 6:15-16)
Funny, I was thinking about this idea when I woke up this morning, I did not know I would be studying this passage. I was remembering the time on ANZAC day a few years ago when I was put in charge of a banner party for one of the RAAF Squadrons, being a Cadet Under-Officer in the Australian Air Force Cadets. I remembered how while we were marshalling, a younger than middle-aged civilian, he had some connection to the squadron whose banner we would be carrying and was standing behind us, telling the Cadet Warrant Officer under my command that the way we had been told to march past the shrine was incorrect and dishonouring to the fallen and we should do it his way instead.
The elderly veterans did not say anything and soon he was telling his ideas to all my cadets and I was standing listening to him as well. I weighed what he was saying in my mind. I had no way to know whether what he was saying was right and true or not. I knew I was responsible for the banner and banner party and I wanted to do right by the veterans to honour them properly. I also knew I needed to make a decision quickly and stick to it, to show any weakness would be to surrender entirely to the will of this charismatic man who seemed to have some connection to the squadron and therefore more right to decide on this matter.
But I knew that if we did something different from everyone else, it would be very obvious and would make the parade look silly. I had been drilled to obey orders except for an extremely good reason, and this was not clear enough to disobey over. I quickly decided. I told the man he could bring his complaint to the parade marshals, but we would follow the instructions we had been given unless given different instructions by out commanders.
The Cadet Warrant Officer and cadets looked unsure, the former asked if perhaps I should go and ask the parade marshals about it. If I had shown weakness at this point I don't know what would have happened. But I said the man could go and ask them, we would obey our orders and that was an order. They still looked a little unhappy, the man was very convincing, but they were drilled in instant and instinctive obedience to orders and they did not question me.
The man began to now focus on cajoling me, and when that didn't work he quickly switched to trying to destroy my credibility. He questioned my right to be in charge, my competence, my character and when I stopped paying attention he started trying to undermine me to everyone else. One of the veterans tried to reason with him and he went a bit more quiet. From then on he muttered snide remarks about me loud enough for me to hear.
It was quite troubling, the remarks continued as we marched in the parade right until we got the point where he had the disagreement with the marching orders. We had been told to simply follow the people in front of us, and that was my intention, he had told us to turn at another point. But everyone was turning at that point, so all his lobbying was pointless, it turned out we were always going to do what he had been pushing for, we just didn't know it.
I never heard from him again, but to me it illustrates this about obedience. When things are difficult we depend on some particular thing to guide us. I depended on following my orders and my desire for unity in the parade and it worked out well for me. God wants us in life's decisions to depend on his commandments. I was the servant of my senior officers, I would do whatever they told me to do on the parade, because they gave me my position and my right to be there. But when a man who is not my master tells me to do something I can disregard it. If I had obeyed the man I would have showed that I did not consider my senior officers to be my masters, but rather my own ideas.
Obedience to God, especially when I don't understand why, is the ultimate sign of loyalty to Jesus Christ.
Funny, I was thinking about this idea when I woke up this morning, I did not know I would be studying this passage. I was remembering the time on ANZAC day a few years ago when I was put in charge of a banner party for one of the RAAF Squadrons, being a Cadet Under-Officer in the Australian Air Force Cadets. I remembered how while we were marshalling, a younger than middle-aged civilian, he had some connection to the squadron whose banner we would be carrying and was standing behind us, telling the Cadet Warrant Officer under my command that the way we had been told to march past the shrine was incorrect and dishonouring to the fallen and we should do it his way instead.
The elderly veterans did not say anything and soon he was telling his ideas to all my cadets and I was standing listening to him as well. I weighed what he was saying in my mind. I had no way to know whether what he was saying was right and true or not. I knew I was responsible for the banner and banner party and I wanted to do right by the veterans to honour them properly. I also knew I needed to make a decision quickly and stick to it, to show any weakness would be to surrender entirely to the will of this charismatic man who seemed to have some connection to the squadron and therefore more right to decide on this matter.
But I knew that if we did something different from everyone else, it would be very obvious and would make the parade look silly. I had been drilled to obey orders except for an extremely good reason, and this was not clear enough to disobey over. I quickly decided. I told the man he could bring his complaint to the parade marshals, but we would follow the instructions we had been given unless given different instructions by out commanders.
The Cadet Warrant Officer and cadets looked unsure, the former asked if perhaps I should go and ask the parade marshals about it. If I had shown weakness at this point I don't know what would have happened. But I said the man could go and ask them, we would obey our orders and that was an order. They still looked a little unhappy, the man was very convincing, but they were drilled in instant and instinctive obedience to orders and they did not question me.
The man began to now focus on cajoling me, and when that didn't work he quickly switched to trying to destroy my credibility. He questioned my right to be in charge, my competence, my character and when I stopped paying attention he started trying to undermine me to everyone else. One of the veterans tried to reason with him and he went a bit more quiet. From then on he muttered snide remarks about me loud enough for me to hear.
It was quite troubling, the remarks continued as we marched in the parade right until we got the point where he had the disagreement with the marching orders. We had been told to simply follow the people in front of us, and that was my intention, he had told us to turn at another point. But everyone was turning at that point, so all his lobbying was pointless, it turned out we were always going to do what he had been pushing for, we just didn't know it.
I never heard from him again, but to me it illustrates this about obedience. When things are difficult we depend on some particular thing to guide us. I depended on following my orders and my desire for unity in the parade and it worked out well for me. God wants us in life's decisions to depend on his commandments. I was the servant of my senior officers, I would do whatever they told me to do on the parade, because they gave me my position and my right to be there. But when a man who is not my master tells me to do something I can disregard it. If I had obeyed the man I would have showed that I did not consider my senior officers to be my masters, but rather my own ideas.
Obedience to God, especially when I don't understand why, is the ultimate sign of loyalty to Jesus Christ.
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