The house my dad grew up in didn’t have an indoor bathroom. Today, in my house, not only do we have two bathrooms, but we have gadgets and appliances galore. I just heated my coffee up in a microwave… instantly. And I didn’t need a fire to do it!

We live in a culture of convenience.

And we’ve been so conditioned by it that we can even import it into our faith. We will worship God, pray, read the Bible, serve and bless others, give and help generously, and tell people about Jesus… when it’s convenient.

To me, the biblical principle is obedience before convenience. But in convenience-drunk North America, we seem to have mixed up the order: convenience before obedience.

I’m not perfect. Far from it. I love convenience. And I like to be comfortable. That’s why obedience and faithfulness to God are a work in progress. But to make that progress we need to (a) acknowledge the seductive and distracting nature of our culture of convenience, and (b) make an effort to live and act by the principle ‘obedience before convenience.’

Jesus’ words in Luke 6:46 leap over the centuries and land squarely in our ears: “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

Choose obedience before convenience.

By Matthew Ruttan