We are wise to follow a command from a person with authority as the results will benefit us. One command that comes to mind is when an officer of the law states “Put your hands up”. Now I have never been on the receiving end of this command, other than being used for practice during the Hubs rookie years. If I did not comply, I got forcefully somewhat gently thrown to the floor. Our then small children would also use this command in their playtime, which Hubs found totally ego filling, until the playmates parent questioned why their kid was thrown to the floor. When Hubs gives the command for real on the street, he means what he says and the receiver had better listen or the results do don’t go well for them.

Aren’t we all at times tempted to not following a command? When we don’t follow the traffic lights, or speed limit signs the results can mean a citation or worse an accident. Instructions come on boxes for reasons, good reasons. A recipe doesn’t always have to be followed, but generally if you want your dish to be edible then stick close to the original recipe. Unless you just want an excuse to order pizza.

When we don’t follow Gods commands, our lives can go from good to bad pretty quickly. He had ten of them originally set in stone, which made them even more important to follow, allowing them to be a lasting symbol for generations. Even when the stone became broken, the commands were still set in place.

Do things go well for you when you don’t follow commands? Some people don’t like being told what to do. Like the Israelites for instance, they ended up wandering in the desert for forty years, instead of getting to their promised land because they wouldn’t follow Gods commandments. Like the criminal on the street not following an officers command, can result in getting thrown to the ground or even worse.

Let’s make the choice today to listen to and obey authority, so that it will go well for us.

For a little more encouragement read Deuteronomy 6:18.