Jeremiah 7:21-26
"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat. For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.
One of the biggest, if not THE biggest root problems of mankind is obedience! Whether it be obedience to the laws of God, or the laws of man, it's just not the nature of human beings to obey! Many people have a problem with the word 'obey', itself! So what does 'obey' mean?
Obey: 1: to follow the commands or guidance of
Example: He always obeys his parents.
2: to conform to or comply with
Example: obey an order; falling objects obey the laws of physics. (Merriam Webster Dictionary)
Now that we know what obey means, we can apply our understanding to what we know of the many situations that have occurred over the last decade with African-Americans, and European-American or
any, law enforcement officer. From what I myself saw on video or read in an internet article, I can understand that when the officer gave a command, it was NOT immediately obeyed! Thus, causing an escalation of what should be a
routine traffic stop, but ended in a senseless death, or serious injury.
The majority of the times that I see someone get shot or killed, was because the situation escalated when the commands of the officer, were not immediately obeyed, or the suspect tried to flee. And that is, and will continue to be a huge problem for mankind!
Now if you profess to be a Christian it is our #1 duty to OBEY THE COMMANDS OF GOD! And where do we find the commands of God and His Son Jesus Christ? In the bible! How many of you read the written and inspired word of God, say amen, but don't DO WHAT IT SAYS!
Jesus Himself said: "I ALWAYS DO those things that please Him". He also said this in John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments."
Jesus even LEARNED OBEDIENCE through His sufferings!
Hebrew 5:8-9
"
though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,"
It started all the way back in the garden of Eden and continues to this day! Human beings, with their fallen nature, have a very hard time obeying any commands, whether it be from law enforcement officers, a company supervisor, parents, or God Himself!
Even as I write this blog post, another young African-American man was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop!
When will we learn to obey!
Tyrone
