Obedience or Compliance?

"Obedience from the heart does not mean setting aside our God-given right to question or appeal. It does not mean giving up our right to affect our own destiny. And it certainly was never intended to strip us of our sense of ownership in the work of our hands. Obedience from the heart does not mean a loss of self. Obedience from the heart does not mean compliance.

Compliance sounds like, "OK, OK. I'll do it. But it won't be pretty." Obedience from the heart says, "I'll do this because I trust you and believe it is for our best." Aligning with truth flows from a heart that obeys in trust. Compliance simply concedes to oppression. Compliance, even when it takes the form of serving others, typically turns into some form of rebellion or resentment. Obedience from the heart develops trust and acceptance. When faced with failure, compliant people blame others, particularly their leaders. When faced with negative consequences, obedient people – those who align with truth with all their hearts – own the consequences with those who have influenced them, most often their leaders.

It may sound to some people as though the obedience implied in alignment with truth excuses them from personal responsibility, because they are simply doing what others ask or tell them to. Compliant people tend to hide behind the choices others make for their lives. Alignment with truth means nothing of the sort.

The obedience inherent in alignment with truth presupposes that we will exercise our God-given rights, some of which De Pree mentions. We will question when we do not understand, and we will give others the chance to question. We will make personal commitments to others' plans, and we will allow others to express the degree of their commitment to our plans. Alignment requires mutual supportive, accountable relationships in an environment where such values can be honored."

This comes from the book "The Ascent of a Leader: How Ordinary Relationships Develop Extraordinary Character and Influence" (long title) written by Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol, and Ken McElrath. Personally, I think that although this has many direct applications to those of us called to be in leadership in one setting or another, I believe that this book has much to say on the Christian life that we all are called to live. So I strongly encourage you to read this book.

This section I quoted above really stood out to me and made me think of all the times I do things, whether at work, at school, at home… wherever! It made me think through how I respond to each situation… do I respond with compliance or obedience? Based on this description (which I think is one of the best I've heard) I would have to say that an attitude of obedience is the most God-honoring… and yet how often do I respond with an attitude of compliance. How many projects could I do so much better if I accept it whole heartedly (as long as it is a project that will not violate any Biblical or personal principles) if I just accepted them with a heart of obedience. Like it said, obedience does require questioning the people in charge to hold them accountable and make sure that I can come to a point of agreeing that the decision or project is a beneficial one. I don't know… there's just so much that this section makes me think about. The whole book is really good and like I said before is applicable to anyone wanting to live the Christian life. It doesn't provide easy answers, but it does touch on many things to help out… of course, I would say read Scripture as your primary handbook on the Christian life, but this book is not a bad resource either.