Episode 6 – The Courage to Obey

Back during COVID, I was working on a book project with a new client. When we started, I thought I understood what he wanted to do, and that I could help him write and publish his book without violating any of my own principles.

But as the project progressed, I realized that he wanted to share a message that not only did I not agree with, but that was inconsistent with my values.

If it was just a case of, say, he was a businessperson writing a management book with advice I didn’t think would be effective, I would have shared my concerns and then did what he wanted. But this was a book with a message that bordered on demonic.

Under our agreement, my name wouldn’t have been anywhere in the book, so I could have done the work without anyone knowing. And our business had experienced a significant downturn during COVID, so the revenue this book would have brought in was meaningful at the time.

But I couldn’t do it.

I couldn’t be a part of sharing a message I thought was spiritually dangerous.

And God had always provided for me in the past; I knew he would continue to do so, even in those challenging times. I just had to be obedient. I had to honor my commitment to doing things God’s way.

I exercised my right to cancel the agreement and walked away from the project.

Now, did a six-figure contract drop in my lap the next day? No.

But other opportunities came our way over the next several months, opportunities that were aligned with our values and that would let us sleep soundly at night. We weren’t living luxuriously, but we were paying the bills. We knew we’d done the right thing.

Following Christ is simple. It’s just not always easy.

And sometimes, obedience has a price tag.

It’s okay to question that, to want to understand it.

After all, it seems like if we’re doing things right, if we’re following what Jesus taught, life should be easy. It should overflow with opportunities and rewards, and sunshine and rainbows, right?

That’s the myth of comfortable Christianity, and it’s not how it is in the real world. Yes, sometimes things can happen that way. But sometimes we need to learn—and practice—obedience long before we see the result in the form of clarity, comfort, or reward.

Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) tells us:

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

The rest of that chapter tells us of so many people who were faithful and obedient when it was hard, when it was painful, when it meant suffering and even death.

They ultimately received their rewards, but it wasn’t always here on earth. It wasn’t always in the form of material luxuries, or in the acquisition of rank and power.

Second Corinthians 5:7 (NIV) reminds us, “For we live by faith, not by sight.”

Obedience often means moving forward without visible guarantees.

It means trusting that what we can’t see is more solid than what we can.

The reality is that being obedient to Christ can cost you in this world. It can cost you approval. It can cost you opportunity. It can cost you comfort.

Let’s talk about each of those things.

It’s human nature to want approval, but when you are obedient to Christ, you might find yourself standing alone in both business and personal situations.

You may be the only one in the room who won’t bend the numbers “just a little.”

You may decline to participate in gossip that would win you easy friendships.

You may gently but firmly hold a biblical position in a family conversation and feel the temperature in the room shift.

Approval can evaporate quickly when you won’t compromise.

Obedience to Christ may also cost you opportunity when you refuse to take shortcuts that aren’t ethical, or when you turn down opportunities that could be lucrative but would mean compromising your integrity.

It might mean passing on a deal that looks impressive on paper but just feels off. It could mean declining a promotion that requires practices you cannot in good conscience support. It may even mean waiting longer than others do for growth because you refuse to manipulate outcomes.

Finally, there’s comfort. Being obedient sometimes forces us to have difficult, uncomfortable conversations. We have to forgive when we don’t want to. We aren’t always recognized when we do the right thing.

Sometimes obedience means setting boundaries that disappoint people. Sometimes it means admitting we were wrong—and that’s rarely comfortable—and making restitution. Sometimes it means continuing to serve faithfully in a season when no one seems to notice or appreciate your effort.

But even with these costs, and as challenging as it can be, obedience produces fruit in an abundance of ways.

It builds a strength of character that we can’t develop any other way. When you choose what is right over what is easy, you strengthen your core. Each obedient decision reinforces who you are in Christ. Over time, you become less swayed by pressure because you’ve practiced standing firm.

Obedience builds integrity and trust. Integrity is simply alignment—your private convictions matching your public actions. When people see that your decisions are consistent, even when it’s not convenient, trust grows. And trust, especially in business and leadership, is a priceless asset.

Obedience builds spiritual resilience and brings you peace. Every act of obedience stretches your faith muscles. You learn that you can survive discomfort. You learn that God does, in fact, provide—not always what we want, but always what we need. And you discover that your peace is not tied to circumstances but to your closeness with him.

And obedience keeps us focused on eternity, which is what really matters.

There’s a line in C.S. Lewis’s book, The Screwtape Letters, which illustrates the value and importance of obedience in a powerful way. If you’re not familiar with this book, the story is laid out in a series of letters written by Screwtape, who is an undersecretary in the lowerarchy of Hell. The letters were written to his young and mostly incompetent nephew Wormwood, who has been assigned to his first “patient,” which is a young man. Wormwood’s mission is to influence his patient in any way he can to secure his soul for the king (or devil) in hell. The letters from Screwtape are filled with detailed instructions on how Wormwood should attack, cajole, mislead, distract, and influence his patient to ensure his allegiance to the devil and his own destruction. When Screwtape refers to the “enemy,” he’s referring to God.

In letter 8, Screwtape writes:

“Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”

Nothing frustrates Satan more than when we trust, honor, and are obedient to God, even when it doesn’t make sense, even when it’s painful, even when we wonder why God is allowing such awful things to happen.

Let me be clear. I’m not saying that being obedient to Christ guarantees a miserable life here on earth. Far from it. Billions of obedient Christians around the world live happy, comfortable, satisfying lives. There’s a joy in obedience that you won’t find anywhere else.

It’s a quiet joy. A steady joy. The kind that lets you lay your head on the pillow at night without second-guessing your compromises. It’s the deep satisfaction of knowing that even if something cost you in the short term, you honored God in the process.

Obedience, especially when there’s a cost to it, is one of the best faith-building exercises you can do.

It doesn’t need to be loud. Don’t run around announcing that you didn’t do this or you did do that because you’re being obedient. Simply practice obedience quietly, whether or not anyone else is watching.

And yes, obedience has a price tag. Sometimes it feels pretty hefty, but it’s something we can always afford. And disobedience will cost far more in the long run.

When we come back, we’ll talk about the serenity prayer. You probably know what’s commonly said at the close of most 12-step meetings, but have you heard the full version of this powerful prayer?