Obedience vs. Compliance

Too many efforts to evangelize make one major mistake, and it boils down to the difference between obedience and compliance.

A compliant evangelist will never be successful because he can only teach compliance. Such a speaker uses language of law, legalism, and social alienation. They have chosen to evangelize to expand their own kingdom, rather than the kingdom of God.

However, an obedient follower of God can’t help but evangelize. They speak in the language of joy, peace, and unity, and they give no thought to whether their message is perfectly formed or tests well with focus groups. They wish only to share the joy which threatens always to overcome them.

Similarly a compliant convert or even someone raised in religion and only taught compliance will move away from the faith and the imposed dictates of a God they’ve never known. Because their only introduction was through the acquiescence of another’s will, translated and presented by the ever fallible nature of humanity, it may have pierced their minds, but not their hearts.

This is the difference between “doing good” or compliant action, versus “being good” through the will of the spirit.

We may do good regularly as a result of expectations, requirements, supervision, or necessity, but this does not make our essence, our existence ‘good.’ If we only do the right thing because others are watching, our will is not good. However, if we are able to develop the habit of “being good” then we will inherently do good as…