Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.
Colossians 3:22
Working in the technology industry for 50+ years, I learned a lot of acronyms[1]. You know, those funny-sounding words that sound like they were made up by someone who wasn’t exactly all there. If you can’t sleep one night, click here[2] and read the list of acronyms instead of counting sheep.
These made-up words now come from all kinds of work and parts of society. Created from the first letters of the full title, they’ve now become so much a part of our vocabulary that we don’t even think about them.
Technology has always been stirring the pot when it comes to acronyms. Perhaps the first modern one was created for the teletype. In 1879, Walter Philips[3] published one of the first lists of these short abbreviations to speed sending messages. And since costs were based on length, these acronyms saved money. Remember when texting and social media posting became popular? Kids started making these things up so their parents couldn’t understand what they were typing.
Everything, and I mean everything’s been infected by these odd abbreviations. Companies. Products. Medical terminology.
Well, I’m going to jump right into this popular pastime and create an acronym of my own. You may know these three letters from biology[4], but my version is just as popular. It’s used by everyone who’s ever breathed here on planet earth.
D – Do
N – Not
A - Agree
We all know what this means and how it works its way into our daily lives. It’s everywhere. Everybody’s doing it. We’re born with this kind of DNA. You don’t have to sit your kids down when they’re young to explain what this means. There’s no such thing as a DIY video to teach you how to not agree. There’s no masterclass on the internet explaining the finer points of how to not agree with someone.
If you want proof, just go and stand by a stop sign. I promise that it won’t take long before someone doesn’t stop. They might slow down a bit, but they’ll just roll through the intersection without actually stopping. Or try this, drive the speed limit and watch how many people speed by.
When you ask these drivers why their actions didn’t “agree” with the signs and laws, they’re prepared with all sorts of reasons. No one was there so why stop? Those signs are for someone else. I’m a really good driver so those signs don’t apply to me. But put a police car at that same intersection and watch what happens. Every car, and I mean each and every vehicle comes to a complete stop. They look both ways before slowly going through the intersection. The only difference is that they knew someone was watching.
When it comes to obeying God, are we doing exactly the same thing? We think those rules don’t apply to us. They were meant for someone else. They’re so old-fashioned. So restrictive. We’re so much smarter and sophisticated that we’ve moved beyond these rules. God’s not at all interested in your obeying because you’re afraid he’s going to whack you upside the head with some heavenly hand. He’s not in the threatening business. His intention isn’t to force you to obey based on some threat.
No, your Heavenly Father’s deepest desire is for us to respond to his loving kindness with willing hearts. We love because he first loved us[5]. Because he first loved us, we want to obey and please him. It’s not about what we think makes sense. Or what’s logical. Heck, it’s not even about what we’d like. When it comes to love, it’s all about the other person. Who they are. What they like. What pleases them.
Think about someone you really love. When it comes to doing something for them, is it what you want or all about them? Is it something that’s easy or understandable to you or all about pleasing them? Because God is love[6], he’s always looking out for us. He’s always, always, always about giving us nothing but what’s best for us. That’s why he had to send Jesus to die for us. Because without that payment, forgiveness would be impossible.
God did what was impossible for us. He made a way back to him. He did it all. Paid it all. Died the death we couldn’t die so we could be reunited with him today and throughout eternity. And because of who he is and what he’s done, we want to do what makes him happy. What pleases him. We want to respond daily to his lovingkindness. We’re willing to agree with him because he loves us so.
Noodling Questions
What are the things that we don’t want to know anything about? Why?
Since God knows everything, why do we keep trying to hide things from him?
God’s way back to him comes through the cross. Explain how.
[3] The Phillips Telegraphic Code for the Rapid Transmission by Telegraph
[4] Deoxyribonucleic acid, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA
[5] 1 John 4:19
[6] 1 John 4:8
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