Quotes About Obedience

C. S. Lewis once wrote that man has two clues to the meaning of the universe. One is the knowledge of a law that he did not make but is obligated to keep; the other is the knowledge that he does not and cannot keep it.

He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30 KJV).

process of "automatic osmosis" — the seeping of predigested thoughts along the Party line into all subordinate minds, disciplined to accept. The members become ideological sleepwalkers, drugged into complete obedience by an unconscious discipline.

the gospel is not only a message of salvation but a way of life.

Many people regard leaders as natually gifted with intellect, personal forcefulness, and enthusiasm. Such qualities certainly enhance leadership potential, but they do not define the spiritual leader. True leaders must be willing to suffer for the sake of objectives great enough to demand their wholehearted obedience. Spiritual leaders are not elected, appointed, or created by synods or churchly assemblies. God alone makes them.

What strained and anxious lives dogs must lead, so emotionally involved in the world of men, whose affections they strive endlessly to secure, whose authority they are expected unquestioningly to obey, and whose minds they can never do more than imperfectly reach and comprehend.

have described three major kinds of tests: the integrity check, the obedience check, and the word check.

knocking on his superior's

unquestioning obedience to "absolute" rules—turns out to be the single least productive thing we can do for our children's moral development.

I eventually learned to correct behaviors by having my children recognize and name the problem themselves. Replace "Don't pull the dog's ears" with "Why is pulling the dog's ears a bad idea?" Very young kids can grapple with that, and you've required them to reason, not just to obey. Good practice.

To be the man after God's own heart is not to be sinlessly perfect but to be, among other things, utterly submissive to the accusing word of God.

In many cases, our need to wonder about or be told what God wants in a certain situation is nothing short of a clear indication of how little we are engaged in His work.

The idea of having faith in Jesus has come to be totally isolated from being his apprentice and learning how to do what he said.

The good news is that when we do the Lord's work in the Lord's way, we are assured of His blessings to help us.

Climb a mountain of bodies under heavy fire to a dead end. Why would we do that, sir? Because the Emperor tells you to.

Ultimately we have nothing to fear. Jesus loves us, and he invites us to be confident in that love. As we seek to obey Him, we are not called to assess the risk involved and determine whether or not obedience will be beneficial or safe for us. We are simply called to trust and obey.

If a teacher said they needed a kid to jump off the roof, Andrea would

We had to walk a million hundred miles back to class in single file. Everybody was being really quiet. Nobody wanted to get in trouble with Mr. Klutz. I looked around for Mr. Granite, but I couldn't find him.

Oh, one more thing, A.J. Clean your room. It's a pigsty.

As Thomas Merton put it, "A tree gives glory to God by being a tree. For in being what God means it to be it is obeying Him.

After fifty-five years of dedicating his life and work to the story of ethical systems, Sol Weintraub had come to a single, unshakable conclusion: any allegiance to a deity or concept or universal principal which put obedience above decent behavior toward an innocent human being was evil.

You, Sunshine, are a hostage on my ship. Do as ye're told and your stay here will be short, much to the benefit and relief of us both.

If you work hard and stay in line, the machines feed you and keep you warm and alive. You learn to ignore the sharp crack of the sentry guns. Force yourself to forget what the sound means. You look for the carrot. Stop seeing the stick.

If my activity is human in origin, it will fail. • If my activity is from God, nobody will be able to stop it.