God's Way or My Way?

"But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves."

James 1:22 (NLT)

Obedience is a big word. I mean big in the sense that being obedient requires effort. It requires sacrifice. It requires us to give up control - something most men, if not all, struggle with.

When I became a follower of Christ 25 years ago, that didn't really occur to me. Like many newbie Christians, I thought I was saved and that my sins were "as far as the East is from the West." I sat back and waited for the moment God would shower me with His blessings. After all, I was saved by His grace, and learning to walk in that grace. Little did I realize that He was waiting for me to be obedient to His call on my life - and start acting like the man He expected me to be, not the same guy I was before that fateful day in June of 1998 when I said yes to Jesus.

Obedience didn't come easy to me. It was a series of steps. First, making regular attendance in church a priority. Next came being faithful in tithing. That's when things began to change because God blessed me in such a powerful way - in spite of some of my stupid decisions. I couldn't help but be obedient, even though there were plenty of times I didn't want to be. There have been plenty more time over the years where I tried things in my own strength, only to discover being disobedient has a price.

In 2018 I attended an amazing business conference in San Diego called "Wake Up Warrior." There were 1,200+ all-male entrepreneurs at this 4-day event. It was epic. I met a guy at that conference who wrote a book about how he changed his family tree. The story was about a guy whose family had allowed alcohol to control them over multiple generations and he wanted to change that part of the family tree. It was his family's story.

We all have generational curses of some kind. Whether it's a history of alcoholism, a lack of connection to God, poor decisions with money, or all of the above and more. We don't have to be condemned by those bad decisions. Each of us can be obedient to God's call on our lives to serve Him and change the future of our family tree.

One of my favorite Bible verses is this: For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. -Phil 4:13 (NLT)

Are you being obedient to God's call on your life? What part of your family tree requires some pruning? Grab your Bible and get into the Word - and start thinking about what parts of your family tree need to be lopped off!! You can do things your way, or you can be obedient and do them God's way.

Note: The book referenced above is called "The Sober Entrepreneur." Unfortunately, it's no longer being printed and no eBook or audio version is available.