Is Willing To Sacrifice Comfort To Obey God

Is Willing To Sacrifice Comfort To Obey God

A HERO’S TALE

Of all the Bible’s heroes, John the Baptist might have been the strangest. If John lived in today’s world, he probably would’ve had his own reality TV show.

John could have become a respected Jewish priest like his father, Zechariah. Or he could have earned a comfortable living another way. Instead, John moved away from his loved ones to live in the desert. For clothing, he wore a tunic of “camel hair” tucked into “a leather belt around his waist” (Matthew 3:4). In other words, he wasn’t a Gap model.

John’s diet was weird too. He often ate locusts dipped in honey. Not exactly fine dining.

Then again, John wasn’t interested in a life of comfort. His main goal wasn’t to take it easy. He was most interested in obeying God.

DECODING THE MESSAGE

We live in a world obsessed with comfort. Many people try to find comfort in money and earthly possessions. Other people seek comfort in relaxation or entertainment. They always seem to be plugged into video games, TV, movies, or music.

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying life. But for Christians, life isn’t about comfort. It’s about glorifying God.

John the Baptist understood this. He realized that it’s more important to live a godly life than a comfortable one. So he did hard things for God. He lived in the hot, dusty desert because that’s where God sent him to preach the gospel. And he called people to repent of their sins even though it eventually got him killed (see Matthew 14:1-12).

We should be more like John the Baptist. No, that doesn’t mean you need to pack your bags for the Sahara or buy the latest camel-hair T-shirt. But you should value obeying God more than treasuring comfort.

BATTLE PLAN

The next time your favorite TV show is on, take that 30 to 60 minutes, instead, to do something kind for someone else. Write an encouraging note to a family member, bake cookies for a friend, or rake someone’s leaves. Sacrifice your comfort to show God’s love to another.