Ezekiel I
And you shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house. (Ezekiel 2:7 ESV)
Unpragmatic Obedience
I’ve stopped, I admit, trying to teach my dog to “come,” because it does not seem to do any good. He ignores my command, or even goes the other way.
I’ve stopped, for the most part, urging folk to refer to the northwest part of Texas as the “potholder of Texas,” rather than, “The panhandle.” Because that region of Oklahoma SHOULD be honored with that name, since it looks like a panhandle, and Texas does not. No one has joined me. So it does not seem to do any good.
I’ve stopped balancing our checkbook on paper, because online banking gives us better, quicker financial information. Paper balancing does not seem to do any good.
But poor Ezekiel is not given that type of option by God. Ezekiel is told to Speak for God… whether the people hear, listen, obey, agree, or pay attention. Poor Ezekiel must have felt, at times, that his preaching was not doing any good.
But God said to keep preaching.
Obeying God, whether as a preacher, a father, or anything, is not a pragmatic choice. God’s people are not given the option of obeying as long as we see the good effect, find such efforts successful, or see a grand result.
Obedience to God is what we get to do regardless of visible effect.
We obey because He says. That’s what Ezekiel did. That’s what Jesus did. That’s what we can do.