Road Signs
and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:8
Obedient – There’s a red, upside-down, triangular sign on the road up ahead. Do you know what it says? YIELD. That means that you press on the gas and go as fast as you can in order to get through the area quickly, right? “No,” you say, in horror. “It means to let the other person have the right of way. If you don’t watch out, you could have a terrible accident.” The YIELD sign says that you must submit to the rights of the other driver – even if you don’t really feel like it. Guess what? That’s exactly what the word “obedience” means in this verse. Hupekoos means to submit to the will of another, to place yourself under the authority of another, to assume a subordinate position. It has nothing to do with how you feel about the circumstances. I might not like that YIELD sign. I might think it’s stupid or ineffective or unnecessary. But I must still submit to it or I’m in for a wreck.
If I am going to follow the pathway of Jesus, there will be plenty of YIELD signs. I will have the opportunity to submit to those red, upside-down directions, and every time I do, I will learn what it means to be humbled. Yield means that I give up my way for someone else’s will. It means that I hear and obey (a good Hebrew word – shama) the voice of another. I put myself under the authority of a superior.
Did you notice that Paul says Jesus humbled himself by becoming obedient? It’s not automatic, even for the Son of God. In order to become obedient, I must submit. Obedience is a matter of action, not feelings. In fact, the Bible often suggests that obedience precedes feelings. If you want the right emotions in your life, you act first and let the emotions catch up later. Don’t tell me that you have to go home and pray about doing what God clearly commands. Just do it. YIELD! God will take care of the feelings (the desires of your heart) after you have taken care of the actions.
In a Greek-based world, we want to have all the reasons and all the emotions lined up before we make a commitment to act. We think that unless our actions are pure and rational, we have not fulfilled the requirement of obedience. After all, does God really want you to follow His commands if you are rebellious or resistant inside? The answer – YES! Do what God says to do long enough and your heart response will change accordingly. But wait until your heart is right and you will still be sitting when the game is over. God designed the world to work according to His ordinances. Following them, even if you do it begrudgingly, gets you into the right alignment. Which man did Jesus praise? The one who said the right things but did nothing, or the one who said all the wrong things, but went ahead an acted appropriately anyway?
Read the road signs. YIELD! No matter how you feel.
