“I only listen to people who love me”

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The other night I was putting my oldest son into my parent’s car and saying good bye as he was preparing for a fun night with Grandma and Grandpa, all to himself. I was reminding him to be a good listener. He turns to me and says, “Sometimes I listen. Sometimes I don’t. But I only listen to people who love me.” We all had a good laugh about it, but it struck something in me. Aren’t we all that way?


Think for a moment. Are you apt to listen and follow instruction from someone that you don’t trust cares about you? Are you going to obey someone that you don’t trust has your best in mind? Probably not. You will hesitate or do the opposite. You will downright disobey in an effort to protect yourself. I feel that that is the same reason that we disobey God. We are basically telling him, “I don’t trust you to really care about me or what I want and need.”

So, how do we fix that? As our relationship grows, and we realize his love for us more and more, we are going to be open to him and willing to listen to his direction and discipline (Ephesians 3:16-19).  As we realize his love for us, and we return that love, our desire to please him becomes greater than our desire to please ourselves. We would rather make him happy than eat that whole cake. We would rather have his peace and purity than to satisfy our desire for temporary lusts through pornography. Suddenly, the things that seemed so important to us in the moment dwindle and melt away.

This can be important in raising kids or even in a marriage. If your kids know that you love them no matter what and that it is not something that they have to earn, then they will be more willing to listen to what you say. If they doubt your love for them, they may not be so willing to follow your instruction, even if it is good for them. Sometimes, they won’t be willing to follow your instruction even if its common sense.

Now there are instances when the bible does instruct us to obey and be respectful, even to people we know don’t care about us. This is part of maturity in realizing that, even if those people don’t care about you, God does (1 Peter 2:17, Romans 13:1-7). We are called to honor those God has placed in authority over us, even if we don’t agree with them all the time. But keep in mind that it is better to obey God than man. So to just spell this out, We are instructed to obey earthly authorities unless we are asked to do something that is contrary to what is right according to God and His word (Acts 5:29). I have added scripture references to help you understand that. Please, read them.

So to sum up, if you find yourself struggling to obey what God has to say, check and see if maybe there is some doubt in you as to whether or not he really cares about you. Also, if you want the respect and obedience of others, be sure that you show them constant and unconditional love.


I hope you are encouraged. Know that we love you all and pray that you are enriched by what you read here. It brings tears to my eyes sometimes to see so many of you reading and sharing this blog with others. God is good.





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