Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey? – Romans 6:16
In today’s verse, Paul says you are the servant of whom you obey. Who do you obey? In other words, what governs your decision-making? Is the cost of something always the deciding factor? The cost is important. It pays to shop around. The Bible says to count the cost (Luke 14:28). But what other factors are there to consider? Time is a fixed amount. You can’t save it up like you can money. People’s common excuse not to do something is, “I don’t have the time.” However, everyone has the same amount of time. It’s just a matter of how you spend it.
How is it working for you? No matter what you do or why you’re doing it, are you achieving the desired outcome? Health and energy are also important aspects to consider. If you’re going to hike up a mountain, you not only need the energy to go up, you need some to come back down. Love. Sometimes love can drive you to do all kinds of things that don’t even make sense with other factors. For example, what wouldn’t you do for your children?
Of course, the number one question is, what does the Lord want? He is priority over all of these other considerations. He’s like the umbrella under which all decisions are made. Who are you obedient to? Let Jesus be your Master and Lord in all of your decision-making. As you pray, intercede for the United States to become more subject to the Lord in all of the many issues facing this country today.
Today’s Verse: Romans 6:16
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Luke 14:25-34
25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
