2 Chronicles 25:3-4, "Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established to him (Amaziah), that he slew his servants that had killed the king his father. 4 But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin."

This passage spoke to my heart this morning when I read it. Amaziah's father, Joash, was killed by two of his servants, Zabad, and Jehozabad. As you can see by their names both of these men were bad. (LOL) Okay maybe the humor is lacking, but I tried. They did something that would have emotionally charged anyone. They killed Amaziah's father. Yet rather than allow his emotions to win, Amaziah decided to obey the word of God. His instruction came from the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 24:16, "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin." Often when something of this nature occurred the succeeding king would not only kill those who were guilty, but their entire family also.

How often do we allow our emotions to reign supreme? Many people disobey the Word of God even though they know better. They talk about unfairness, they talk about their own hurt, they talk about everything except obedience. I pray we will understand the importance of obedience in every walk of life. It isn't difficult to obey when there isn't any sacrifice or pain involved. Obedience is a demonstration of our love for God and our desire to glorify Him in all we do.

May we all choose obedience over emotion.

Your Friend and His,

Pastor Abbott

QUESTIONS TO PONDER

1. How have you allowed your emotions to stand in the way being obedient?

2. Should we think and then act, or is okay to simply react?

3. Have you reacted to a situation and done the wrong thing? What was it?

4. What steps should you take to allow obedience to trump your emotions?