After Eve broke the first command, she wanted to demonstrate her obedience to God.  So in Genesis 4:1 she obeys the second command and has a child.  In fact, not only is she obedient, but she also gives the glory to God--she gives Him His due.  

  This seems like true and right obedience.  However, this fruit of obedience (Cain) murdered his own brother and his descendants so corrupted the earth that God had to wipe out creation and start over!  The poet and hymn writer Isaac Watts said it best:

      The best obedience of my hands dares not appear before thy throne.

  No expression of our lives and no effort on our parts can ever produce goodness.  How can a poisonous plant produce edible fruit?  It can’t.

  The only thing worse than trying to invest immense time and effort into being obedient by our own will would be to actually succeed in that endeavor!  That is a trap that will darken our eyes to such a degree, we may never be able to see Jesus.  

  Consider the Pharisees of Jesus’ day.  They were not bad people.  They were the conservative church-goers of their day who desired to obey the voice of God!  They had such a desire to be obedient to the living God that they didn’t even play the tip-toe games we play with sin.  They didn’t see how close they could get to the line of right and wrong.  Instead, they even created a fence around the law, to ensure they wouldn’t toy with sin!  And it worked!  

  They broke none of the laws of God.  Think about that.  They were perfect in obedience!  However, even in their perfect obedience, they couldn’t see God when He was standing right in front of them!  In fact, they were part of the force that killed God!  

  The best obedience of our hands...

  To whatever degree we focus our efforts on being obedient, we take that focus off of adoration for the Lord and in doing so we lose the purity of heart and the "first and only" becomes asking God to share His throne with our works.

  But wait a minute, didn’t Paul say that we can’t just go on sinning?  Absolutely, and I totally agree with Paul!  I am not advocating sin.  I am advocating the Theology of Adoration, which first deconstructs the idol of self-obedience, before it can reconstruct a healthy theology and lifestyle for the Christian, free of idolatry.

  If perfect obedience (like the Pharisees practiced) misses the mark, then what is the answer?  Jesus is asked this exact question in Matthew 22:36-40:

   "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?"

   37 And He said to him, "‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’
 38 "This is the great and foremost commandment.  39 "The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’
 40 "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

  In essence, if you want to obey God, stop trying parse do’s and don’ts.  Just carve out sacred time and sacred space to come before Him in adoration and listen for His voice.  Let go of the burden of trying to be or do something that is impossible for you to do.

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