Whose Voice Do You Listen To?

“But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20 ESV).

We listen to our peers. We give in to peer pressure. We listen to our conscience. We stand for or against an action or cause. We listen to our spouses. Well…sometimes!

But how much do we really listen to God? How much do we read His will for us in the Bible? When the metaphorical rubber meets the road whose voice do we listen to? When the Holy Spirit stirs us to do something, do we obey?

Whose voice do we default to obey?

An argument might be made that Acts 4:19-20 is merely an historical account, and not a Christian imperative. Or we could try to justify inaction with the excuse that the apostles were under a different dispensation of grace. Surely, more was expected of them! No.

I’ll admit that my faith walk is not where it was when I first believed. In some ways my faith has matured, strengthened. But looking back, I see that I have walked away from the simple obedience that was so obvious at the time. Why?

My best guess is that when I came to faith in Christ, nothing was more important than pleasing Him; but as the years went by I listened to other voices. The Christian friends that had been in the faith longer than I told me not to “go off the deep end.” The media which depicted Christians with mockery drained my zeal. And there were Christian leaders and mentors who made me feel devalued as a person and a Christian.

None of those things are valid excuses for living as a “less-than” Christian. I guess I just needed a reminder. Perhaps you did too.

Blessings on your day!