Many fool themselves into thinking they have submitted to God when they have only submitted to a limited list of what they believe to be his rules. Religions offer you a short list of what is prohibited and prescribed. Unfortunately, this mindset creates an underdeveloped ability to actively seek out God’s will, having replaced the sophisticated question of what God’s will is with a simple yes or no match to a fixed list of rules. Submission to God doesn’t consist of adopting a few rules and doing whatever you feel like in all other things. The gospel of Jesus is the way of life, and life doesn’t pause, stop, or take breaks.
Submission to God doesn’t just consist of obedience to instructions, but entails subordination to his purpose in all things and at all times. While specific instructions describe minimum standards, one’s purpose defines the ideal under all possible circumstances. Submission advances a person’s aim from minimalism to maximalism. A life directed by a finite list of rules will only advance as much as necessary, but one subordinated to God’s purpose will advance as much as possible.
Submission is a question of adopting God’s purpose, not just obeying his instructions. The idea of obedience implies the existence of instructions that can be obeyed. However, adopting God’s purpose requires you to realize that his purpose is higher than the instructions given to help you fulfill it. By definition, a specific instruction can only prescribe behavior under specific circumstances.
In order to adopt God’s purpose, you’ll need to better understand his purpose, which is to achieve the greatest benefit of the world, actively assessing and doing what is of greatest long-term worth all of the time. As you do, you’ll find that the “little” decisions you make from moment to moment have incredible effect on both your short and long term well-being. You may also be surprised to find that what is best at least sometimes violates the rules you have lived by so far!
It is possible to think you are keeping God’s commandments when you are actually fighting his purpose.7 In the same way that activity does not imply progress, religious activity does not imply that you are serving God’s purpose.8 Many common religious activities fail to advance God’s goals, and some even actively work against them.9 The religious in Jesus’ time predominantly opposed him and were the perpetrators of his murder, and too many Christians believe that they would never do such a thing when Jesus expressly warned that many of them would fight him while thinking they are worshipping him.10
Learning and living God’s purpose, for the same reasons he does, is greater than all the rules-based commandments. The Ten
Commandments are the capstone of the law of Moses. Notably, all of them are rules. Two of the commandments greater than these, according to Jesus, are to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and “love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Matthew 22:37, 39) The Lord said that “all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40) hang on these two commandments, which are both principles, not rules.
Footnotes
- 1. O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him. (Mormon 9:27) ↩
- 2. ...O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires. (Ether 3:2) ↩
- 3. And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you. (3 Nephi 18:20) ↩
- 4. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29) ↩
- 5. Make my burden your own, and in me you will find freedom from the burdens of this world. I seek and do the Father’s will in all things, he teaches me more of how he is, and in him, I overcome the world; Live as you understand me to be, I will teach you more about myself, and the truth will make you free. (Matthew 11:29, Author’s Reflection) ↩
- 6. And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received. (D&C 88:32) ↩
- 7. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Matthew 15:9) ↩
- 8. I bear witness that they have the requisite fervor for God, but lack the required depth of application. Being ignorant of the form and function of God’s righteousness, they seek to build their righteousness externally while remaining internally unchanged....You should not expect Christ to lift you into heaven while your heart remains in the manner of the world and fixed on the things of this world—this isn’t how faith or righteousness work. Nor should you expect Christ to raise you from the dead while you still do and desire what only leads to death. But, as it is written, the word is not just something you say or do, but also something you sincerely and deeply feel. This is the word of faith, which we proclaim: Even if you proclaim by your external works that Jesus is the Lord, and that God raised him from the dead, you will only be saved if you have also fully conformed your internal desire and decisions to him, just as he conformed his internal desire and decisions to the Father. For while profession of belief comes from what you say and do, righteousness unto salvation can only come from what you desire and why. (Romans 10:2-3, 6-10, Author’s Reflection) ↩
- 9. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. (John 16:2) ↩
- 10. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (Luke 6:46) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:21-23) ↩