Does Convenience Inhibit Obedience?

by David Rollert

Our modern world is obsessed with convenience. Why cook a meal from scratch when you can microwave a frozen dinner? Why go visit friends when you can visit over video chat? Why walk when you can drive? Why study when you can ask an AI chat-bot? This level of ease can help in some situations, but it also has a number of drawbacks.

One drawback to this level of convenience is that one does not build the skills of self-control and how to enjoy delayed gratification. When nearly anything you want can be gained instantly, then the very idea of waiting for something becomes almost painful. When almost anything can be done without effort, the concept of working to achieve a goal becomes anathema. This has many negative ramifications on one’s physical and social health. More importantly it has huge ramifications on one’s spiritual health.

Part of the Fruit of the Spirit is self-control (Galatians 5:22-26). Self-control is a skill that must be cultivated and practiced. We get better at self-control the more we use it. When people have little to no experience exercising self-control in mundane things, then exerting self-control over sin becomes monumentally difficult.

James 4:7 states, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Put simply, resisting the devil takes effort. There’s no convenient way to change that. You have to put forth the mental effort to change your thinking and change your habits to avoid temptation and sin. You have to exert effort to resist when tempting situations arise, and resisting sin is not convenient.

When convenience clashes with obedience, which one wins out in your life? When sin is easy and obedience is hard, which do you choose?

One way to start building those self-control skills is to intentionally exercise them by choosing the more difficult option whenever possible. Walk to the store rather than drive. Cook the meal from scratch rather than microwaving a frozen dinner. Go visit friends face-to-face rather than over video chat. Put in the effort to study rather than asking an AI chat-bot.

By gaining strength in the mundane things, we also gain experience exercising self-control in spiritual matters: “For bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:8