Adherence

Adherence

12/21/14

This is a word that has a direct purpose with a defined outcome and one that the world loves to exercise when challenged.  It is the defined boundary of this word that I wish to address in this article and how it affects each one of our lives and what happens when this word is not adhered to and the consequences thereof.  We have a tendency to forget about these types of words but we need to understand that many laws are based upon the usage and the containment of this word.  The physical world and biblical world are both filled with similar terms that represent the exact same meaning, protection.  But what type of protection do these laws represent, that is the most important and defining boundary of this word.

The Merriam – Webster dictionary defines the word adherence as the following:  the act of doing what is required by a rule, belief, etc; steady or faithful attachment.  This is a perfect example of a word that has a direct and purposeful boundary that if applied to will have rewards but if not followed within the required means projects possible adverse consequences.  This word is one that is not used very often when humans write laws but is assumed to be present due to the fact that the law itself is being written for a reason.  I recently wrote an article that described the position of compromise and how it affects our faith and lives, both in the spiritual and physical sense.  How defined does one believe that physical and spiritual laws are?  Have we become so accustomed to rejecting laws that we deem unfair, impossible to comply with or believe that the law is unconstitutional? 

It is amazing that some bills that are passed into law around the world even were considered in the first place.  If you want to spend some time laughing take a gander at some of the old laws within the USA back in the mid 1800s through the mid 1900s.  Many of them are still on the books and can be enforced if someone pushes their adherence; a bunch of them are a hoot.  For example, at one time in Wisconsin it was illegal to serve apple pie without cheese being served with it.  Yep, this was a state law and it could be enforced at any time it was not adhered to.  Sounds hilarious to me but for whatever reason the State of Wisconsin deemed it necessary to write and then pass this law.  While this law may sound ridiculous, it was expected to be enforced at the same time, to its full extent without compromise.  This law served as its own boundary which separated itself from all other laws within that area of the region.

We all know that there are laws recorded that are deemed “more important” than other laws but is this really the case? Should everyone look at and respect each law that is established with the same equality or does each law even apply to everyone?  How can we ascertain this situation if we do not even understand as to why they were written in the first place?  And is it our responsibility to understand each law?  I believe it is of our utmost responsibility to understand each law that we are subject to for as I have previously stated there is a reason for which they were written.  Do we scoff at these laws because we find them superficial and meaningless for our current existence or is it just plain disregard for authority?  Everyone has gone over the speed limit at some point in their driving experience, how do we feel when we get pulled over?  Mad, upset, frustrated and many times all of these emotions are directed at the police officer who pulled us over and not ourselves.  The response to our breaking of these laws is how we tend to believe in those laws and how we abide by them.

Can we interpret and justify going 15 miles an hour over the speed limit to the authorities when there is no legitimate reason as to why we deemed that speed necessary?  There is a reason authorities set the speed limit at 15 mph around elementary schools and there is a reason as to why there are speed bumps in front of supermarket exits.  Some may not care about these “stupid” laws but they are placed there for your protection and not your hindrance.  When I would bring home bad grades I knew my parents would not be pleased because I had broken a standard that they expected for me.  It was not because they wished for me to make straight As but they did want me to care enough to learn information that would help me out in the future; for my protection not my hindrance, even though I did not look at it that way at the moment.

The question that remains is how do we feel about and interpret God’s laws for our lives?  Do we disregard them just as we have done to our physical and societal laws?  It does not take a rocket scientist to answer that question.  It is a given that the world shall never accept God’s laws in any form simply because the ruler of the world hates God and everything that He stands for.  That concept is one that we need to never forget because it is a boundary that the ruler of the world shall never break; he shall only advance his side of the boundary, or try to do so.  In other words, Satan shall never adhere to god’s laws and will try his best to attract your attention away long enough for you to lose your adherence to them as well.  God’s laws serve as an eternal boundary to Satan and there is no way that he can penetrate them but he can push them back in such a manner for us to believe that they are irrelevant to our lives and to our society. 

It is at this point that we need to become alert at what the enemy is trying to accomplish.  It is at this point that we are in right now and as of this moment even the Church is refusing to recognize this fact.  God cannot change and He cannot undo a law that He has put into place.  Satan loves to place the idea into our hearts that God’s laws are hindering us from having fun or living a fulfilled life.  We have the concept that we will miss out on something if we follow God at all times, especially when we are young.  I know that I have had those thoughts run through my head when my parents did not allow me to do something that I wanted to do, and I have to admit that those same thoughts I allowed to filter in when God told me not to do something as well.  There is a reason God places His laws into our lives and it not to hinder us but to protect us so that we may live in harmony and in relationship with our Creator eternally.

When we humans break a law we will have consequences no matter if we get caught or not.  How many times have we heard about kids playing with guns and end up shooting themselves, just because they were curious?  How many friends do we know that have died in car accidents that were cut short in their prime?  I know of one example of a friend of mine whose life was cut short in this manner after she snuck out of the house to go be with friends, got in an accident and was burned to death.  No, she did not get caught by her parents nor did she receive a ticket for doing something illegal, but she no longer has a life due to the unforeseen consequences of her actions.  Her actions became eternal and could not change ever again.

Does anyone remember the first law that God gave to mankind?  It was the law that was present in the Garden of Eden and it was a simple one.  Do not eat of that one single tree and that was it.  God also stated what would happen if mankind did eat of that one single tree.  Both sides of that law were clearly stated to mankind yet we chose to do things our own way and to listen to another voice instead.  I find it very interesting that when the serpent convinced Eve to eat of the tree God was not in the immediate area.  This meant that while God had placed the law into motion and had warned mankind not to eat of it, He understood that it would be our choice to obey that law or not.  He was not hovering over mankind in order to enforce His law upon us; we chose to disobey it on our own free will.  Why is this important?  Because it states that God’s laws are put into place for our protection and not to hinder us, simply because of the word choice does this fact and truth become active in our lives.

It was God’s choice to establish a process to keep us protected and in turn it was our choice to try things out on our own.  This type of action is how we personify our lives yet we tend to forget just how important our choices and actions are to ourselves, towards others and to our Creator.  We often make our choices and then shrug our shoulders and walk away from the results all the while putting on an outward masquerade towards our public that everything is alright.  What kind of example of adherence does this give our inner being?  And is this type of adherence the only kind of commitment that we can offer?  This type of adherence not only do we apply to the laws of the land but to the laws of our own lives also, which represent a poor quality of results for anyone who participates in this style of activity.

How can we offer anything more concerning the adherence of our faith, to God or to our everyday lives?  We are so limited in our capabilities to secure a complete adherence status that we just give up and settle for second or third best.  So if it is easy to do this on the physical conditions and laws of our lives how much easier is it to do when God is concerned?  This is an important issue to realize because it really is a key element to our spiritual survival, in the fact that unless we remember that our knowledge and belief in God is through our faith first we cannot keep the tangible elements of God in the correct order within our hearts.  It is through the faith in God that grants us the spiritual connection that all humanity desires to have, but when it is coupled with the solitary confinement of the world that communication connects to the wrong source and will eventually be cut off completely due to the lack of spiritual funds.  This is when the adherence principles of our spiritual nature becomes weak and thinly strung which makes us susceptible to all sorts of deadly attacks from our enemy.

It is the disciple of the Holy Spirit that allows us to continue and to strengthen our adherence policies.  If we stop and think about what was just said we will understand the eternal connection that God has with His creation.  If we did not have any type of connection to God on a continual basis just imagine what our choices in life would be; oh, wait a minute I believe that we can see that type of evidence present right now, that should tell us something.  I understand how this process can work in those who have no clue about God and how difficult it must be when there is no true connection or permanent tie to secure our lives.  I also understand how wide the gap is between God and man which proves just how much work is needed in order for humanity to recognize this gap and to accept the bridge that has been made for us.  With all sides battling for supremacy in our lives, which one do you believe has the advantage?  That also explains why we have such a short attention span when it comes to adhering to anything as humans.

It is an effort for humans to want to do the correct thing and it is a harder effort to put forth when we are trying to maintain the adherence of our own laws.  There are many times that we wish to give up and go on our own but if we do this it is a guarantee that one day trouble will find us.  We must be diligent to adhere to our laws both the laws of the land and to our own personal safety laws.  If we include God in these practices and place His laws above our own, a noticeable separation from the world shall occur.  It is also a must to understand that God shall never leave us no matter what our circumstances are.  This does not mean He will take away our problems, but it means that what we are dealing with He can and will provide protection over us while we walk in that path.  This is where faith comes into play and strengthens our resolve, and if our faith is shaken enough or distorted in such a manner that we have lost our stability, our direction follows suit.

We should never doubt God’s commitment towards us.  While our commitment to Him is shaky at best sometimes He has shown us just how much He loves us and actually given us a clear example of this commitment.  If one wishes to be precise about it His commitment can be summed up in one word and that is the word covenant.  And it is through this covenant that God lays out His ways and what they mean to Him, what He will do in order to protect us, and what shall happen if we violate this covenant.  It is all laid out for us to read and understand.  The best part is that when we begin to understand what kind of level covenant really is, and then we shall have no question at all about God’s commitment to us and just how important our lives are to Him.  The recognition of God’s adherence to us also brings out the importance of our everyday choices as well and how each one will affect our lives.

DLB