What is the Cost of Disobedience?

the meaning of disobedience

The most severe and final cost of disobedience is complete and total separation from God for all eternity. In the Bible, disobedience is defined as the active rejection or passive neglect of God’s commands and is treated as the fundamental root of all sin. Throughout scripture you can see the profound consequences of disobedience.

In the Hebrew text there is no single word for disobedience. Instead there are distinct root words.

Marah (מָרָה): Literally means “to be bitter” or “to be contentious”. This word describes a state of stubbornness, defiance, or active revolt against authority (e.g., Strong’s Hebrew: 4784).
Marad (מָרַד): Specifically means “to rebel” or “to revolt”. It is often used to describe subjects or nations breaking treaties or defying their ruling king (e.g., Strong’s Hebrew: 4775).

In the New Testament, the primary Greek word for disobedience is apeithea:

Apeitheia: means to disbelieve, be unpersuasive, or refuse to comply. It denotes a settled state of “unpersuadableness” that expresses itself in disobedience to the revealed will of God. It goes beyond a single act of sin to describe a posture of heart that refuses to be convinced by God’s truth, thus linking unbelief and rebellion into one reality. (e.g., Strong’s Greek: 543.)

The Old Testament chronicles the disobedience of man, beginning with Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit (see Genesis 3) and it’s devastating consequences, through the exile of the nation of Israel from the land God promised them because of their continued disobedience. The consequence of Adam and Eve’s disobedience necessitated the death of Christ. The consequences of The Israelites repeated grumbling against God, doubting Him, and pursuing idols cost an entire generation to miss out on the promise God had for them and ultimately the Israelites being taken captive and forced back into slavery to other nations.

Delayed or Partial disobedience

Delayed or partial obedience is still complete disobedience to God. 1 Samual 15 illustrates the story of King Saul’s partial obedience by doing most of what God commanded him to do and omitting the rest of God’s instructions. As a result, God rejected Saul as king and gave his throne to someone else. Our selective or modified obedience to God’s command is often the result of fear or unbelief in God, but it is ultimately a form of pride or self-will.

the cost of obedience vs the cost of disobedience

The cost of continuous disobedience is a life of missed opportunities, missed blessings, loss of fellowship with God, hardness of heart, and delay of His will for your life. It leads to a frustrated life. As you can see with the example of Adam and Eve, our decision to obey or disobey God affects more than just us. God has a plan and each of us is but a piece of the puzzle in His grand design. God shows us grace and mercy when we disobey Him, but it does not always alleviate the consequences of our disobedience. We may not always see the consequences immediately, but they do exist and can carry into future generations.

The cost of obedience to God is far more rewarding than the cost of disobedience. It means to willingly lay down your plans, desires, and will in order to live for God’s plans, desires, and will for your life. It means, your trust is in the all-knowing God instead of your own limited understanding. Being obedient to God may sometimes cause you to be uncomfortable, misunderstood, or disliked by others, but you have an assurance of victory.

Which do you choose? Is there something the Lord has told you to do that you haven’t done? Go back and do it. Did you do something He told you not to do? Repent, ask for forgiveness and make the decision to live in obedience to Him.