There was a little “issue” today when I put the two-year-old down for a nap. Walking downstairs after the drama, I thought, “Why can’t you see that things will go well for you if you obey?” It’s so simple. Why not just obey and reap the reward here?

I often equate Christians with two-year-olds, not because I’m hypercritical or can’t think up another example but because it is true. We want what we want and we want it now. And if we do a good deed, we want an M & M. I know this because I know me. My view of God used to be pretty simplistic. I thought if I obeyed Him, like a toddler getting a piece of candy for potty training, things would go well for me. If I did right, right would come my way. I’d be in good with God and so my team would always win—or something like that.

We should, of course, obey God. God does promise ultimate blessing for those who love and fear Him. But what we shouldn’t expect is immediate reward. There is a cost to obedience, after all. Some costs are bigger than others –like when Christ laid down His life for us—and if we are not able to obey Him in the little things, how will we obey Him when the cost is great?

Elisabeth Elliot talks about this cost in Asking God Why. Speaking of missionary Amy Carmichael, she writes, “Loneliness was one of those disciplines. How–the modern young person always wants to know–did she ‘handle’ it? Amy Carmichael would not have had the slightest idea what the questioner was talking about. ‘Handle’ loneliness? Why, it was part of the cost of obedience, of course. Everybody is lonely in some way, the single in one way, the married in another; the missionary in certain obvious ways, the schoolteacher, the mother, the bank teller in others.”

I like her attitude. She dealt with the cards she was played and didn’t expect a pat on the back. This is a weak spot for me.

In our house, justice often prevails. Two-year-olds get goodies for good deeds. But we are not two-year-olds, we are grown children of God, and so, we must work for a reward that is not immediately apparent. We keep our word to our own hurt. We do not look for technical loopholes to profit from. We obey the law even when others don’t. That is part of being an adult and not a child. Sometimes there’s no treats. We have a future hope far better than any immediately gratifying thing.