"Standing Up on the Inside"

“Standing Up on the Inside”

Wally Holder, a dear pastor friend in New Hampshire who is now with the Lord, told a story of a toddler who was riding with her father in an old-fashioned child seat. The little girl stood up and her dad told her to sit down so she’d be safe. She stood up twice more and received the same parental message. On her fourth stand up her father pulled over and spanked her (as you now know, this was a LONG time ago). She then stayed in her seat but a few minutes later announced, “Daddy, I’m still standing up on the inside!” How this final act of rebellion was dealt with has been lost in the dust of history.

I hadn’t thought of this story for some years until God recently brought it back to my mind. It made me think of the many times I outwardly obeyed my parents to avoid unpleasant consequences but if the truth be known I was “standing up on the inside” as I did. Then my mind went back to how often I’ve done the same thing when it comes to observing God’s commands. In his last address to the children if Israel Moses told those he’d led for 40 years, “The Lord your God commands you this day to follow (his) decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 26:16, emphasis added). My take is this: “Don’t try to ‘obey’ God by ‘standing up on the inside’—do it wholeheartedly because it’s the right thing to do.”

It’s been said that partial or delayed obedience is disobedience in disguise (aka “standing up on the inside”). Through the centuries Israel had offered countless sacrifices as a matter of ritual rather than true worship to the point God said through His prophet, “When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong?” (Malachi 1:8). And Jesus addressed the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of His day when He said, “…You nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.” (Matthew 15:6). How often have we (I) acted similarly?

Friends, let’s stop “standing up on the inside” and with the psalmist say, “I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.” (Psalm 119:10).

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan