I read about a man who had a serious operation on his foot that required an extended period of rehabilitation. Much of that process was painful and time consuming. In his determination to regain full mobility, the man faithfully exercised and avoided doing things the doctor said he should not do. This meant temporarily giving up some of the things he really enjoyed like biking, running and hiking.

He met regularly with the surgeon to check his progress. During one appointment, the man asked the doctor if he might participate in an annual golf outing with friends. He felt he had improved enough to do so and shared that this event was important to him. He assured his physician that he would be careful and focus on keeping his lower body very still.

His doctor quickly informed him that he’d be very disappointed if he played any golf for the next several months. Being a golfer himself, the doctor understood the risks the man would be taking if he played. He explained that swinging a golf club would naturally cause his foot to roll inward and put too much weight on the parts of his foot that still needed time to heal.

The good doctor had nothing against him playing golf and actually sympathized with his patient. Still, he knew if the man played too soon it could jeopardize his long-term recovery. Because his doctor wanted him to be able to play golf for years to come, he would not sanction the golf outing so soon after surgery.

What this surgeon did for his patient, the Lord does for us. The Great Physician, concerned for our spiritual well-being, issues orders to guide us toward spiritual health and greater usefulness in His service. We should not consider these “rules” arbitrary or made up just to cramp our style. Our God is no killjoy. He, better than anyone else, knows how we should live and what best makes for our present and future happiness.

At times obedience may seem unreasonable, and we are often prone to think that our straying a bit won’t really matter. It’s easy to reason, “just this one little sin won’t hurt me or jeopardize my future happiness.” Whenever faced with that temptation, it’s important to remember that our Great Physician always knows best and has your best interests at heart. It’s always the better part of wisdom to obey the doctor’s orders.