FREE ESSAY ON CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

Civil Disobedience
Civil disobedience-a nonviolent opposition to a law through refusal to comply with it, on
grounds of conscience.
I understand why somebody might want to oppose the law. Somebody might have their own
beliefs on what is right and wrong and they wouldn't know when they're disobeying. But
when you do know what you're doing, if you don't obey a certain law set forth for you to
follow, there most likely will be some kind of consequence for not following the law. You
could go to jail, be put on restraint, have something taken away, etc. There are a number
of other consequences that could be given to someone for disobeying a law.
The Bible talks about obedience. When Solomon and his workers followed God's
instructions, the Temple work was blessed by God and completed pretty much perfectly.
In Leviticus 26:3-4, God said, "If you (the Israelites) keep my laws and are careful to
obey my commands, 4I will send the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops,
and the trees will produce their fruit." God goes on to say in verse 6 "I will give you
peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep without fear. I will remove the wild
animals from your land and protect you from your enemies. 7In fact, you will chase down
all your enemies and slaughter them with your swords. 8Five of you will chase a hundred,
and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand! All your enemies will fall beneath the
blows of your weapons."
Here are some examples of people who didn't obey God's instructions, and what happened to
them in the end.
1. Adam and Eve were told by God not to eat the fruit from the tree in the Garden of Eden
(Genesis 2:16-17). Satan tempted them (Genesis 3:1-6), and they were banished from the
Garden. Pain and death were put on them and all humanity (Genesis 3:24; Romans 5:12).
2. Nadab and Abihu were told to have fire come from a certain source Leviticus 6:12-13).
But, they got the fire from a different source - not where God told them to get the fire
from (Leviticus 10:1). God killed both of them (Leviticus 10:2).
3. Moses was commanded to tell the rock to pour out its water (Numbers 20:8). He did what
he was told, but also hit the rock with his staff (Numbers 20:11). He couldn't enter the
Promised Land (Numbers 20:12).
4. God told Saul to destroy all of the Amelakites (1 Samuel 15:3). He killed all but the
king, and kept some treasure for himself (1 Samuel 15:8-9). God punished him by promising
to end his reign (1 Samuel 15:16-26).
5. Uzzah was told that only a priest could touch the furnishings in the Tabernacle
(Numbers 4:15). He touched the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6:6), and died instantly (2
Samuel 6:7).
God says in Leviticus 26:14 "If you don't obey me and break my laws, I will punish you
with terrors, wasting diseases, and burning fevers, causing your eyes to fail and your
life to ebb away. I will turn against you, and all your enemies will defeat you.
And if after all this you still disobey me, I will punish you for your sins seven times
over. All your work will be for nothing. Your land will yield no crops, and your trees
will bear no fruit.
And after that you still don't obey me, I will release wild animals that will kill your
children and destroy your cattle."
So God is telling us that pretty much no matter when or how we disobey Him, we won't get
away with it.
A perfect example of why we should obey God is when Abraham was told to take his only son
Isaac, and sacrifice him. And because Abraham did what God told him, God told him: "I
will bless you richly. I will multiply your descendants into countless millions, like the
stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. They will conquer their enemies, and
through your descendants, all the nations of the earth will be blessed - all because you
obeyed me."
It must have been very hard for Abraham to do what he did. Although he didn't end up
killing his son, he didn't know what was gonna happen when they were making their trip up
to the mountain. He was faithful in God and knew that whatever reason God had for telling
him to kill Isaac, that he needed to obey.
All we need to do is listen to God. If there's anything we're having problems with, pray
to God, ask others to pray for you, or do whatever you can so that you can communicate
with God and find out what He wants us to do.