Does God ever ask us to do something that hurts? Yes. Sometimes obedience hurts—even when we know it’s for our own good. Giving up some habits or relationships may feel like an amputation.

When our children were young, we got Eric, a terrier mix with a wild streak. Later, we added his brother Ernie Bear, who was as sweet as Eric was stubborn and wild. The straw that broke this mother’s back was when I heard myself scolding my children for Eric’s misbehavior.

My kids would open the door to go play, and Eric would dart past them. I couldn’t catch Eric once he was out. The problem, Ernie followed his brother. If Eric didn’t come home, we’d feel bad, but if Ernie got runover chasing his brother, we’d feel terrible.

One day, after yelling at my kids to stop the dogs’ escape, the following scripture came to mind.

“If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell” (Matt. 5:30 NIV).

I didn’t want to be fussing at my kids because of a stubborn dog. Eric caused me to stumble. We called our vet. She knew someone who had a big field that would adopt Eric. I felt bad thinking of giving up a pet, but this scripture set me free. Other separations are more painful.

When Obedience Hurts: A Modern and Biblical Example

A young woman wanted to talk with me about her walk with God. She attended Bible study and did her weekly lesson, but her life was a struggle. I learned she was involved with a man who caused her to fall sexually. They’d promise to do better, but they continued the same cycle. She needed to cut off the relationship.

If you’ve ever drunk polluted water and suffered “Montezuma’s revenge,” you know the importance of purity. It’d be foolish to think someone could keep drinking from the same polluted source and not suffer the consequences. Instead of loading ourselves up with diarrhea meds, we must stop consuming polluted water and drink only pure water.

Purity protects our souls too. My friend’s desire to grow spiritually showed spiritual life. But drinking from the Bible couldn’t heal her upset soul if she continued to engage in sin.

The book of Ezra illustrates the extreme measure Israel took to rid themselves of sin. After suffering God’s discipline, the people returned to their land from captivity. But some of them—including spiritual leaders—broke God’s law by intermarrying with women who worshipped other gods (Ezra 9-10).

After suffering destruction and exile because of their ancestors’ sins, Ezra mourned and fasted when he learned of this. He asked his leaders to join him in seeking a solution consistent with Moses’ Law.

The consensus was for those who’d married women who worshipped foreign gods to send them—and their children—back to their homes. Talk about an amputation! (By the way, that’s not the New Testament way to deal with such marriages—see 1 Corinthians 7:20, 27.)

Warren W. Wiersbe wrote concerning this, “It’s easy to pull the nails out of the board, but it’s impossible to pull out the holes that they leave behind.”

Avoiding harmful attachments is always less painful than having to amputate one after becoming involved. But sometimes, a relationship or influence turns bad after we’re connected.

When our spiritual motivation lags, when we’re feeling distant from God or not enjoying our Bibles, we need to ask the Holy Spirit—and ourselves: What’s sapping my spiritual fervor? Whether it’s a habit, mindset, relationship, or source of entertainment, amputation may hurt in the moment, but it ultimately frees. Not cutting it off harms much more in the long run.

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Blessings,

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