The "Can't-Help-It"s

Acts 5:28-29-  “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” ²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. (www.lifejournal.cc)
I must ask this morning:  Who do you take your orders from?  If you are an employee, you take it from your employer.  If you are in the military, you take it from a superior rank. If you are a student, you take it from your teacher.  If you are a child, you take it from your parent.  If you are a child of God, you take it from.....God.  God is superior to all these others and if it is in conflict with God, you do what God would have you to do.  I have had employers that wanted me to compromise ( I sold cars one summer).   I have had professors that wanted me to compromise.  I had an English class at a community college with a professor that was burned up and out and left over from the 60's.  She had long straight, black hair and came in class with long skirts on.  She would hop up on the table, sit Indian style with her dress draped over, smoke cigarettes and whisper a bunch of nothings in our ear.  Believe me, she had an agenda.  She wanted to further the whole hippies movement.  It was fun to have conflict with her.  Of course, I had parents that I took orders from but it did not feel like orders as I remember.  In my nostalgic look back, I don't remember much conflict coming when my parents told me to do this or that.  I don't remember the drama that I get from my kids when they are told to do the bare necessities. I just say, "Act on, girls, but get the mess up."  I do remember a day when I had to take a nap while my friends played basketball right outside my window.  That was torture...and how old was I anyway?  We didn't get the goal until I was 7 or 8. What was that all about?  Scars, we all have them....
Anyway, I try to teach my kids to follow their parents' instructions and do what would please the Lord.  Once grown, the first part may be left off, but the last part never changes.  Follow the Lord.  Peter and the others had a bad case of the "can't help its".  They had to do what the Lord would have them to do, rather it pleased folks or not.  That is what we must do too.  Not follow the lead of friend, of our wants or desires, but follow the lead of the one that gives us a reason to live.  We need to have a case of the "can't-help- it"s.