Monastic Obedience
The first step on the way to humility is to obey an order without delaying for a moment. That is a response which comes easily to those who hold nothing dearer than Christ himself.
In this chapter, Benedict is setting out rules that will allow a group of diverse people to live together, where authority is clearly defined and understood. In Benedict’s monastic setting an order given by an Abbot should be obeyed, immediately…no questions asked. And to give a little encouragement, Benedict says that this should be easy for those who see that it is actually Christ who is giving the order. What could be easier? If we see the Abbot as a representative of Christ…of course we will quickly obey any order! If God was here, standing right in front of us we would be crazy not to do what God wants, right?
This is where I disagree with Benedict’s encouragement. Directives directly from God don’t always lead to obedience without delaying for a moment. Obedience seems to cause humans difficulty. We humans always have an opinion, a belief or a view that comes quickly to mind when we are given an order. We delay obeying and offer an argument as to why our opinion, belief or view is superior to the order we are given, even when the person giving the order has a legitimate right to give us the order and expect our compliance with the order.
So we know we have a problem when another human gives us an order…what about when the order comes directly from God? One of the first stories in the Bible sets out just how difficult obedience is. Adam and Eve live, actually live, in the presence of God. God has only one commandment for them, do not eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. Doesn’t seem too much to ask? They have everything they could possibly need and they are with God, in the very presence of God. We all know what happens; they disobey the order given by God. They held their beliefs, opinions and views as more important than God’s command.
Not wanting to obey an order has been with us for a very long time.
OK so what happens when I am in the midst of a decision to obey or not obey an order? If my ego self is in charge, my decision is based on greed…I want my own way. Hate…I hate the person giving the order and do not want to obey. Or Delusion…I don’t see how clouded my thinking is and ignore the order. One of these three poisons or all three of them move into my mind in milliseconds. So…I’ve received an order and before obeying even comes into my mind I find myself arguing or getting defensive. (NOTE: I’m not talking about being asked to do something immoral or illegal or harmful.) Over time I become better and better at recognizing the superiority of my views, opinions and beliefs and become less and less able to study what happens at the moment I am asked to do something.
Starting a practice of studying obedience usually means you have to think and analyze what happened after the fact. Your boss, your partner, your teacher asked you to do something and instead of doing what was ordered, you ended up in an argument leaving both sides disgruntled. Try to remember back to the moment you heard the command, request, order…which of these words did you hear? Did the very word that came to your mind make a difference in how you reacted? What self was trying to take control? Why did it want control? What would have happened if you just obeyed the command, the request, the order? What happens when you argue with the order?
This is how to study the self. Without this kind of work, studying how we behave, how we think, how we feel we are doomed to a yes, but reactive life. To practice obedience is to practice just saying yes. (Note: I’m not talking about an order to do something immoral, illegal or harmful.) Practice by just saying, Yes, and then just get on with doing what you were asked to do. This is spiritual practice. In the moment of choosing obedience there is freedom.
The last line of the Rumi poem at the beginning of the book says,
While intelligence considers options, I am somewhere lost in the wind. This is where obeying an order without delaying a moment can take you.
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