The benefits of keeping God's commands

“By them is Your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” Psalm 19:11
When you talk to people about why we should keep God’s commands, they will often look at you in scorn. ‘Where’s the fun in that?’ they’ll say, when you talk to them about not stealing, lying, committing adultery, etc. But just as in a sporting match, where if one team plays by the rules and the other does not, and the team that does is the one to receive the penalty shots, so it is in life.
First of all, we don’t keep God’s commands to earn our salvation. That has already been paid for by Jesus at the cross. Nor do we keep God’s commands to earn His favour – we already have it, because we are in His Son. We keep God’s commands out of our love and devotion to Him.
Keeping God’s commands are beneficial for us. There are two aspects to this. Firstly, God has promised to bless those who are obedient to Him. Sometimes it’s hard to keep His commands, as it often requires us to go against the flow of the world. We might not make as much money by being honest and paying all the taxes that we are supposed to (while others try to look for loopholes). But God will bless us in our obedience. Secondly, they are beneficial because of the consequences. If we are honest and hard-working in our business, we will develop a good reputation among people, which is important for repeat business in the long run. If we refuse to gossip, we will be seen as a good friend and someone who can be trusted. The list goes on and on. Are you keeping God’s commands today?