Obedience Brings Blessing

“Obedience is better than sacrifice.” 

1 Samuel 15:22

“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:28) I remember my dad telling me the story of the 1941 movie about Sergeant Alvin York starring Gary Cooper. Sgt. York was a mountain boy from Tennessee, who had little schooling, and helped provide for his family of ten brothers and sisters by hunting, fishing and a lot of hard labor. He was always in a lot of trouble because of his hard drinking and brawling until he met Jesus Christ as a young man. His conversion experience came at a revival meeting in 1915. After that, he studied the Bible seriously and stopped drinking and fighting. When York got drafted for WWI, he applied to be a ‘Conscientious Objector’ because he did not want to fight, much less kill anybody. He believed that God did not want him to do that. He was denied and he was willing to face the consequences of his disobedience.

York’s Commander, a Major Buxton, was a Christian as well, and he urged the young man to study God’s Word related to war and obedience to one’s country. After studying the Scriptures and much praying, York decided that he could, in good conscience, defend his country. He joined the army as an infantry private in the 82nd Division and was sent to France in 1918. 

York was a crack shot owing to all the hunting he did, and he distinguished himself in an October 8, 1918 attack where his battalion aimed to capture German positions. York with his pistol found himself exchanging fire with about thirty of the enemy’s machine guns, and he just shot as sharp as he could, all the while shouting at them to come down because he didn’t want to kill more of them than he had to! Eventually Imperial German Army First Lieutenant Paul Jürgen Vollmer who commanded the 120th Reserve Infantry Regiment's 1st Battalion, offered in English to surrender the unit to York who accepted. 

York eventually received 50 decorations and his citation for the Medal of Honor reads: “After his platoon suffered heavy casualties and 3 other noncommissioned officers had become casualties, Cpl. York assumed command. Fearlessly leading seven men, he charged with great daring a machine gun nest which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. In this heroic feat the machine gun nest was taken, together with 4 officers and 128 men and several guns.” 

During the investigation that gave him the Medal, York explained to General Lindsey that, “A higher power than man guided and watched over me and told me what to do."   Truly, obedience brings blessing even in the hardest circumstances! Especially in the hardest circumstances!