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Reading the book ​Under Cover​ by John Bevere has answered some questions I had regarding obedience, in both physical authority in the form of people / organizations / companies / etc and spiritual authority in God. The format of this book review is a bit mixed: I wanted to share specific points in this book that spoke to me as well as how they reflect in my life. I hope this format is ok!

Some thoughts that went through my head while reading this book:

From page 62, "The cry of my heart -- and the purpose of this book -- is to safeguard people from the mastery of the deceptive power of lawlessness and to expose the light of truth to those already ensnared in its grip and thus set them free." truly tells us what the main motivation behind this book is: to shed off the mistaken assumption that doing whatever we want is freedom and come back (or towards if you are not yet a believer) to Christ, who promises true freedom from the yoke and traps that this world puts on us. The emphasis is on correcting this misassumption and assumes that most of us, if not all, have this incorrect belief. This seems very contradicting to the book's premise that obedience will bring us freedom; how does that work? How does having to obey allow more freedom than not obeying in the first place? This is a question that I struggled with for a long time, for it seems counterintuitive and more like cow dung.

The forgotten fact within this argument is that worldly freedom isn't freedom at all; instead it brings more chains onto us as now we are conforming to this world with all its twisted views and idealogies e.g. that wealth and power are the two most important things. All these things will bring us down and instead make us slaves to the very world that we are meant to only live temporarily. Jesus, on the other hand, promises something entirely different: salvation and  true joy only by leaning onto him. He doesn’t promise us physical comfort, which Bevere agrees, “Yes, it is true, but we must remember God’s priority is not for us to have the comforts and enjoyments of this world – His priority is redemption!” Instead, the reward is redemption for our sins, from which without Christ we are destined to perish. It’s a reminder of how on Earth, we are not without fault; instead, our sins condemn us to death but through the grace of God in the form of Jesus we are able to gain his protection and stand righteous before him. It’s not to say that we can’t enjoy what God has given us on earth but our main focus should be accepting Christ’s authority on us and submitting to his goodness.

Meditating on this, I realize that perhaps I don’t feel this way completely because there are certain chains placed on me that I do not mind. Perhaps I like living in the world as is, and the thought of serving instead fills me with fear and anxiety, two emotions that all humans including myself dread. For some time now, I have felt and received much grace from serving as a small group leader and a teacher in Joyland, enough to be thankful to God everyday. And yet, I sometimes think that I can give all this (servitude) away to others and let myself be free to do more “enjoyable” activities and partake in everything the world has for me. Many non-believers (even some believers??) support this and say, “isn’t it a waste to spend your youth at church? Be free and come back later.” Yet, as a (failing but trying) follower of Christ I am reminded through this book that there is no greater joy than to be with Christ. Perhaps I can’t feel it at most times because of my sins and T personality, but I pray that may Christ’s hold on me liberate me from my sins and lead to joy.

Another one is submission to authority to spiritual / physical leaders that are within our lives. One thing that John Bevere said really spoke to me, “Jesus commanded submission even to corrupt leaders who didn’t live what they preached. He pointed the multitudes to the authority upon them, not to their personal lives”(246). Many times, the leaders in our community do wrong, and there are countless stories of churches falling because of leaders’ bad decisions / terrible actions. I myself also experienced this, with splitting of churches and leaders stepping down due to sin. In this current age, we are told to follow what we think is correct. With this thinking, if we perceive that our leaders don’t seem to be making the right choices, it’s natural to steer away from them and/or ignore the things they say, even if it is the message of the Lord coming from their mouths. Is this the right mentality?

Bevere tells us this, “If we are truly submitted to God, we will submit to our leaders because of two things: First, his direct authority commands us to be submitted to our assigned leaders. Second, because we recognize His authority upon them, we will submit to our leaders. So unless delegated authority tells us to sin, it is both godly and beneficial to obey our leaders.” (222). Notice that there are no conditions as to when to or not to follow our leaders (except in sin which then is clearly wrong). If the leaders don’t agree to run the ministry the way we want it to, we should obey. This is a tough nut to swallow for me, as I am stubborn in my views and like to think “my way or the highway”. Numerous people have concerns about the growing number of young adults in our church, and there are many that believe that changes should be made to the existing structure. There are other complaints in regards to the current sermons and worship service. Everywhere I go I see and hear these, regardless of whether I want to hear them or not. All these are complaints of the leadership that God has put in our church. I have had the same mind, but from reading Under Cover, I am reminded to trust in God’s decisions instead. God has chosen our pastors, deacons, team leaders, elders, and more, and I should believe in his decisions instead. As Bevere tells us, “In doing so, it opens the door to God’s manifested glory and the kingdom that is rapidly advanced.”

One final takeaway that best summarizes this book is this quote,

“The answer, ‘Increase our faith!’ Those men knew obedience and faith were directly connected, something I was about to see in a whole new light” (251). Obedience and faith are not orthogonal, and we can clearly see the growth of our faith when we obey the leadership of God. I hope that the lessons I have learned from this book are not forgotten and instead remain a lasting part to my spiritual walk.