1. Character First! Character is the inward motivation to do what is right even when no one is looking.

2. Obedience: Definition • Cheerfully carrying out the directions and wishes of those who are responsible for me. • Cheerfully carrying out the directions and wishes of those who are responsible for me. • Cheerfully carrying out the directions and wishes of those who are responsible for me.

3. Obedience vs. Willfulness • Obedience comes from the Latin words ob and audio and means literally “to hear.” Obedience contrasts with willfullness in that a willful person doesn’t listen. A willful person follows after his or her own will without regard for what authorities have to say.

4. Obedience: Quotes • Neil Marten, a member of the British Parliament, was once giving a group of his constituents a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. During the course of the visit, the group happened to meet Lord Hailsham, then lord chancellor, wearing all the regalia of his office. Hailsham recognized Marten among the group and cried, "Neil!" Not daring to question or disobey the "command," the entire band of visitors promptly fell to their knees! 

5. Obedience: Quotes • Peter T. Forsythe was right when he said, "The first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master." Warren W. Wiersbe, The Integrity Crisis, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991, p. 22. • Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience, withdraws from Grace. ----Thomas a Kampis. • http://www.higherpraise.org/illustrations/obedience.htm

6. Obedience: Quotes • Roger Staubach who led the Dallas Cowboys to the World Championship in '71 admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn't call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass, when to run and only in emergency situations could he change the play (and he had better be right!). Even though Roger considered coach Landry to have a "genius mind" when it came to football strategy, pride said that he should be able to run his own team. Roger later said, "I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory." Source Unknown. • http://www.higherpraise.org/illustrations/obedience.htm

7. Obedience: Quotes • John Kenneth Galbraith, in his autobiography, A Life in Our Times, illustrates the devotion of Emily Gloria Wilson, his family's housekeeper: • It had been a wearying day, and I asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while I had a nap. Shortly thereafter the phone rang. Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House. • "Get me Ken Galbraith. This is Lyndon Johnson." • "He is sleeping, Mr. President. He said not to disturb him." • "Well, wake him up. I want to talk to him." • "No, Mr. President. I work for him, not you. When I called the President back, he could scarcely control his pleasure. "Tell that woman I want her here in the White House."  • John Kenneth Galbraith, A Life in Our Times,  Houghton Mifflin, Reader's Digest, December, 1981. http://www.higherpraise.org/illustrations/obedience.htm

8. Obedience: Key Concepts • I will: • Obey my authorities immediately. • Have a cheerful attitude. • Complete all that I am expected to do. • Not complain. • Go the “extra mile.”

9. Obedience: Key Concepts • Obey authorities. • Obey with a cheerful attitude. • Be thorough in doing all I was asked to do. • Don’t complain while obeying. • Go the “extra mile.”

10. Elephant Indian workers domesticated elephants as long as 5, 500 years ago.

11. The elephants’ obedient nature and gentle power suits them perfectly for a life of service. Elephant

12. Typically, a young boy of 10 begins training an elephant his same age, and the two work together for a lifetime. Elephant

13. Boy and elephant become inseparable. The boy feeds his elephant, bathes him, tends his wounds, and trains him. Elephant

14. In return, the elephant demonstrates remarkable obedience and loyalty. Elephant

15. Abraham Lincoln • Obedience in History • While on the Mississippi River, two men capsized a canoe. Abe quickly ordered men on shore to find some rope. The men obeyed immediately. • One rescuer, becoming fearful, decided not to follow Abe’s instructions. Instead he grabbed a branch of a tree and quickly became the third man that needed rescuing that day. This man did not do what he was expected to do.

16. Abraham Lincoln • Obedience in History • Now Abe had to come up with a new plan to save all three men. Abe decided to ride a log down river and have the three men catch a rope. • Abe went the “extra mile” by coming up with a new plan when the previous one failed. He finally went into the river himself to rescue the men.

17. Abe Lincoln • Abe secured the rope to a tree and called to the men on shore to pull the stranded, floating men toward dry land. • Quickly and cheerfully those on shore obeyed the request to pull the stranded men toward dry land. • After the men were warmed by the fire, they thanked Abe. Abe just grinned back and didn’t complain about the foolishness that had put their lives in danger in the first place.

19. President Lincoln-- 1862 Abraham Lincoln learned the importance of being obedient as a young man. In fact, he often signed his correspondence, “ Your Most Obedienct Servant”-- Abraham Lincoln.

20. Obedience Character Training Institute, 520 West Main Oklahoma City, OK 73102