Going All the Way: The Danger of the 'But' in Our Obedience

There's a word that scares me more than almost anything when I think about my walk with God.

But.

Not the kind of "but" you use in a sentence. I'm talking about the "but" that shows up at the end of our obedience. The "but" that follows our best efforts. The "but" reveals we stopped short of going all the way.

I've seen it too many times in fifty-plus years of ministry. Good people. Sincere people. People who love Jesus and serve Him faithfully: until you hit the "but." They obey God in most areas, but not all. They give generously, but not sacrificially. They serve wholeheartedly, but with one hand still gripping their own agenda.

And here's what keeps me up at night: I don't want that "but" at the end of my story.

Let me show you what I mean. There's a king in the Old Testament named Jehu who had exactly this problem.

Read that again slowly.

God commends Jehu. He did what was right in God's eyes. He accomplished what was in God's heart. God even blessed his descendants for four generations because of his obedience.

But.

There's that word.

Jehu didn't follow God with all his heart. He did the big assignment God gave him, but he didn't fully walk in God's law. He removed Ahab's evil influence but kept Jeroboam's idols standing. He went far enough to earn God's approval on one mission, but not far enough to surrender his whole life.

That's the danger of partial obedience. It feels like obedience. It looks like obedience. You might even get blessed for it. But it's not all the way.

Here's what I've learned over the years: incomplete obedience is always the first step toward major spiritual failure.

It starts small. You rationalize. You compartmentalize. You tell yourself, "I'm doing more than most people." And maybe you are. But the areas you're holding back? Those are the cracks where the enemy gets in.

King David is another example. He didn't wake up one morning and decide to commit adultery and murder. The research I've read shows that David desensitized his conscience through incomplete obedience in socially acceptable areas first. Small compromises. Little "buts" here and there. Then came Bathsheba.

That's how it works. The "but" we allow today becomes the door we walk through tomorrow.

Think about it in your own life. Where are you saying, "I'll follow God, but not in this area"? Maybe it's:

Those "buts" feel reasonable. They feel balanced. But they're deadly.

Let's get practical. What does it look like to go all the way with God?

It means giving Him everything.

Not most things. Not the acceptable things. Everything.

Your time. All of it belongs to Him. Not just Sunday mornings or small group nights, but your Monday mornings and Friday evenings. Your hobbies. Your rest. Your ambitions. When you wake up and when you lie down. All of it.

Your money. Not just the tithe (though that's a starting point). I'm talking about your whole financial life surrendered to His lordship. Your spending decisions. Your savings strategy. Your retirement plan. Your kids' college funds. All of it under His authority.

Your family. This one hits hard. Are you leading your home toward Jesus with everything you've got? Or are you hedging your bets, trying not to be "too religious" or "too extreme"? Your spouse. Your children. Your extended family. Are they seeing someone who's all in?

Your heart. This is where it gets real. You can fake external obedience. You can do religious activities with a divided heart. But God wants all of your heart. The secret places. The hidden thoughts. The private desires. The dreams you've never told anyone.

Now, let me be clear about something crucial: This isn't about performance. This isn't about earning God's love.

If you've been around my content at all, you know I'm passionate about God's unconditional love. I wrote extensively about this in The Big Leap of Faith. God is not disappointed in you. He is not measuring your worth by your consistency.

Going all the way isn't about becoming good enough for God. It's about becoming desperate enough for all of God.

There's a massive difference.

When I talk about surrendering everything, I'm not saying God won't love you if you don't. I'm saying you'll miss the fullness of what He has for you. Deuteronomy makes it clear: God wanted His people to experience all He had promised. That required complete adherence to the covenant: not for acceptance, but for abundance.

Too many Christians live only a fraction of the joyful life available in Christ because they won't go all the way. They know about God's promises, but they're standing at the edge, afraid to dive in completely.

I've heard every excuse for partial obedience:

"I'm just being balanced."
"I don't want to be a fanatic."
"God doesn't expect perfection."
"I'm doing better than I used to."
"At least I'm in church."

These sound reasonable. But they're often just sophisticated ways of keeping one foot in our own kingdom while putting the other foot in God's.

If you want to read more about the cost of our excuses, I wrote about this in The High Cost of a Good Excuse. Excuses feel safe, but they rob us of God's best.

Here's my challenge to you: and to myself, because I preach this to my own heart constantly:

Let's go all the way.

No more "buts." No more holding back. No more keeping safe areas that God can't touch.

I'm not talking about becoming a joyless religious robot. I'm talking about the freedom that comes when you finally stop fighting for control and surrender it all.

After surviving Stage 4 cancer and COVID, I can tell you: life's too short for partial obedience. We don't have time to play games with God. We don't have time to keep one hand on the wheel and one hand reaching for Jesus.

Both hands. All in. Everything on the altar.

Not because you're afraid of losing God's love. But because you're desperate not to miss a single moment of what He has for you.

Jehu got a blessing for partial obedience. Imagine what he could have experienced with full obedience. Imagine what we might experience.

God is not asking you to become perfect. He's asking you to become fully His.

There's a difference.

One is impossible and exhausting. The other is the only path to real rest and joy.

So let me ask you: What's your "but"? What are you holding back?

Whatever it is, it's not worth it.

Give it all. Go all the way.

And watch what God does when there's finally no "but" standing between you and Him.

Does "going all the way" with God mean I can never rest or have personal time?

No. Going all the way means surrendering the lordship of your time to God, not eliminating rest. Jesus Himself withdrew to rest and pray. Surrendering your time means asking God to guide how you use all of it: work, rest, family, ministry. It's about invitation, not elimination.

What if I've been living with "buts" for years? Is it too late to change?

It's never too late. God's grace is bigger than our past compromises. The moment you recognize partial obedience is the moment you can choose full surrender. Don't let shame keep you stuck. Let conviction move you forward.

How is this different from legalism or works-based Christianity?

Legalism says, "Do this to earn God's love." Going all the way says, "Because God already loves me completely, I want to give Him everything." One is slavery. The other is love. One flows from fear. The other flows from being deeply loved first.

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