Question
As an American, I have a very different attitude towards obedience than other Christians from cultures steeped in Orthodox tradition for centuries. Tailored for a non-monastic, living-in-society, American audience, can you explain obedience?
Answer
Christian obedience is characterized by freedom, without which we cannot attain to the likeness of Christ. Obedience is the chief means by which we practice humility, and it is therefore also the chief means by which we discover the will of God. For more on obedience, and on discovering the will of God, see our Academy videos / podcasts.
Recommended reading: St. John of the Ladder in Step 4.