Being takers and God's solution.

The solution to being a ¹taker vs a giver - and all the consequences and fall out from this - is someone else bearing the consequences of a life of taking while also being the perfect (complete) giver, and giving us credit for it - if we choose to receive this. This results in the just consequences of our taking being borne by another while at the same time having their life of giving totally credited to us as if we did it i.e. we were the giver. 

Unless we are in union with God we are all naturally takers. To be a total giver is supernatural. It is Godlike. 

We are created to be in union with the Source of life, love, and all things. He is the ultimate giver. Yet being separated from Him makes us all takers. 

Why? Because of the void in us for rejecting the Source of all good things as our ultimate Provider and Sustainer. This results in us not being able to give as we are created to. Being absent a connection and relationship with the Source of life, love, and all things is like being a well decorated Christmas tree sitting in a dark room unplugged. 

The acknowledgement of this is the beginning of how we reunite and "plug-in" to the Source and are empowered to be the giver we were originally created to be. 

Giving to get is not giving to give. Giving to give only occurs from the Source of unlimited resources. Only God is that Source. 

The day we bought into the lie we could be our own source (god) is the day we cut ourselves off from that Source and died.

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FOOTNOTES: 

¹To put another's needs before mine is being a giver. To put my needs before yours is being a taker.

good and bad "obedience"

Doing what God tells us to do (obedience) out of love for and trust in God is legit - as well as commanded by Christ himself. John 14:21-23

Doing what He tells us to do for any other reason is not. It is performance-based, operating in the flesh, etc.

The key is knowing why we act and not just how we act or what we do (e.g. praying in itself isn't necessarily a righteous act. We can pray to impress others or solely for our personal benefit and not out of a desire to honor God and advance His purposes).

And why do we act... when are our actions legit? Always and only when done out of love for and trust in God so we would honor Him i.e. give him glory.

1. Sometimes we obey God out of loving affections for God

2. Sometimes out of faith alone.  

As long as we do so for his honor and glory and not to secure our own honor, we are to pursue him in faithful and loving obedience. 

We can never wait for feelings/affections or use lack of them as an excuse to not pursue him in faithful obedience. 

If we are to grow and experience more and more of the beauty, majesty, love and glory of God, obedience is not optional. It is the means by which our faith is exercised and we draw near to God.

NOTE: I did not say obedience is the means by which God draws near to us. We are exhorted to draw near to God, not the other way around. God being near to us is already set because of Christ's work on our behalf. God is 100% with us and committed to us if we are in Christ. Nothing we can do or not do will change this one iota. "It is finished" to use Christ's words. His loving us is never determined by our work...ever!

The beauty however is God, in his grace and kindness, will often stir affections toward Him once we step out in faith for the right reason.

We obey so we can better honor and glorify God and be the most effective for Him in doing so.

Obedience, submission, trust. aren't about winning God's love, they're evidence of ours.

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What about "waiting on the Lord?"

We only wait when it is not clear what Gods will is in a given circumstance. But when it is clear (e.g. his commandments), we act and don't look back.