[Obedience] springs, rather, from the love of an order, and love of [God] who gave it. The merit of obedience is less in the act than in the love; the submission, the devotion, and the service that obedience implies are not born of servitude but are rather effects that spring from and are unified by love.
~ From The World’s First Love by Fulton Sheen p. 99
Being obedient to God isn’t about doing acts, performing works, and balancing the books of misdeeds with righteous ones. Obedience is doing all we can for the sake of love, even if we can only smile and say hello to a stranger. If we are obedient with authenticity and love in our hearts for God, then we follow Him for the sake of spreading the Good News of Christ and not for our own merit. Sheen is not suggesting that we abandon inauthentic obedience, but he implies that our obedience be given a new reason, one rooted in love.
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