What if obedience...?

I can't think of anything simpler and more difficult than obedience. Simple to understand, hard to do.
Just ask my four-year old. "Kamden, do not hit your brother." 30 seconds later, he hits his brother. So I punish him for disobeying. "Son, if you would just obey, your life would be so much easier." We have this conversation almost daily.
I've been reading George MacDonald's The Hope of the Gospel. I don't pretend to really understand it, but the main subject of the first chapter has really grabbed my attention. He writes about evil in clear, unmistakable terms. I'm not certain exactly what he's getting at, but it got me thinking how little I actually think about evil. I'm even capable of being fooled, not recognizing when its right in front of me. Pride is not as subtle as we like to pretend. There's not as much gray area in lust as we would hope.
We agonize over knowing God's will. What am I supposed to do with my life? What are my gifts and what should I do with them? What does it mean to really love God with all my soul? Which movies are ok for me to watch? Define gossip. And on and on.
What if obedience is the answer to all these questions?
If I would be willing to open my eyes to the obvious Good and the obvious Evil right in front of me and act accordingly, I would at least be moving in the direction of God's will, right?
Is it really that simple?
It must be, 'cause it sure is hard.
Like my son, I would find life quite a bit easier in terms of dealing with the consequences of my actions if I would simply obey.
There's a lot more words I could throw at this discussion, but I would be in danger of making the very mistake I'm trying to avoid - complicating the issue.
I think I'll just work on obedience. This will lead me to dig up some latent thoughts on practicing the presence of God. Maybe that will come up in the next one...