Doing what's right

The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

- Luke 23:55-56

As I read this passage this morning, it really struck me. It took me a few minutes to understand why, but I figured it out.
The women who were closest to Jesus while He was on earth had just witnessed his death - possibly the greatest tragedy in any of their lives. They followed Joseph and watched him bury Jesus. He was not in a casket, dressed nicely in suit and tie. I don't know if His body had been cleaned or not, but they were watching His dead body be laid in a tomb.
Then they did the next logical thing in their minds - they prepared the spices and perfumes they would put on His body.
Then, almost as if they hadn't thought about it up to this point, they are forced to rest because of the Sabbath.
This is the significant part for me. Despite going through a great tragedy and being totally focused on what they needed to do next, these women obeyed the commandment to rest.
They could have easily used the circumstances as an excuse to skip the Sabbath, just this once. After all, Jesus' body needed to be dressed with the spices and perfumes they were preparing.
I know in my life, it doesn't even take a tragedy for me to excuse myself from doing what I know is right. I can rationalize disobedience a number of ways - just give me a second to think of one.
Is this an issue of disobedience or is it an issue of belief? Do I really believe what I say I believe? Are my convictions real? Do I just claim then because it's what I'm supposed to do?
I need to figure out if I really, truly believe my convictions. Then, if I do, I need to stick to them - no matter what the circumstances.