We know the commands. We know the instructions. We have our Bibles. And so many of them are so clear as to not be avoidable. We may start to think of God as a cosmic killjoy. And we may start to obey out of duty rather than delight. So let's think about that for a moment.
Let's face it. Some of God's commands are not "warm and fuzzy." I mean, who looks forward to "die to self" (Matt 16:24; Col 3:5) or "think of others as more important than yourself" (Php 2:3) or the like? Like the proverbial "girls," we just wanna have fun. But, like good Christians, we might knuckle under and get to it because, after all, we love Jesus, right? And I would guess that obeying out of a sense of duty is better than not obeying at all. It just seems like when Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15), "duty" wasn't in view. Love was. And "I love you because it's my duty" doesn't seem very ... loving. The problem, of course, is faulty thinking on our part. We think X is fun and when God says "No X" He's saying, "No fun." We're quite wrong. X might be fun, but fun is not the issue. When God says, "No X" it's because X is bad for us. It's like complaining that God won't allow us to drink the Draino. That'd be fun. But, no, it wouldn't, and only our shortsightedness would ever make us think otherwise.
If we believe that God is love and we believe that God is good, then it follows unavoidably that the things He commands are not to stop us from having fun, but to direct us to the best things. He's helping us avoid the bad in favor of the best. He's doing us a grand favor, because if He was like too many parents today, He'd just step back and let us run amok ... to our own harm. So, instead of duty, perhaps we might say, "Thanks" and deeply appreciate Him showing the way to a more fulfilling, more abundant life. What do you think?
5 comments:
Yes! We absolutely live in a society that seeks the temporary sensation of the fun, in place of the very best that YHWH has for us. To some degree we all do this, and we're all the worse for doing so.
I'm concerned about Christians (like me -- not pointing fingers away from me) who try to live the Christian life as a duty instead of a joy. That's missing the point, isn't it?
I think if we only do things out of a sense of duty, we lose sight of the real purpose of obedience, leading to disgruntledness and a lack of zeal for obedience.
Absolutely, that's a problem as well. That's where I was going with missing the very best YHWH has for us.
I very much concur with this message (and I loved the title!), as I have learned this lesson firsthand in my life--from my past participation in a duty-heavy, works-based religion (which includes both a “Mass of Obligation” and multiple “Holy Days of Obligation” in its practice, to give you a clue!)--to insights gleaned as a parent that enable me to understand that God’s “No X” is for my own good--to thinking back now about my life and knowing that God’s parameters have served perfectly to direct me to the best things, as you say--for this life and all eternity. The “girls just wanna have fun” existence pales in comparison to the abundant life granted by a loving Heavenly Father upon His trusting, grateful daughter!
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