Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:9-16 NIV)
I recently had a conversation with a student who was struggling with feeling obligated to do things, particularly spiritually. She felt it was hypocrisy to do something—praying, reading Scripture, reaching out to a new student—if it were done out of obligation rather than from her heart’s desire.
I have found a lot of “spiritual purists” in recent years, ones who believe it is better to do nothing than do things out of obligation. Either have the right motives or don’t do it. Unfortunately, such thinking discounts the reality of what Paul says that we have an obligation as believers to live in the Spirit.
We can easily see the folly in this thinking by looking at a few of the major characters in the Scriptures. Did Moses have pure motives when he went before Pharaoh? No. He was obligated to go because that is what God commanded him to do, even though he was reluctant to do so. (Exodus 3-4) Did Jeremiah embrace fully what the Lord asked him to do? No. Rather, he complained vehemently. (Jeremiah 12 & 20) When Jesus first called His 12 disciples, is there a sense of excitement among them? There is not; rather it seems there is a lot of fear and a sense they had no choice but to follow. (Luke 5:1-11) And finally, there is Paul. On the road to Damascus, was his decision to obey Jesus anything but an obligation? Was his heart in the right place at that time? Unlikely. Rather, the power and authority of the Lord overwhelmed him. He obeyed because he had to. (Acts 9)
In our culture, we place a high value on feelings as our primary motivator. We believe we need to have loving feelings before we act in love. We need to feel compassionate before we act compassionately. We need to feel generous before we act generously. But the Scriptures point us to a higher value—obedience. If Jesus is Lord, then we are to obey Him regardless of our feelings. Is it better to obey with joy and excitement? Of course. But, too, it is always better to obey no matter how we feel than be disobedient.
What we often fail to realize is feelings most often fall in line after obedience. Good marriage counseling focuses more on actions than feelings. If couples are feeling unloving toward one another and are seeking help, they are not advised to try to conjure up more feelings of love, but rather to begin acting lovingly toward one another. Those who act lovingly will likely see their feelings of love begin to grow.
In the same way, if we begin to do the things the Lord commands us to do even if we don’t feel like it, in time we will likely begin to experience the joy that comes with obedience. But the first step is to obey.
Today, what commands have you been avoiding because they feel like obligations? Rather than waiting for a time when you have the pure motives to do them, start now to merely obey. What may surprise you over time is that your feelings fall in line with your obedience.
© Jim Musser 2017
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