One of the things I do as a pastor, in the role of a shepherd, is round up strays. On any given Sunday, there are any number of people who for whatever reason miss church. Most people like to know that they've been missed, so if I notice that someone is missing, I give them a call or send them a message to let them know that we missed them.
I was following up with a guy who missed church last Sunday. He's been having some tough times, and he said, "I just woke up Sunday morning and I just didn't feel like coming to church."
We've all been there. Let me let out a little secret- a lot of pastors feel that way too.
However, I said, "What does that have to do with anything?"
I went on, "There are times I don't feel like coming to church, and I'm a pastor! I also have times where I don't feel like playing sports with my kids. Sometimes I don't feel like praying. Sometimes I don't feel like paying a bill, or going to work, or talking with my wife, or working out. There are times I don't feel like mowing the grass, doing the laundry, washing the car, going to one of my kids' ball games, or even reading the Bible."
"So you're equating worship of God with mowing the grass?" he asked.
"No," I said. "I'm equating it with life. Why is it that even though we don't feel like doing those things, we do them anyway? Answer: because it's our duty."
Duty.
The word "duty" is a bad word in American culture right now, especially in the church. American Christians have bought into a false ideology that says we have to feel it for it to be real. If we "feel" close to God, we are; and if we don't feel close to God, we aren't. If we "feel" like going to church, then it is real; if we don't "feel" like going to church, we are being hypocrites if we go. If we don't "feel" like worshiping, we shouldn't.
Maybe that's why the church is in the shape it's in today- we have based our entire concept of spirituality on a fleeting feeling that has more to do with our emotional state at the time than it does on any real spiritual condition or truth.
The Bible is full of stories of people who did things even when they didn't "feel" like it.
I doubt very seriously Jesus "felt" like going to the cross, but He did it anyway.
I doubt very seriously the apostle Paul "felt" like getting flogged, stoned, shipwrecked, beaten with rods, and slandered; yet he did it anyway.
I doubt very seriously that Peter "felt" like getting crucified upside down for his preaching, yet he did it anyway. And the list goes on.
What set the heroes of the faith apart from the others was the fact that they emphasized duty over feelings. Yes, Christians- we have a duty. Sometimes we aren't going to feel like praying, studying, sharing our faith, attending church, or making a God-honoring decision. So what? Life is full of things we do without "feeling like it." Why should our faith be any different?
Here is what I, as a pastor, am imploring all of you to do. When faced with a decision, do not give regard to your feelings, which change according to mood, circumstances, and whims. Give total regard to your IDENTITY.
I told my friend, "Stop paying attention to how you feel, and instead, ask yourself "What does a Christian do? Does a Christian attend church on Sunday? Yes. So that's what you do. There will be times when you are completely and totally excited about church, and there are other times when you would rather be fishing or shopping or sleeping in or watching Sportscenter. But what difference does that make to a Christian? If you are a Christian, then do what a Christian does."
Do what a Christian does. It's a revolutionary concept. But it's one that is desperately needed in the church.
Are you a Christian? Then do what a Christian does. Christians don't hem and haw when it comes to being part of a church. Christians don't hem and haw when it comes to prayer, studying the Word, or sharing their faith. Christians don't hem and haw and fart around when it comes to practicing their faith in day-to-day living.
Athletes train when they don't feel like it.
Workers work when they don't feel like it.
Parents parent when they don't feel like it.
Spouses love the other when they don't feel like it.
Why?
Because that's their duty.
Yes, Christians, we have spiritual duties, and many of us have been woefully negligent of them. We have cast our spiritual life as something to be practiced when we "feel like it." Well, that is why the church is so impotent and lukewarm. It's not that we don't love Jesus- it's that we have neglected our duties as Christians. We only practice our faith, or attend church, or pray, or anything else when we are in the mood.
No great athlete has ever become great because he practiced only when he "felt like it."
No great employee has ever become great because he went to work only when he "felt like it."
No great parent has ever become a great parent when she only parented when she "felt like it."
No great marriage has ever become great when the spouses loved each other only when they "felt like it."
No person has ever developed a strong faith when they only were spiritual when they "felt like it."
So, here's the honest truth: a lot of our walk with Christ is duty. Yes it is. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something. Part of the Christian faith is work; hard, unrelenting, thankless work. There will be Sunday mornings where you don't feel like worshiping. There will be Monday afternoons when you don't feel like praying. There will be Thursday mornings when you don't feel like forgiving your spouse. That's life. Deal with it.
Some of us believe that we have to "feel" it for it to be real. I disagree. It isn't what you feel that makes it real; it's what you are committed to that makes it real. I would even go as far as to say that you, your identity, is simply made up of the sum total of your commitments.
As a pastor, I'm impressed with someone who has every reason not to show up on a Sunday morning, every reason in the world not to forgive, every reason in the world not to pray, every reason in the world not to serve, but does it anyway. I am more impressed with that person than a person who shows up eagerly. Why? Because anyone can serve when they are eager. That takes no great dedication. But the one whose life is falling apart, the one who has been hurt, the one who is exhausted, the one who has every excuse in the world not to stay faithful but stays faithful anyway? Now that's impressive. That's faith. And that's what is woefully absent from most if not all of our churches today.
I think it's time that we as Christians, especially pastors, start emphasizing the word "duty" again. It is a bad word in churches today. It connotates dead and stale religion; a "going-through-the-motions" kind of deal, rather than a "My-heart-is-in-it-and-therefore-it's-real" mentality. Nothing could be further from the truth. Duty was what built the church in the first place. The early church, and early church leaders, had an overwhelming sense of duty that motivated them beyond what felt right. It is because of their unrelenting sense of duty that now one out of every three people on this planet calls himself or herself a Christian.
If you don't have a strong sense of Christian duty, you will fall away every time the ebb and flow of passion reaches a low point. You will justify your dereliction of duty by saying, "I don't want to be a hypocrite- I don't feel it so it must not be real," but in the end, it will simply be a shirking of your responsibility and duty to God. We don't put up with dereliction of duty in other areas of life- we don't allow ourselves to shirk our parenting responsibilities, do we? How many mothers truly feel like cleaning up vomit at 2 am? Yet we do it anyway, because it's our duty.
One thing is certain- every time that I, as a pastor, have fought through my apathy and done my duty even though I didn't feel like it, I am always glad I did. It formed character within me, it formed faith within me, and it formed morality and righteousness within me. I am challenging you to do the same. Let's bring the word duty back into the church. Let's do what we need to do even when we don't feel like it. Let's do what Christians do, even when we'd rather do something else.
Duty.
I was following up with a guy who missed church last Sunday. He's been having some tough times, and he said, "I just woke up Sunday morning and I just didn't feel like coming to church."
We've all been there. Let me let out a little secret- a lot of pastors feel that way too.
However, I said, "What does that have to do with anything?"
I went on, "There are times I don't feel like coming to church, and I'm a pastor! I also have times where I don't feel like playing sports with my kids. Sometimes I don't feel like praying. Sometimes I don't feel like paying a bill, or going to work, or talking with my wife, or working out. There are times I don't feel like mowing the grass, doing the laundry, washing the car, going to one of my kids' ball games, or even reading the Bible."
"So you're equating worship of God with mowing the grass?" he asked.
"No," I said. "I'm equating it with life. Why is it that even though we don't feel like doing those things, we do them anyway? Answer: because it's our duty."
Duty.
The word "duty" is a bad word in American culture right now, especially in the church. American Christians have bought into a false ideology that says we have to feel it for it to be real. If we "feel" close to God, we are; and if we don't feel close to God, we aren't. If we "feel" like going to church, then it is real; if we don't "feel" like going to church, we are being hypocrites if we go. If we don't "feel" like worshiping, we shouldn't.
Maybe that's why the church is in the shape it's in today- we have based our entire concept of spirituality on a fleeting feeling that has more to do with our emotional state at the time than it does on any real spiritual condition or truth.
The Bible is full of stories of people who did things even when they didn't "feel" like it.
I doubt very seriously Jesus "felt" like going to the cross, but He did it anyway.
I doubt very seriously the apostle Paul "felt" like getting flogged, stoned, shipwrecked, beaten with rods, and slandered; yet he did it anyway.
I doubt very seriously that Peter "felt" like getting crucified upside down for his preaching, yet he did it anyway. And the list goes on.
What set the heroes of the faith apart from the others was the fact that they emphasized duty over feelings. Yes, Christians- we have a duty. Sometimes we aren't going to feel like praying, studying, sharing our faith, attending church, or making a God-honoring decision. So what? Life is full of things we do without "feeling like it." Why should our faith be any different?
Here is what I, as a pastor, am imploring all of you to do. When faced with a decision, do not give regard to your feelings, which change according to mood, circumstances, and whims. Give total regard to your IDENTITY.
I told my friend, "Stop paying attention to how you feel, and instead, ask yourself "What does a Christian do? Does a Christian attend church on Sunday? Yes. So that's what you do. There will be times when you are completely and totally excited about church, and there are other times when you would rather be fishing or shopping or sleeping in or watching Sportscenter. But what difference does that make to a Christian? If you are a Christian, then do what a Christian does."
Do what a Christian does. It's a revolutionary concept. But it's one that is desperately needed in the church.
Are you a Christian? Then do what a Christian does. Christians don't hem and haw when it comes to being part of a church. Christians don't hem and haw when it comes to prayer, studying the Word, or sharing their faith. Christians don't hem and haw and fart around when it comes to practicing their faith in day-to-day living.
Athletes train when they don't feel like it.
Workers work when they don't feel like it.
Parents parent when they don't feel like it.
Spouses love the other when they don't feel like it.
Why?
Because that's their duty.
Yes, Christians, we have spiritual duties, and many of us have been woefully negligent of them. We have cast our spiritual life as something to be practiced when we "feel like it." Well, that is why the church is so impotent and lukewarm. It's not that we don't love Jesus- it's that we have neglected our duties as Christians. We only practice our faith, or attend church, or pray, or anything else when we are in the mood.
No great athlete has ever become great because he practiced only when he "felt like it."
No great employee has ever become great because he went to work only when he "felt like it."
No great parent has ever become a great parent when she only parented when she "felt like it."
No great marriage has ever become great when the spouses loved each other only when they "felt like it."
No person has ever developed a strong faith when they only were spiritual when they "felt like it."
So, here's the honest truth: a lot of our walk with Christ is duty. Yes it is. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something. Part of the Christian faith is work; hard, unrelenting, thankless work. There will be Sunday mornings where you don't feel like worshiping. There will be Monday afternoons when you don't feel like praying. There will be Thursday mornings when you don't feel like forgiving your spouse. That's life. Deal with it.
Some of us believe that we have to "feel" it for it to be real. I disagree. It isn't what you feel that makes it real; it's what you are committed to that makes it real. I would even go as far as to say that you, your identity, is simply made up of the sum total of your commitments.
As a pastor, I'm impressed with someone who has every reason not to show up on a Sunday morning, every reason in the world not to forgive, every reason in the world not to pray, every reason in the world not to serve, but does it anyway. I am more impressed with that person than a person who shows up eagerly. Why? Because anyone can serve when they are eager. That takes no great dedication. But the one whose life is falling apart, the one who has been hurt, the one who is exhausted, the one who has every excuse in the world not to stay faithful but stays faithful anyway? Now that's impressive. That's faith. And that's what is woefully absent from most if not all of our churches today.
I think it's time that we as Christians, especially pastors, start emphasizing the word "duty" again. It is a bad word in churches today. It connotates dead and stale religion; a "going-through-the-motions" kind of deal, rather than a "My-heart-is-in-it-and-therefore-it's-real" mentality. Nothing could be further from the truth. Duty was what built the church in the first place. The early church, and early church leaders, had an overwhelming sense of duty that motivated them beyond what felt right. It is because of their unrelenting sense of duty that now one out of every three people on this planet calls himself or herself a Christian.
If you don't have a strong sense of Christian duty, you will fall away every time the ebb and flow of passion reaches a low point. You will justify your dereliction of duty by saying, "I don't want to be a hypocrite- I don't feel it so it must not be real," but in the end, it will simply be a shirking of your responsibility and duty to God. We don't put up with dereliction of duty in other areas of life- we don't allow ourselves to shirk our parenting responsibilities, do we? How many mothers truly feel like cleaning up vomit at 2 am? Yet we do it anyway, because it's our duty.
One thing is certain- every time that I, as a pastor, have fought through my apathy and done my duty even though I didn't feel like it, I am always glad I did. It formed character within me, it formed faith within me, and it formed morality and righteousness within me. I am challenging you to do the same. Let's bring the word duty back into the church. Let's do what we need to do even when we don't feel like it. Let's do what Christians do, even when we'd rather do something else.
Duty.
No comments:
Post a Comment