Sometimes, I do things only because I feel that I'm supposed to do them. My heart isn't always in it. Those things tend to be like chores to me, though that's a bad analogy, because I often find doing chores like sweeping and washing dishes strangely rewarding. I do them partly for the joy of getting the job done.
However, there are other things that, for me, are much more tedious than doing housework. These things, I often do only because I know I'm supposed to do them. Duty is my only motivation in completing these tasks. I don't really enjoy much about doing those things, and I don't think I have much to look forward to down the line, either, except maybe blessings for doing the right thing even when I didn't feel like it.
I know this isn't the best way to live. In life, there will always be tasks that we have to do, even though we don't enjoy or look forward to them, but there are also always things we could enjoy about them. I could look for the payoff of doing these tasks, and when I find them, I could focus on that. It would give me more motivation and it would help me to have more positive emotions than negative ones. That's a thing I should do, so I should do it, even if only because I'm supposed to.
In the meantime, I hope I get credit for doing good things, even when my attitude about doing them isn't wonderful. Actually, I'm sure I do, but I wonder how much credit I get for dutifully doing things I don't enjoy, compared to how much credit I would get for doing those things if I found something I could enjoy about them. At first thought, I would guess that I would get more credit for doing things even though I don't want to do them. But that means that if I learned to enjoy them, then I would stop getting this much credit for doing them. That would mean trading eternal credit for temporary enjoyment, which is certainly a bad trade. So, if I get more credit for dutifully doing things I don't enjoy than I would get if I did those things and enjoyed it, that means I have an incentive to deliberately not learn to like doing those things. That would mean that it would be better for me, in the long run, to not learn to enjoy doing the right thing.
This seems to go against God's plan. I'm sure that He would rather that I learn to enjoy being righteous, and to do it because I want to do it rather than because I'm supposed to. I'm sure I'll get blessings for doing my duty either way, but if I can find a way to enjoy doing my duty, then I can earn my eternal happiness, and enjoy some temporary happiness as well.
1 comment:
I think most of us probably do a lot, if not most, of the things we do because we are supposed to. Taking care of the business of life is not always what we "want" to do. However we can almost always find things to be grateful for. Do you hate to clean the bathroom? Remember the blessings of HAVING a bathroom. I am so grateful for clean running water and the miracle of plumbing. Isn't it nice not to have to go out to an outhouse in all weather?! I don't necessarily want to go to work each day, but I am glad to be able to pay my bills, to have a home, and food, and the necessities of life, plus a few comforts. I have the added bonus of knowing I work for the beautiful California State Parks and having pleasant, smart, hard-working co-workers. The endless dirty dishes? We have food! and family to enjoy it with. Serving someone who maybe does not really deserve it and is not appreciative? Be glad you are not them! Whatever the challenge, if we look we can usually find the blessings. OK, I can think of a thing or two that might prove difficult to find the blessing. Some things we might have to just be glad we don't have to do them all the time.
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