Fulfilling Your Obligation to the Lord?

We’ve all been there. At one time or another in your life you were sitting at the dining room table in front of a plate full of vegetables that looked anything but appetizing. You picked at them. You scooted them around on your plate. You probably even spread them out in an effort to make it look like you had eaten some of them. All the while mom and dad have been telling you, “You aren’t getting up until you eat your vegetables.” You want desperately to return to your Lego’s or dolls, but you simply cannot bring yourself to eat those loathsome green orbs that are set before you. As the vegetables grow colder and mom’s patience begins to run out, you attempt to strike a bargain: “How many do I have to eat before I can be excused?” And, in spite of your age, you begin to haggle with your parents like a seasoned flea-market aficionado about the number of peas you have to eat before you can be excused. After much back-and-forth, it is finally agreed that if you take “three more bites,” you may go back to your games. Aha! Sweet victory! You were able to successfully whittle it down to the bare minimum, and once you have gotten to that point you would not dream of going one step further than what you have to.

We see from this very typical experience that even as young children we tend to want to skate by, doing the essentials, but no more. And unfortunately, the only thing that increases as we get older is our aptitude to find new ways to cut corners in our effort to get by with the bare minimum. We do it with chores: “Can I just de-clutter, or do I have to vacuum and mop too?” We do it with our school work: “What must I do to maintain a “B” average?” We do it with work: “What do I have to do to keep the boss off my back?” Unfortunately, this is not a very admirable quality to have built into our character and yet we do it in almost every area of our lives. Sadly, we even do it in our relationship with God.

Far too often I have heard brethren speak about “fulfilling their obligation to the Lord.” What does this mean? Most often what we mean by this is that we have done what the Lord wants us to do. I have read my Bible and spent some time studying this week. I began every morning with prayer. I visited those who were sick and in need of encouragement. I went to worship. I observed the Lord Supper. And when we have done all these things, we feel that we have somehow fulfilled our duty to God and that He should be happy and satisfied with our service. We feel that we have done enough to be pleasing to Him. When we—myself included—think this way, I am afraid that we have missed the mark. Our own estimation of the service we render to God is much grander than what it truly is in all actuality.

I’m not saying that God is not happy or pleased when we do things in service to Him. On the contrary, He is pleased. He wants nothing more than for us to do what is right and pleasing in His sight. The problem does not lie within the actions we take, but rather the attitude with which we approach our service to God. We would not care to admit it, but far too often we look at our service to God as we looked at the peas on our plate. How many do I have to eat before I can go back to what I really want to be doing? How much do I have to do in order to get into heaven? How much do I have to do to be faithful to the Lord? This is a dangerous way of thinking. We should never be satisfied with doing the bare minimum for our Lord. The day we feel that we have done enough in our service to Him is the day that we cease to be pleasing to Him in our service.     

Ultimately our question should not be, “How much is enough?” but rather, “What more can I do for my Lord?” We should always strive to do more and more for our Master. Nothing less than our best is expected. No matter how much we do for Him, we could always do more. Consider the teachings of Jesus on this subject: “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’?” (Luke 17:7). The obvious answer to this question is, “None of us would do this!” The slave who has done the work that the master has required of him in the field does not cease to be a slave when he comes into the house. He cannot expect to have special treatment, or act as though he has earned something by doing a portion of his work. When he returns to the house there is more work that he must do there. Why? Because he is the slave. Jesus goes on to say, “But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?” (Luke 17:7-8). Again, the obvious and implied answer is, “No.” The point is that the slave, even after he has done a portion of the work that his master has given him to do, cannot say to the master, “I have done enough. My obligation to you is fulfilled.” There is always something more that the master can call on him to do, and he, if he is a good servant, will be ready to do the master’s bidding.

The same is true for us in our relationship with God. We cannot expect to merit something by doing what we are commanded to do. Jesus said, “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'” (Luke 17:9). The truth is that even if we were able to accomplish everything that the Lord has given us to do—even if we were able to keep His commandments perfectly, even if we were to never make a mistake but rather fulfilled every duty and carried out every command that we were given in our lives—we have earned nothing. Our attitude should still be, “I am a slave who has done only what I should have done.” The simple point is: We have never done, nor will we ever be able to do, enough in our service to our Master.

Paul in writing to the Thessalonians tells them, “Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more” (1 Thessalonians 4:1). We see here that though the brethren in Thessalonica were doing good—they actually were walking in a way that was pleasing to God—the admonition to them was that they excel still more. The same can be said to us today. You are walking well, but you could walk better. You are doing a lot in the service of God, but you could be doing more. You are studying your Bible every day, but you could be studying with others as well. No matter how much we are doing, we can always be doing more!

Let us not have an attitude or an approach to the service of God that says, “Finally, I have done enough.” Rather, let us approach our service to God with the attitude that says, “Here I am Lord. Use me as much as you can use me.” And once He has done that, ask, “Please Lord, use me more!”