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Why Do You Do What You Do?
Have you ever wondered to yourself why people sometimes do the things they do? While sitting in an airport or any other public place, I often find myself looking at people in disbelief and wondering “what made them do that?” or “why would someone dress that way?”
When a person has determined to follow after God’s will, sinful behavior can and should seem foreign to us. In fact, we are to abhor sin and the results it brings about in the lives of people. Rom 12:9 tells us to “abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good”. Still, despite our desire to please God in all things we sometimes find ourselves, “not doing what we should do” and “doing what we should not do” like Paul discussed in Rom 7. Why is that?
Sometimes our shortcomings and the resultant sin is simply a matter of not keeping our guard up. Even when we think we have mastered dealing with a certain temptation, a lack of vigilance can provide an opportunity to the deceiver. Satan is described as a roaring lion going about seeking whom he might devour. (I Peter 5:8) This real and present danger does not go away after one chooses to follow after God, in fact that is often when we face our greatest trials. Satan knows our weaknesses and will not give up even after one has decided to submit themselves to God.
Still other times we find our actions are simply a result of doing what we want to do. Selfishness is the root cause of so much sin in our lives. News Flash -- Sin is tempting! If it weren’t people would never have a desire to sin. There can be momentary pleasures that result from sin, but these momentary pleasures pale in comparison to the eternal glory that awaits those who seek after the Lord. (There can also be negative consequences to sin in this life) Paul describes the difficult things we can face in this world as “momentary afflictions” that prepare us for the “eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17). The majority of the world we live in spends its lifetime seeking after these momentary pleasures to only find when they reach the end of their life an unfulfilled life that is without any real meaning. As Christians we must take care to maintain a proper perspective in regards to the things in this world and realize we are simply living this life to prepare for an eternal one.
Lastly, we can find people that actual “do the right things” but do not understand why they do them. Unfortunately, I’m afraid there are many so-called Christians who attend services three times a week, partake of the Lord’s Supper every Sunday, live a good moral life, put a little in the collection plate each week, etc… and think they have done what they have to in order to please God. They don’t really understand why they do those things, it’s just that’s what their parents or someone else has told them Christians must do. God condemned the Israelite people in Isaiah chapter one for a similar type of attitude. The Israelites continued to offer the sacrifices and keep the feast but their worship was not pleasing to God. Jesus also condemned the Pharisees in the gospels as hypocrites despite the fact that they appeared to keep all the old laws. They might have outwardly “done” the right things, but they were not motivated by a sincere heart. God requires of His followers worship from the heart.
Over and over again in scripture we are encouraged to maintain a pure heart if we want our lives and our worship to be pleasing to God. Matt 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”. 1 Timothy 1:5 “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith”. 2 Timothy 2:22 “so flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart”. 1 Peter 1:22 “having purified your souls by obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love on another earnestly from a pure heart”. Hebrews 10:22 “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water”.
As we seek to be about our Father’s business this year, my appeal to each of us is that we honestly evaluate our service to God. Why do we find ourselves giving in to Satan? Do we not keep up our guard as we should? Do we struggle with selfish desires to do what we want, instead of what our creator wants? Do we even do the right things, but don’t really know why? Are we simply caring on with what we think others expect us to do, or are we motivated by a sincere heart that desires to please God in all ways? Why do you do what you do?
