Duty of Devotion?
When your heart changes, even ordinary tasks become acts of worship.
Duty or Devotion?
This Sunday’s sermon came from Colossians 3:23–24, verses many of us have heard countless times:
“Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24
On the surface, that seems like a pretty straightforward command. Work hard. Serve God. Do your best. But as I listened to the sermon and discussed it with our Life Group, I realized these verses aren’t really about what we do. They’re about why we do it.
Our pastor used two illustrations that immediately connected with the congregation. He talked about beanbag Christians and high chair Christians.
A beanbag Christian enjoys all the blessings that come with following Jesus. They appreciate the grace of God, the fellowship of the church, and the encouragement of other believers. They’re comfortable. Maybe a little too comfortable. They love attending church, but they’re always too busy when it’s time to serve. As soon as he described that picture, there were smiles and a few knowing laughs around the room because we’ve all seen it before. Just like a beanbag, we get nice and cozy and do not want to move from our spot.
It reminded me of the old story of the Little Red Hen. None of the animals wanted to help plant the wheat, grind the flour, or bake the bread, but when everything was finished, they were first in line to enjoy the meal. If we’re honest, churches can sometimes look the same way.
You’ve probably heard the saying that twenty percent of the people do one hundred percent of the work. I don’t know if those numbers are accurate, but every time I’ve heard someone say it, people nod their heads. Most of us have also met “Not Me.” In our family of six, “Not Me” is practically our fifth child.
“Who left this mess?”
“Not me.”
“Who’s taking out the trash?”
“Not me.”
It’s funny around our house, but it becomes a problem when nobody takes ownership. Six people can make a mess in a hurry, and if everyone assumes someone else will take care of it, the mess only gets bigger.
The other picture was the high chair Christian. These are people who are always busy. They volunteer. They attend every service. They check every spiritual box. From the outside, everything looks exactly as it should. The problem is that somewhere along the way, serving becomes duty instead of devotion.
Adrian Rogers once described what a church full of Pharisees would look like. They would attend every service, give faithfully, volunteer constantly, avoid the obvious sins, and still be lost. That’s a sobering thought. Jesus’ strongest rebukes weren’t aimed at tax collectors or fishermen. They were aimed at religious people who had mastered the appearance of holiness while neglecting the condition of their hearts.
That’s what struck me most about Sunday’s message. Duty and devotion can look almost identical from the outside. Two people can be serving in the exact same ministry, doing the exact same task, and God sees two completely different hearts.
I know I’ve been on both sides of that equation.
There have been Sundays when I went to church simply because that’s what I do on Sundays. Then there have been Sundays when I walked through the doors praying that God would speak to me. The church didn’t change. The people didn’t change. Even the sermon didn’t change. The only thing that changed was my heart.
The same thing happens at home.
I’ll be honest—I don’t enjoy cleaning the kitchen. If I walk in and see dishes piled up after a long day, it’s hard to get excited about grabbing the sponge. But if Karen isn’t feeling well, something changes. I’m still wiping the same counters and loading the same dishwasher, but now I’m doing it because I love her. The task is exactly the same. My motivation is completely different.
A few weeks ago I spent a good part of a hot day staining our deck. Let’s be real. I really didn’t care what color the deck was. It looked fine to me before I started. But Karen enjoys sitting outside, and I knew it would make her happy. It was hot. It was tedious. My back reminded me of every board I stained. Yet every time she comes inside after sitting on the deck, she thanks me.
I didn’t stain the deck because I love projects.
I stained the deck because I love my wife.
That’s the difference between duty and devotion.
I think about that at work too. Every day I help people solve technology problems. Some requests take only a few minutes. Others require a lot more patience. I’ve always tried to treat every person with the same respect and urgency because each one matters. Over the years I’ve even taken on projects no one asked me to do simply because I knew they would make someone else’s job easier.
Sometimes people noticed.
Sometimes someone else received the credit.
I’d be lying if I said that never bothered me. It does. But then I’m reminded that Colossians says I’m not ultimately working for people’s approval. I’m working for the Lord. His opinion carries a lot more weight than anyone else’s.
If I retired tomorrow, I hope people wouldn’t remember the software I supported or the projects I completed. I hope they’d simply say, “Maury was always willing to help.”
That’s the reputation I want.
The same thing happens at church. Brighton and I usually serve after the final service each Sunday. Most people are heading home while we’re stacking chairs, cleaning up, or driving staff members to their cars on the golf cart. Those aren’t glamorous jobs, but they’ve become some of my favorites. We’ve gotten to know staff members we probably never would have talked with otherwise, and every week I’m reminded that no job is beneath someone who follows Jesus.
After all, our Savior washed feet.
As we talked through the sermon in Life Group, someone brought up the idea of character. That’s really what all of this comes down to. Character is who you are when nobody is watching. It’s doing the right thing even if no one notices. It’s serving even if no one thanks you. It’s living with integrity because you know God sees what no one else does.
The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve realized that being comes before doing.
Jesus didn’t tell His disciples to try harder to produce fruit. He told them to abide in Him. A branch doesn’t stay alive by working harder. It stays alive by staying connected to the vine.
I’ve noticed that’s how my own relationship with God has changed over the years, especially after becoming a husband and father. I don’t wait until a scheduled prayer time to talk with Him anymore. If something good happens, I thank Him. If something difficult happens, I ask Him for wisdom and help. I try to make sure my thank you’s outweigh my help me’s because healthy relationships aren’t built only around emergencies.
If my children kept the house spotless but never wanted to spend time with me, I’d be heartbroken. I’d much rather have a messy house filled with conversation than a spotless one filled with silence. I have to believe our Heavenly Father feels the same way. Before He wants our service, He wants our hearts.
As I finish writing this article, I’m sitting in our bonus room while Grayson plays video games. I’m not playing. I’m not even talking very much. I’m just sitting here with him because he asked me not leave the room after I got done playing a little.
After a while I asked, “Buddy, why did you want me in here if we’re not really doing anything?”
Without taking his eyes off the screen, he answered, “I just like your company.”
I smiled because I immediately thought about God.
So much of my Christian life has been spent asking, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
Maybe, before He asks us to do anything, He’s simply saying, “Come spend some time with Me.”
The more time we spend with Him, the more our hearts begin to change. Serving stops feeling like an obligation and starts becoming a privilege. We no longer clean the kitchen because we have to. We no longer volunteer because someone guilted us into it. We no longer go to church simply because it’s Sunday.
We do those things because we’ve spent time with Jesus, and loving Him naturally changes the way we love and serve others.
That’s the difference between duty and devotion.
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Thanks for reading. I’m grateful you’re here.
I, too, have sat in both of those chairs, Maury. And I'm so grateful God has given me the time to grow closer to him so I can hear him inviting me into his lap. Thank you!