Do you ever feel like there’s something you know you should do but you decide not to anyway? Maybe you know you should take a moment to talk to someone but you don’t want to slow down or pause your podcast. Possibly you know you should spend that free moment in God’s word. But you choose to scroll Instagram instead. Whatever it is we all have moments where we know we should do something as a Christian but for some reason, we choose not to. Most of the time we see no problem in this, but what if I told you doing so was in fact referred to as a sin in the Bible.
James 4:17 (ESV)
17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
This verse in James refers to several different things. For instance, if you know what it takes to be saved but refuse to do it then you are still living in sin. The knowledge alone won’t save you. Also, if you know you should tithe but don’t you are sinning against God. As you are not doing as instructed in His word. However, this verse also has to do with the leading of God. When we are able to tell that God’s Spirit is leading us to do something but we decide to ignore it and do something else instead. Such action is sinful because we have decided to go our own way against the leading of the Lord.
Whenever we don’t do something that we know we should we choose to neglect the wisdom of God and rely on our understanding. Which is the exact opposite of what we are instructed to do in our Bible. It is wrong to constantly say I know I should pray but I’m just so busy. Or I know I should spend some time reading the Bible but I’m going to just watch tv instead to relax. We often let things like this run off our backs but the truth of the matter is it is sinful.
God is drawing us in one direction while the flesh and the enemy pull us the other way. The activity we choose to do instead of what we feel we should do may not itself be sinful. But that doesn’t mean it is beneficial to us. In reality, neglecting what we know we should do in living for God to do something else will eventually cause our relationship with God to deteriorate.
Proverbs 3:5 (ESV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
1 Corinthians 10:23 (ESV)
23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.
Galatians 5:17 (ESV)
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
God does not force us into His will but the spirit does try to lead us. When we have that unwavering feeling to do something, especially something defined in scripture, that is the leading of the spirit. We should follow it and do whatever it is we know we should and that we can tell God wants us to do. Whether that means giving, offering a helping hand, sharing the Gospel with a strange, stopping to pray, reading the Bible, worshiping the Lord, or any other myriad of Christian acts.
Galatians 5:16 (ESV)
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Romans 8:5 (ESV)
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
To push off the knowledge of what we should do that comes from the Holy Spirit in order to do something pleasing to the flesh is sinful. Whatever God leads us to do is in our best interest. When you know you should do something then just do it. Trust that God knows what is best for you and that you will receive something from it.
We don’t have to understand why God wants us to do something or even why He doesn’t want us to do something else. All we need to understand, as Christians, is that God knows far more than we could ever begin to imagine. That He loves us more than we could ever realize and has our best interest at heart. If we follow the leading of His spirit this truth will only become more apparent and we see Him prepare us for all of life’s storms.
1 John 3:20 (ESV)
20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.
Psalm 147:5 (ESV)
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
The next time you know you should do something, don’t push it off. Don’t turn your focus or act as though it was just a passing thought. See it as what it is, the leading of God, and a sin to ignore. Take that moment to pray, study, or talk to the strange in the street. There is no telling where God is trying to lead you if you will only follow Him. One thing’s for sure though, always doing what you know that you should will keep you on the narrow path to eternal peace. While ignoring what you know is right and doing what you know you shouldn’t will only lead you onto the narrow path headed for destruction.
Matthew 7:13–14 (ESV)
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Which path are you going to choose? Personally, I am going to do my best to always heed the call of the Lord. Doing what I feel led to do by the spirit. No longer choosing my own way or thinking it doesn’t matter if I neglect things every now in them. Instead, I am going to see not doing what I know I should do as the sin it is. Treating it as such, avoiding it to the best of my ability, and repenting when I fall. I hope you will do the same and always do those things you just know you should be doing.
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