CALL TO DUTY
Rick Ashlock
“Duty then is the most sublime word in the English language. You should do your duty in all things. You can never do more, you should never wish to do less.” General Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)
The official motto of the State of Nevada is “Battle Born.” In New Hampshire, it’s “Live Free or Die.” The Arkansas state flag is an adaptation of the Confederate battle flag. On virtually any weekend in the South, you can find a civil war battle re-enactment, usually with the boys in gray winning. This country was created through a war and has seen at least its share of warfare during its almost two hundred and thirty years of existence.
Generally, Americans are proud of their military heritage as evidenced by the abundance of memorials and monuments to the men and women who have gone into harm’s way and the sites of famous battles within our own borders. However, there is more than a desire to rejoice in victory or to commemorate those who were lost, which are the usually stated purposes, behind the dedication of our memorials . Collectively, these monuments attest to a willingness our nation has almost always possessed to answer what it viewed as a call to duty as well as an abiding conviction that there are things that are of greater value than even human life.
In my own experience, I have found Christians to be among the most patriotic people I have known. Of course, the Bible teaches us to be good citizens, to be willing to make sacrifices, and that through the deaths of some, life can be made abundantly available to those previously without it. Over the last few years, it has become quite clear that the application of the faith many Americans possess is one of the things which makes our country fundamentally different from many of our historical allies.
It is very interesting, then, that so many people of faith are willing to answer a political or cultural call to duty but are unwilling to answer a spiritual call to duty. In fact, we, as Christians, have many duties to which we are called and they are all of equal importance. While everyone has particular areas of service to which they are particularly well-suited, most of the Christian duties can and are to be fulfilled by all Christians. The question, then, is what is keeping us from fulfilling our Christian duties?
It may be that there are as many excuses for neglecting our Christian duties as there are duties themselves. However, there are, I think, three main reasons we neglect our Christian duties. First, sometimes we do not know what our duties are. We may be Christians for a long time and faithfully attend Bible studies and worship services for years and yet be ignorant of what God has called us to do. Perhaps, despite our attendance, we have never had our duties properly explained to us or, more likely, we have failed to see the relevance of what is being taught to our own situation. It is important not to just listen to what is being taught or to just read what is written down but to take those lessons and apply them honestly to yourself and the life you are living and see where and how you can grow and improve.
Second, our duties conflict with our own desires and we place greater priority on what we want to do rather than what we have been called to do. Christians must be constantly vigilant in making certain that they are putting God first in their lives and honoring Him before anything else. It is important that we do not just agree to obey God but that we have a strong desire to obey God. We must grow to the point that pleasing Him is the most important and most desirable thing in our lives. That is not an easy task and it may be that the limitations of humanity keep us from fully dying to ourselves so that we can live only for Him. Yet, ultimate obedience is found only when our will and God’s will are not in accord and we choose what God wants over what we want. Christ had no desire to go to the cross but in subjecting himself to the humiliation and agony He showed us what true obedience is. If we know God wants us to do one thing but we want to do another, we should not get frustrated or discouraged because of the conflict of wills. Rather, we should rejoice that we have a specific opportunity to subject our will to God’s and grow from that experience.
Third, and I believe this is the most difficult obstacle to overcome, we grow weary of fulfilling our duties over the course of our lives. Try as we might, it can become difficult to focus on the ultimate prize that we have been promised when faced with the daily struggle of remaining faithful. There are no quick fixes or easy answers to the problem of genuine spiritual fatigue in the faithful Christian. My recommendation is to look at every aspect of your Christian walk and make sure that you have not grown slack in things like personal study and prayer which can provide energy and strength. However, the most effective remedy may be to look for a new way of serving God. It may be intimidating to start a completely new task but the educational process that goes along with it is always very stimulating and it can lead you to a new understanding and appreciation for who God is.
Finally, there is no greater encouragement to perform your Christian duty than to look around at the people in your life and see how much they need what God can give them through you, especially when those people are young people. Seeing the hope and promise they have within them can renew those things within those of us who are a few years older. Whoever the people that are in your life happen to be, thank God that He has blessed you with an opportunity to serve them in His name.