Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

There is a difference between faithful and religious.

Both involve work -exertion of effort to achieve an end.

But the difference is why it's done and who it's done in service to.

As I learned through a dark night of the soul, I can claim the things I do are for God but that are actually and ultimately for me.

This was evidenced by my nearly walking away from faith because I was doing "good" things but bad things were still happening in my life. It violated my expectation of "wages", that is, if I do good things, I should get good things –a payday.

It's like working for a company. Ultimately your work is in service to yourself, not the company. If they don't pay you, you will no longer work.

It is do to get.

Contrast this with doing something for a loved one.

I recently traveled hundreds of miles to help my beloved nephew (son) move out of college for the summer.

It was work. It was inconvenient. It was costly and I was delighted to do it. I gladly went at my own expense.

Why? Because I love him and I want him to know he's loved. I want to help him. I want to contribute to his well-being.

And, like most teenagers, there wasn't any real indication that he got it. But, I was more than satisfied and my heart was full of joy just knowing that I gave.

This is do to give.

A key difference between religious and faithful is who my work is done in service to: an employer (which is ultimately in service to myself) or a beloved.

But the main difference is why I work: doing to get or doing to give.

With religion, I can rigorously observe and follow rules and be just as full of hate and hell as someone who is completely without any moral code or regiment.

But faithfulness springs from love.

There's a reason the Apostle Paul refers to himself, not as a servant who receives wages, but as a δοῦλος –doulos, an unpaid slave of Christ.

It alludes to Exodus 21:5,
“But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ “then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever."

The Apostle Paul willingly gave His service because He loved the Master. He didn't just dispatch his duties, he was delighted to do so.

So, as I struggle with maintaining motivation and resenting the daily grind –"what I've got to do today", I ask myself am I being religious or am I being faithful? Who am I doing it for and why?

I earnestly desire to be faithful and live out Colossians 3:23,

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men"

So, I call my mind again to my Lord, Jesus Christ. Even though I do it imperfectly, I do sincerely love Him.

When I remember everything I do and how I do it is an opportunity to help Him, contribute to His work, and to let Him know He's loved, my work becomes less about what I've got to do and becomes more about what I get to do.

But above all, I want a heart set on Him so that what I do is based on fealty rather than feeling.

That strength of heart does not come as a lighting bolt from heaven but only comes by way of exercise. I have to do cardio. I must exercise myself to godliness (1 Timothy 4:7).

Just like physical fitness, that spiritual strength of heart is only found through obedience –working out, and often against my short-term will.

Lord, by Your grace and by Your Spirit, please help me perfect my love of You and keep it ever before me that I might do all I do, not for myself but for You, and that I do it not for wages but because I love You that I might be found faithful rather than religious. For the glory of the Father, the purpose of Jesus Christ, I ask these things. Amen.

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