August 1992

OBLIGATIONS AND OPTIONS

     The last thing Jesus did before He ascended to the Father was to give a command.  We call it The Great Commission.  It lays some very specific responsibilities, or obligations, on our shoulders.  No amount of rationalization can release us from these obligations.  We must do what Jesus told us to do.

     There are many other commands in the Bible which we are responsible to obey.  Not only are we to make, baptize, and teach disciples, but we are to pray, give, worship, etc.  There is no way to experience the peace and joy which is our birthright if we are not obedient to these commands of God.

     Now, while there are many obligations which we must fulfill, the Lord has given us great freedom in the specifics of our obedience.  For example:  we are to worship.  That is an obligation.  But we are not told when, or where, or exactly how we are to do this.  We are free to choose the time and place and form that seems best to us.  In other words, we have many options for fulfilling our obligations.

     We run into a problem, however, when we get our obligations and options mixed up.  Somehow, we frequently decide that the option which we have chosen to fulfill our obligation is an obligation itself.  Often this becomes such a rigid pattern that we lose most of the joy that should be a part of our obedience.  We begin by choosing a particular activity or action as a response to God's command.  Then our response becomes a law which we no longer choose, but by which we are bound.  And, what is even worse, we begin to insist that others see this option as an obligation also.  We try to put them under the same law we have placed ourselves under.

     To illustrate:  we are commanded to pray.  That is an obligation.  Suppose we decide that the best way to fulfill this obligation is on our knees for one hour each morning at 6:00.  There is nothing wrong with that, if it is an honest free choice on our part.  But then let's suppose we decide that everybody needs to do the same thing.  Then we begin to insist that everyone else must do as we have done.  And we begin to look down on those who do not conform.

     Making options into obligations and forcing them on others is the very essence of Phariseeism.  It makes us frustrated and unhappy because we can't get others to see things our way.  And if we do get others to follow our lead, they are often frustrated and unhappy because it wasn't their free choice.  It was not an option for them, but an obligation - an obligation laid on them not by the Lord, but by someone else.

     Perhaps a thoughtful reading of Romans 14 will help us to sort things out concerning masters and servants and judging.  Then, perhaps, we will allow others the same freedom we enjoy in selecting options to fit the obligations of the Christian life.