Doing God's Will

[Jesus said,] “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” (Matthew 21:28-31a)

In the weeks leading up to Super Bowl XL in 2006, Seattle Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens did what he always did: he talked a big game. In fact, he was so confident that he practically guaranteed that his team would beat the Steelers on Sunday. Stevens became the center of attention on Super Bowl Media Day.

Steelers fans know how that worked out for Stevens and his Seahawks. They would lose Super Bowl XL by a final score of 21-10. And while Stevens caught the only touchdown pass for the Seahawks, he also dropped several passes in key moments. His performance, and that of his team, did not live up to his pre-game comments. That day, the world discovered that Jerramy Stevens’ bark was worse than his bite.

Everyone knows how to talk a big game. We all make predictions and promises, and tell people what we are going to do. But do we always live up to the hype? Do we always live as we say we will?

I usually start my day with prayer and devotional reading. In that time, I am trying to connect with God and prepare to do God’s will that day. On good days, I follow through. I live like a disciple, following the command to love God and love others.

But I also have days where my bark is bigger than my bite. Like the second son in Jesus’ parable, I tell God all the things I will do in God’s name, but my actions tell a different story. I gossip. I complain. I fail to show compassion to others. Simply put, I don’t do what I said I was going to do.

What is God asking you to do today? How is God asking you to live? It is easy to say we’ll live as God wants us to. But saying we will do something and actually doing what we promise to do are two different things. Will you do the will of God today?