It’s Not What You’re Doing
Jeremiah 32:23
“And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them:”
You will often hear a young person say, “I’m not doing anything wrong.” With this statement they think they can get out of trouble. The problem lies in the matter that it was not that they did anything wrong, but that they didn’t do what they were supposed to do.
This was one of the problems with Israel that sent them into captivity. In the verse above, God tells how He gave them their land to possess, a land that flowed with milk and honey. Yet, when they entered the land, they didn’t do what they were supposed to do. It wasn’t that they lived a life of rebellion at first, it was that they didn’t obey the voice of the LORD. They simply omitted what they were supposed to do. They were supposed to conquer all the land, but they conquered some of the land. They were to be faithful to worship the LORD on a regular basis, but they stopped worshipping the LORD as they were commanded. God was showing that it was not what they were doing, but it was what they were not doing that caused His anger to be upon them.
Too many Christians go through life and think that they are not bad people because they are not doing any wrong; however, it is not that they are living a “wicked” life that is the problem, it is that they are not doing anything for God with their life. Sins of omission are just as bad as sins of commission. We must always remember that if one person has a right to stop doing their duties, then everyone has a right to stop doing what they are supposed to do. If one person has the right to stop doing their responsibility in the church, then the preacher has a right to stop preaching, the pianist can stop playing, the song leader can stop leading, the Sunday school teacher can stop teaching, the usher can stop ushering, the church secretary can stop typing and the greeter can stop greeting. We must understand that it is not always what we do that matters, but what we don’t do.
Let me take this one other direction. In a marriage it is not always what you are doing that causes problems, but what you’re not doing. You may not be running around on your spouse or looking at filthy pictures to cause the problems in your marriage. Most marriage problems are caused by one spouse who is not doing what they are supposed to do. It could be the husband not leading in the home like he should. It could be the wife not following like she should. It could be the husband not getting involved in parenting like he should. It could be the wife not meeting her husband’s needs like she should. Most marriage problems are simply a spouse not doing something that they should be doing.
You must be careful that you don’t fall for Satan’s trap of omitting your obligations. It is not always what you are doing that causes your problems, but what you’re not doing. No matter what area of life, you need to make sure that you are not only not doing what you shouldn’t do, but that you do what you are supposed to do. Omission is just as bad as commission. If you don’t do what you’re not supposed to do, and do what you’re supposed to do, then you will find that God will be pleased with your life. Right now, look at your life and see if there are some things that you are not doing that you should be doing, and decide not to let omission be a part of your life.