Proverbs 16:2
“All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.”
There was a boy when I was young who had the habit of pooching out his lip when he was told to do something. I can remember my siblings and I talking about what our parents would do if we pooched out our lip. We knew that our parents would not put up with such an attitude.
When my mother told us to do something, she not only expected us to immediately obey, but she also expected us to obey with a good attitude. Whenever we were doing something that she told us to do with a bad attitude, she would often say, “You had better pick up that lip before I help you pick it up.” It wasn’t that we were pooching our lip out, it was that our attitude was showing that we didn’t want to do what we were told to do.
In the verse above, God addressed the Christian who served Him with a disobedient spirit. God talked about the ways of a man being “clean in his own eyes.” In other words, man oftentimes looks at the actions, but God looks at both actions and attitude. The Christian can talk about their obedient actions, but God desires that our attitude matches our actions. Yes, you should serve God with your actions, but you might as well enjoy the ride while you are doing it. There are some things you should consider about obedience with a good spirit.
First, the spirit shows the true attitude of the heart. One of the reasons God weighs the spirit is because it truly shows the obedience of the heart. When a person has a bad spirit about something, they are showing the true colors of their heart. For instance, one of the things I truly dislike is when people say that they have to go to church. I often say that I don’t have to go to church, but I get to go to church. I don’t have to tithe, but I get to tithe. I don’t have to go soul winning, but I get to go soul winning. Friend, your spirit shows what your heart is like. If you serve God with a bad spirit, then you are revealing that you have a bad heart.
Second, actions will eventually mirror the spirit. You show me someone who has a bad spirit about doing something, and I will show you someone who will eventually stop obeying in action. Obedience to God is good, and we ought to obey, but you need to obey in spirit so that you will continue obeying what God tells you to do.
Third, don’t give position to someone to change their spirit. This is one of the greatest mistakes I watch leaders make. They think giving someone a position will change their spirit only to find that they have just given someone power who can hurt them in a greater way. Position should only be given to those who obey in action and spirit. Don’t fall for the trap of giving position to better one’s spirit.
Fourth, don’t trust those who have a bad spirit. The spirit of a person shows how much a person is behind what you are doing. When people are consistently griping about what they have to do, then they are people who will eventually become disloyal in actions. Disloyalty starts in one’s spirit, and that is why you must weigh one’s spirit to determine their loyalty to a program.
Do your actions and spirit agree with what you do for the LORD? Are you doing what you do for the LORD because you have to or because you want to? Work on having a good spirit in all that you do. Pick up your spiritual lip and obey the LORD not only in action, but in spirit as well.