WHAT IS OUR DUTY? Part 1
Beyond our Normal Selfish Lives

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another, as I loved loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another”
(John 13:34, 35).

There are certain things in life that we have a duty to perform. But because they are duty, it does not mean they need to be drudgery. Duty is either a delight or a drudgery, depending on our attitude! Our aim should be to make every duty in life a delight!

The Greek word for duty in the New Testament is “opheilo” and means “to owe, to be morally obligated, pay the debt, express human and ethical responsibility, to be bound, to fall in duty.” It literally means “it’s a must.”

It’s good to remind ourselves of duty in a general way, but the Bible mentions some things specifically, therefore we should take note of them, don’t you think? Let’s take a look:

1. LOVING ONE ANOTHER

1 John 4:11 says: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought (opheilo, meaning duty) to love one another.” That means beginning in the home with our husbands and children. That means those we don’t really like or who are not our type. That even means those who have spoken against us and treated us badly.

This word is used again in Romans 13:8: “Owe (opheilo) no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” In other words, we have a duty to love one another whether we feel like it or not.

2. SEXUAL INTERCOURSE FOR MARRIED COUPLES

Is this a duty? When God brought the first couple together, the first thing He told them was to be “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). That’s it! God’s ultimate plan. His first description of marriage. Therefore we owe it to one another.

1 Corinthians 7:3 calls it “due benevolence.” Now that doesn’t sound very romantic, does it? The Syriac version calls it “due love.” But let’s read it from a modern version: “The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife. Do not deprive each other of sexual relations . . . “ (NLT).

The wonderful thing about this moral obligation in marriage is that although it’s considered a duty, God has created it to be a DELIGHT. God knows that both the husband and the wife need this oneness together. It is for their blessing and good. It enhances joy and harmony and diffuses stress. God is amazing.

Proverbs 5:19 describes it as “ravishing.” The full meaning of the Hebrew word is to be “enraptured, intoxicated, transported with delight, captivated, entranced, stealing away the senses.”

How often should this happen? This Scripture tell us “at all times” and “always.” Check it out to make sure I am not making it up.

There may be times in your marriage when you do not experience it as a delight. That’s when you move into “duty” mode. As you are faithful to do your duty, delight will come rolling back to you. It’s a divine law. It’s like the ebb and flow of the tide. Sometimes the tide goes out, but it is a universal law that tide always comes flowing in again.

God is so concerned regarding this that in Exodus 21:10, He states that if a man takes another wife (not allowed in the New Testament) he must not diminish sexual intimacy with his first wife.

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, thank You for showing me that You have created duty to be a blessing. Save me from living by my feelings and instead living by that which is right in Your sight. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am learning from experience that duty can be a delight.