Motivation

[Whisperpoetry]

I was wondering... there is this bible verse that says: if you know what you should do but you don't do it it is sin... okay... So say I have to like clean but I choose to watch movie instead. Am I sinning? Or what about more important stuff like studying or going to work... what if you want to/desire to but you just don't have the motivation... :/ 

[Michael37]

40 minutes ago, Whisperpoetry said:

I was wondering... there is this bible verse that says: if you know what you should do but you don't do it it is sin... okay... So say I have to like clean but I choose to watch movie instead. Am I sinning? Or what about more important stuff like studying or going to work... what if you want to/desire to but you just don't have the motivation... :/ 

Hi Whisperpoetry, It's all about doing the Lord's Will. The Lord's Will is always good so instead of ignoring it or opposing it we should make a point of doing it, otherwise we are sinning. If you talk to God about your problems, such as wanting to watch Reality TV when there is a mess in your house He will give you the motivation to do what is right, like get up early and do the cleaning giving you time to watch suitable TV programs.

Jas 4:13-17
(13)  Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit";
(14)  whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
(15)  Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."
(16)  But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
(17)  Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
 

[GandalfTheWise]

8 hours ago, Whisperpoetry said:

I was wondering... there is this bible verse that says: if you know what you should do but you don't do it it is sin... okay... So say I have to like clean but I choose to watch movie instead. Am I sinning? Or what about more important stuff like studying or going to work... what if you want to/desire to but you just don't have the motivation... :/ 

With regard to determining if something is sin:

My observation is that most Christians only think of sin as failing to follow God's rules or commands.  They then worry about figuring out what His rules and commands are.  They then try as hard as they can to follow them.  In one sense, many Christians approach their life in the same way that non-Christians approach New Year's resolutions.  They pick something they think they should do and try hard to do it (or pick something they should not do and try hard not to do it).   They are basically trying to do this with their own efforts, willpower, and strength.  When their own strength fails, they then feel guilty and discouraged.

I think a more complete view is that sin is any form of falling short of God's intended plan for us.  The approach I use is this.  If our life is a garden that God has planted good plants to grow a crop of fruit, what helps that garden grow and what harms it?  Anything that reduces the growth of the good plants is sin.   Drought, flood, weeds, pests, blight, and other such things hinder the garden's growth.  Sometimes we focus our efforts on growing weeds.  These are things that are not the real crop but suck up soil, moisture, and sunlight away from the good plants.  Sometimes we underwater the good plants by neglecting spiritual exercises such as prayer, Bible reading, fellowship.  Sometimes we overwater the good plants by being involved in so many good activities that we overwhelm ourselves and burn ourselves out.  Sometimes things (people, situations) enter our lives and affect us in negative ways.   I think a good question to ask is whether something is helping the good plants in our lives grow or not.   I think too that we need to consider that many of the good plants God wants to grow include things such as relationships, family, jobs, ministry, as well as our spiritual growth.

With regard to lack of motivation:

If we are lacking motivation to do most things in life, it often points to something fundamentally unhealthy in our lives that needs to be dealt with.  It could be due to burnout and overwork.  It could be due to illness.  It could be lack of sleep and poor nutrition.  It could be due to way too much stress in our life.  It could be due to spiritual neglect.  It could be due to a spiritual attack of some type.  It could be because we are going in the wrong direction in some fundamental area of our life.  It could be because we've been trying to do things from our own efforts.  Depending on what the real cause is, the solution might be different for different people at different points in their life.

I think the key is to prayerfully consider what things God may be leading you to work on or change.  It might be that God needs to do some spiritual healing and work in your life.  It might be that you've been overworking yourself meeting other people's expectations instead of focusing on the unique path God has for you.  Many Christians burn themselves out trying to do things in ways that work for other Christians but not for them.  It might be that you need to find out how best to do spiritual exercises (prayer, Bible reading, fellowship, etc.) in a way that is best for you.  It might be as mundane as getting to bed at the same time each night and not drinking too much coffee or energy drinks.

[Justin Adams]

Without resorting to posting a ginormous  amount of words that few will read anyway, I will just observe that 'sin' is an archery term and means to miss the mark. There is so little encouragement often and the word 'sin' is very much overused. The Father's Love came to us all before we were capable of recognizing it, let alone understanding it or accepting it. He knew what He was doing since before the foundation of the world, so He knew what dire straights we were all going to experience. Missing the mark is what we do very well and very often. So let us focus on those people that have not yet 'seen the light' and encourage them to re-join God's extended family. A family that He created for Himself and for His pleasure and our success.

[Whisperpoetry]

12 hours ago, Abdicate said:

Romans 14:22-23
Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemns not himself in that thing which he allows. And he that doubts is damned if he eat, because he eats not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Thank you so much♡

[Whisperpoetry]

14 hours ago, GandalfTheWise said:

With regard to determining if something is sin:

My observation is that most Christians only think of sin as failing to follow God's rules or commands.  They then worry about figuring out what His rules and commands are.  They then try as hard as they can to follow them.  In one sense, many Christians approach their life in the same way that non-Christians approach New Year's resolutions.  They pick something they think they should do and try hard to do it (or pick something they should not do and try hard not to do it).   They are basically trying to do this with their own efforts, willpower, and strength.  When their own strength fails, they then feel guilty and discouraged.

I think a more complete view is that sin is any form of falling short of God's intended plan for us.  The approach I use is this.  If our life is a garden that God has planted good plants to grow a crop of fruit, what helps that garden grow and what harms it?  Anything that reduces the growth of the good plants is sin.   Drought, flood, weeds, pests, blight, and other such things hinder the garden's growth.  Sometimes we focus our efforts on growing weeds.  These are things that are not the real crop but suck up soil, moisture, and sunlight away from the good plants.  Sometimes we underwater the good plants by neglecting spiritual exercises such as prayer, Bible reading, fellowship.  Sometimes we overwater the good plants by being involved in so many good activities that we overwhelm ourselves and burn ourselves out.  Sometimes things (people, situations) enter our lives and affect us in negative ways.   I think a good question to ask is whether something is helping the good plants in our lives grow or not.   I think too that we need to consider that many of the good plants God wants to grow include things such as relationships, family, jobs, ministry, as well as our spiritual growth.

With regard to lack of motivation:

If we are lacking motivation to do most things in life, it often points to something fundamentally unhealthy in our lives that needs to be dealt with.  It could be due to burnout and overwork.  It could be due to illness.  It could be lack of sleep and poor nutrition.  It could be due to way too much stress in our life.  It could be due to spiritual neglect.  It could be due to a spiritual attack of some type.  It could be because we are going in the wrong direction in some fundamental area of our life.  It could be because we've been trying to do things from our own efforts.  Depending on what the real cause is, the solution might be different for different people at different points in their life.

I think the key is to prayerfully consider what things God may be leading you to work on or change.  It might be that God needs to do some spiritual healing and work in your life.  It might be that you've been overworking yourself meeting other people's expectations instead of focusing on the unique path God has for you.  Many Christians burn themselves out trying to do things in ways that work for other Christians but not for them.  It might be that you need to find out how best to do spiritual exercises (prayer, Bible reading, fellowship, etc.) in a way that is best for you.  It might be as mundane as getting to bed at the same time each night and not drinking too much coffee or energy drinks.

Thanks♡

 

22 hours ago, Michael37 said:

Hi Whisperpoetry, It's all about doing the Lord's Will. The Lord's Will is always good so instead of ignoring it or opposing it we should make a point of doing it, otherwise we are sinning. If you talk to God about your problems, such as wanting to watch Reality TV when there is a mess in your house He will give you the motivation to do what is right, like get up early and do the cleaning giving you time to watch suitable TV programs.

Jas 4:13-17
(13)  Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit";
(14)  whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
(15)  Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."
(16)  But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
(17)  Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
 

I appreciate it ♡

[Billiards Ball]

On 6/30/2019 at 3:08 AM, Whisperpoetry said:

I was wondering... there is this bible verse that says: if you know what you should do but you don't do it it is sin... okay... So say I have to like clean but I choose to watch movie instead. Am I sinning? Or what about more important stuff like studying or going to work... what if you want to/desire to but you just don't have the motivation... :/ 

If you want to take a break from cleaning, then taking a break could just be the right thing to do (Sabbath principle). Basically, if you have faith to do or not do something, work through that faith/trust.

[johnthebaptist]

On 6/30/2019 at 12:08 AM, Whisperpoetry said:

I was wondering... there is this bible verse that says: if you know what you should do but you don't do it it is sin... okay... So say I have to like clean but I choose to watch movie instead. Am I sinning? Or what about more important stuff like studying or going to work... what if you want to/desire to but you just don't have the motivation... :/ 

I think Paul tells us that if we don't work, we don't eat. That would seem to be the way things are where I live.

[simplejeff]

On 6/30/2019 at 2:08 AM, Whisperpoetry said:

I was wondering... there is this bible verse that says: if you know what you should do but you don't do it it is sin... okay... So say I have to like clean but I choose to watch movie instead. Am I sinning? Or what about more important stuff like studying or going to work... what if you want to/desire to but you just don't have the motivation... :/ 

Yes.   If you have to clean,  clean.   Simple.   Even more, as the Bible says,  clean as if cleaning directly for Jesus, as His servant.

In fact, do all things as if for Jesus,   as if (and it is) OBEYING THE FATHER CREATOR ALMIGHTY GOD IN HEAVEN.

Motivation ?    The penalty for sin is death.    Eternal life in Christ Jesus is continual peace, joy and righteousness. (TODAY onward)

[Prycejosh1987]

On 6/30/2019 at 8:08 AM, Whisperpoetry said:

I was wondering... there is this bible verse that says: if you know what you should do but you don't do it it is sin... okay... So say I have to like clean but I choose to watch movie instead. Am I sinning? Or what about more important stuff like studying or going to work... what if you want to/desire to but you just don't have the motivation... :/ 

I dont think it is a sin if you say it to yourself, there is the story of the two brothers, one said he would do it and didnt, the other said he wouldnt do it but did it later. It you say it to yourself its not a sin, if you say it to God it is a sin, and if you say it to others it is also a sin. That is naturally speaking, but it really depends on what you say and circumstances.