"Should do's" vs. "Must do's"

“Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” – the Psalmist

 

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.” – the God of the Psalmist

 

I have a discipline problem. I’m not very disciplined, and I am extremely disciplined. It’s very confusing.

 

I don’t know if it’s a character flaw, or not, really. It’s tough for me to discern. Frankly, I’m disciplined about the things that I have agreed are “must do’s”. “Should do’s” get mentioned romantically by me regularly, and even get some action out of me occasionally, but for the most part, the “should do’s” of my life are sort of treated like the stereo-typical step children of my life.

 

The problem is, I don’t think anyone could give me any more information or inspiration that would sell me on what I “should do” than I already have. I really think I’m in a position where either I or God must make them “must do’s” for me or I won’t really do them.

 

Take, for a safe example, working out. I should do this. I should do this regularly. I know the payoff, both immediate, and lasting…both to me, and my family. Shoot, I’m gonna be 50 when my oldest kid is 18 and I wanna be running around with him, climbing mountains, playing ball, and stuff. I need to be planning for that now if it’s going to become a reality. I should really do this, y’know? God couldn’t have made it easier, either. I get a free membership at a premier health club that is 50 yards away from the office I work out of! I have a wife who supports this part of my life, too, and is willing to work hard to protect my time doing it!

 

But since I only “should do” this, I often don’t. I have a discipline problem.

 

Maybe I’ll wait for heart attack, for the doctor to tell me that I must exercise or die (as if this isn’t true now). Then maybe it’ll make it into a “must do” and be a fully adopted, permanent fixture to my life.

 

We humans are so pitifully weak, and only are able to hide it from each other by showing off the fruit of our “must do” list. And I tell ya, boy, I can make a great case to anyone…ANYONE…about how much I must do my “must do” list. Even if it’s at the cost of my “should do’s”. Seriously, try me out. I can even make most people think my neglect of my “should do’s” is downright noble!

 

It’s a faith issue, of course. Everything is. Did you know you can measure a person’s spiritual maturity directly by how much time they spend on their “should do’s”?

 

I should really work on that.