I recently listened to a Bible teaching that included this verse from Ecclesiastes:
Ecclesiastes 12:13 – Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
This verse tells us that our duty, our whole duty, is to respect God and obey His words. (I would like to add here; when the Bible says to fear God, it means, “to worship Him with awe-filled reverence”. It does not mean to be afraid of Him. He is our loving Father, who is extraordinarily kind. We have nothing to fear from Him!)
Our whole duty is to put and keep God first in our lives. He is to occupy the top seat in our minds. He is to be our main focus, and our first priority. That is how we are supposed to live every day. And we keep God first by continually seeking Him through His Word and aligning our thinking with what that Word says.
Let’s look at the word, duty. The first definition that Merriam Webster lists for it is, “conduct due to parents and superiors : respect”.
In society today, the concept of showing respect seems to be disparaged. Look around and you will see young people that don’t respect their parents, let alone consider anyone to be their superiors. You will see that some folks have the attitude that respect is an archaic concept. You will hear people profess that they should have freedom without restriction, and that they themselves should be the ones to be respected with never doing anything to earn it. Among these folks, “duty” is a dirty word.
Of course, not everyone follows society’s foolishness. Many people respect others, respect principles, and respect authority. I was raised to respect my elders. I was taught to be respectful of the wisdom that their age and experience had earned for them. And the elders considered it their duty to convey their wisdom to the younger generation. It was a mutual respect. Even in our crazy society, people today still show respect in family relations as well as social conventions. (I’m dating myself for sure to say) when I was growing up, I called my friends’ parents Mr. and Mrs. Whomever. That was considered a sign of respect. I will admit, though, that when my kids reached a certain age, I didn’t want their friends calling me Mrs. – it made me feel too old. 😉
As Christians who truly love God, we have nothing but respect for Him because He has done so much for us. We worship God, who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes on him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) We see and admire God’s handiwork all around us. We recognize and remember the wonderful blessings that God has showered down upon us even before we got saved and continues to provide in abundance every day. How could we have anything but respect for the kind of love that God has shown us?
Next, MW defines duty as “obligatory tasks, conduct, service, or functions that arise from one’s position (as in life or in a group)”.
Again, we see a society that is anything but dutiful. It promotes doing what you want, when you want, how you want, with whom you want; anything goes. It promotes no obligation to anything or anyone except self. We may have seen this in evidence by watching young people who think that their job assignments are only suggestions, and that they should only do what they feel like doing at work or anywhere else for that matter. It reminds me of the video I saw of a young woman crying and crying because she was expected to work FORTY hours a week! Oh, the inhumanity!
But there are many people who take their obligations seriously. For example, a military person who is willing to put himself in harm’s way to protect our country has an unbelievably strong sense of duty and deserves the utmost respect. Most people still have a sense of duty to family, friends, community and country and endeavor to live up to their obligations.
Please note that I use young people as examples only because it seems that they might be more affected by today’s society, which is very different from the one I grew up in. And I have seen the examples that I described with my own eyes. However, I am very pleased to report that I recently observed a young man open the car door for his girlfriend. (I wanted to shake his hand!)
I know that for many people, both young and old, duty is their strong code of conduct. They are respectful and function as responsible adults. They fulfill their obligations and take pride in their work. They serve others with compassion and understanding. Their manner of life is admirable.
As Christians we carry that code of conduct a step further to include God all our actions. We serve a living God whom we love with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. And we serve our fellow man with Godly care. We stand on Godly principles first and foremost and seek to shine as lights in this crooked and perverse nation. (Philippians 2:15) We yearn to fulfill our duty to God and hear Him say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant…” (Matthew 25:21)
If we read the whole book of Ecclesiastes, we will see that the writer (most often considered to be King Solomon) examined all the works of man in this life and concluded that it all was vanity.
Ecclesiastes 1:14 – I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
The word for vanity literally means a vapor. The worldly works of life are like vapors. Can you catch a vapor? If you did, could you hold on to it? Can you count on a vapor to stay put? No, no, and no. Most of the time, you can’t even see a vapor. It is at best a fleeting whisp that you might get a glimpse of before it disappears. Yet, these vapors are what many people spend their whole lives pursuing. Wealth, prestige and political power top the list of things that people expend all their energy to obtain. But those things are as hollow as vapors compared to what God offers us.
The reason that respecting God with awe-filled reverence is the whole duty of man is because it is the only thing that truly profits us, and the only thing that truly fulfills us. Wealth can be lost or stolen. Prestige can fade with the tide of popular opinion. And political power might only last until the next election. But respecting God and obeying His words can bring infinite blessings that will last for eternity. All the money in the world is a vapor compared to everlasting life in heaven with God and His son Christ Jesus. Think about eternal life – living forever in the glorious light of God with all evil having been destroyed! Nothing but God’s infinite love and bountiful blessings surrounding us. No sickness, sorrow or death. Never to shed a tear again. Never to be harassed, ridiculed, betrayed, or abused in any way. Never to suffer or see suffering. Never to be outside of God’s love. Can anything that the world offers provide even one of those things? Everything in this world is temporal, which includes the satisfaction or happiness that worldly success provides. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with being successful in this world. God wants us to succeed in this life. But we must keep our duties in proper order. #1 Worship God with awe-filled reverence. #2 Serve others. And I am willing to be #3.
Embrace your duty. Don’t get caught up in vanity. Keep God first and enjoy a super abundant life now and the promise of what is to come!
Note to my readers: Be strong and of a good courage because God is with you wherever you go! (Joshua 1:9) Love you all!!