Ditching Your Duty

October 12th, 2026
by Bruce Smith

February 16, 2020 – Early morning is such a great time to think and read. My morning coffee is always more about the warmth and the quiet embrace of solitude than anything else. I don’t like the days that I have to rush around and get ready. Every time I get pulled into a hectic, rushing schedule, I find myself working out of my own strength all day long.

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In one of his famous sermons, Charles Spurgeon, talking about the importance of morning time with God once said, “I like that of Martin Luther, when he says, ‘I have so much business to do today, that I shall not be able to get through it with less than three hours’ prayer.’”

I don’t think I fully understood that when I was younger, but it sure makes sense to me now. God is after our heart—our whole life. He desires to know us and be known by us as both Father and Friend.

I lament the fact that we’ve made such a religion out of faith. Duty may be the worst of the four-letter words when it comes to how we walk with God. I love how this truth dawned on David as well as he prayed and wrote his songs.

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You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand—you don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings. Then I said, “Look, I have come. As is written about me in the Scriptures: I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.”
-Psalm 40:6-8 (NLT)

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The honesty and truth of those words, “I finally understand.” God is so patient with us. Gentleness and kindness are fruit of the Spirit, thus two of God’s core attributes. I am so grateful. It is truly God’s nature that draws us out of duty into living from the desires of our heart. As we deepen our intimacy with God, the desires of our heart reflect the desires of His heart. It took me a long time to get to this understanding. I pray for you, Son, to spend those hours, just you and God, developing your desires and ditching your duty.

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Spurgeon, Charles H. “Degrees of Power Attending the Gospel.” The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 11, sermon no. 648, 3 Sept. 1865. The Spurgeon Library, www.spurgeon.org/sermons/degrees-of-power-attending-the-gospel. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.