DEACON 11: «Duty, Work, Actions»

He spoke about spirituality in many ways…

There are many forms of spirituality and all lead to the enrichment of the body, the soul and the spirit. Spirituality may not be the path to salvation but it is the path to a richer life (not meaning money, although it could happen)…

Duty is essential. Many, in this day and age, think only of «rights» and little of «duties», but duties are just as important. If one neglects one’s duties it means that someone else will have to carry the burden, your burden. And rights without duties leads to laziness, inaction and conflicts. A human being needs to be balanced to be whole, therefore we all need to attend, diligently, to our duties.

The Bhagavad Gita states: «You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction.«

And this means that we have a right to do our duty, we must, but we should not be overly concerned with the results. Results are not dependent on our efforts only for there are other factors to consider. One is the will of God, the efforts of others, and even luck, the right time and place. So we should not suffer anxiety over the results. The results should not concern us. Our focus should be entirely on our efforts and we will find that the results will be to our liking.

In the same way, Jesus taught his disciples that duty is being like a servant that takes pride in everything he does and doing it fully, to the best of his abilities. Luke 17:10 says, “In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we’ve only done our duty.

So, doing our duty, committing ourselves to action (the action required to perform our dutiful tasks) is enough to fill the day. Jesus also reminded us that tomorrow has problems of its own. So live for today…

We should maintain our spirituality knowing that rights are earned but duties must be performed. Anxiety over results is fruitless and negative. Acceptance of the work of the day is a blessing. Tomorrow, if God grants us a tomorrow, will be another day to work, pray and live.

Proverbs (27:1): Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.