Teen - Doing Is Living

< Back

DOCTRINE FOR THE YOUNG

DOING IS LIVING

The Rev. David R. Simons

Why is what we do so important in life?

Did you ever ask yourself why the Lord in His Word, especially in His Sermon on the Mount, stresses the value of deeds - of doing - as most important in preparing ourselves to receive the life of heaven? "Not everyone that says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).

Why is doing - doing the will of the Lord - absolutely vital to our spiritual welfare?

The answer, given in the Heavenly Doctrine for the New Church, is that what we do both expresses and fixes our character. Acts of the body are also acts of the mind and spirit. What we do, especially what we do with our hands, contains our whole character. For this reason, angels can know the whole quality of a person from his hands.

Since our inner life expresses itself in the hands, there are few things in life more satisfying than doing something worthwhile with our hands: writing a good story, making something from wood, molding clay, fixing an engine, playing a musical instrument.

A sense of accomplishment from doing something useful and worthwhile - something that brings happiness to others - brings us a sense of fulfillment and inner delight. This feeling is the Lord with us, telling us why we were created, rewarding us by touching our hearts with the joy of His Kingdom. He created us to do, to be useful for others.

Doing is the last thing in a series that starts in willing, progresses through thought and becomes something in deeds. For example, we want to play a musical instrument or develop an athletic skill. We learn how we should proceed, then we try to carry what we know into action by practicing. Then something wonderful happens: something which sounds musical takes place, and we feel a delight, the delight of music, the delight of the skill. This sense of accomplishment sends us back for more learning, more practice, and greater success. It is this cycle of success that leads us to become truly skilled and useful people.

But there's more to doing than this. There are other hidden benefits that the Lord has stored up for those who do His will.

The delight we experience in playing a musical instrument or in developing a certain skill has a carry-over value. It leads us to enjoy and appreciate the skills of others in a way not possible to those who have not tried and done. Doing things ourselves places us in a position to admire and thrill to the deeds of others - the skill with which they play, the gifts they display from the Lord.
Although our enjoyment of life is first expanded by developing a skill, and secondly by being able to appreciate the skills of others, there's still more to come. The greatest delight of all is to use our skill in harmony with the skills of others - to play with an orchestra, to cooperate with a team. While doing something well by ourselves is satisfying and worthwhile, doing things in harmony with other people multiplies what is accomplished, and it brings even greater joy.

Doing things together - teamwork, genuine harmony - requires self-discipline if it is to be truly successful. In the Word this is called "holy fear". This is a fear lest anything of self - of "my lack of skill" or "my lack of attention" - spoil the effect: make the orchestra sound off-key or cause the team to lose the game. It is a fear that our individual lack of practice, conditioning, skill, knowledge, or concentrated effort could in some way detract from the success of the group. When the good of the orchestra is central in the minds of all the players, or when the team's welfare is placed before individual self, then there will be cooperation, harmony, and unity which will lead to the greatest accomplishment and to the delights which follow.

Doing things with others - learning to enjoy team-spirit and group cooperation - is the finest kind of preparation for all life, including angelic life in heaven. The greater the number of people doing the Lord's will together, the greater is the happiness. Indeed, this is what the happiness of heaven is all about.


Texts: Matthew 7:21; Spiritual Experiences 359

Printable Version