“We all know what to do (give or take a few details); but we all manage, at least some of the time, not to do it.”
— N. T. Wright, Simply Christian, p. 6
I was flipping through Simply Christian a few days ago when this quote caught my eye. It is the story of my life. I know I should exercise more and get more sleep, but I find excuses not to do it.
Even worse are those moments when I know I should love but don’t, or when I should keep a promise but inconveniently forget. I know what I should do, but I manage not to do it.
Wright nails this common human experience. Everyone has experienced the moment of not living up to their own ideals. The pull of compromise is a reality we all face.
Why is it so hard to do what we know is right?
The Reality We All Recognize
I’m sure you’ve experienced this in your own life. You know you should forgive a coworker who took credit for your work, but it feels better, in the moment, to hold a grudge. You know you should tell your spouse the truth about how much you spent on new gear, but you don’t have the energy to argue. The issue is not a lack of knowledge but a lack of action. The reasons vary, but the result is the same: we are not doing what we should.
All of us have a sense of what we ought to do. This awareness points to an important truth: there is a moral law written on our hearts. In other words, we have a conscience.
The apostle Paul put it this way:
“Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.”
— Romans 2:14-15; NLT
Paul claims that even those who did not have God’s written law had the ability to do what is right. Everyone has a sense of what is right and what is wrong—which means everyone is guilty of not living up to God’s image.
The Tension Between Knowing and Doing
Why do we miss the mark?
There are many reasons, each failure often has its own root cause. For instance, I don’t go to the gym because I don’t want to feel foolish. I eat more than I should because I’m coping with depression. I don’t serve more because I’m fixated on my own life and needs. I know what I should do—but other things get in the way.
Paul confesses to the same sort of problem:
I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good.
— Romans 7:15-16; NLT.
There is a war happening between our flesh and our spirit, and too often the flesh wins out. This means that rather than doing what we know we should do, we do the very thing we don’t want to do.
There’s a war between flesh and spirit, and too often the flesh wins. This is not merely moral weakness; it’s the human condition. We were created for union with God, our source of life, but sin severs that connection. Instead of being guided by the Spirit, we are guided by the flesh—which distorts our desires and habits.
Thankfully we bear God’s image, which means there will be times when we do the right thing, but more often than not our flesh wins out and we do what is wrong instead.
This is why Paul writes, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (Romans 7:24; NLT).
The Hope of Transformation
Right in the next verse, Paul offers us hope: “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 7:25, NLT).
In Jesus, the power of sin is broken; we receive forgiveness and new life. Alongside those gifts comes the Holy Spirit, who guides and transforms us. We are no longer left entirely to the sway of the flesh; we can gradually learn to live by the Spirit.
This doesn’t happen in an instant. It is a lifelong process of learning to be guided by the Spirit. Spiritual maturity means we are doing the right thing more and more often—and the reason we are doing the right thing is because the Spirit is guiding our lives.
We don’t have to live as “miserable” people the rest of our lives. Through Jesus, we can slowly but surely be restored as God’s image bearers.
Ponder and Practice
Take time to pause and reflect: What is one thing I know I ought to do—but haven’t?
It is worth taking time to examine our lives and commit to dealing with the sin that still lives within us. That is the only way we can become the people God created us to be.
Knowing what to do is essential. Doing it—by God’s grace—is transforming.
