Yet the undeniable fact remains that however faithfully and exactly we discharge our duties, we can never lean back and congratulate ourselves.  As Our Lord has pointedly reminded us, “…when you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty’ “ (RSV, Luke 17:10).

For we can never do enough for God, let alone too much.  Our offering to our Eternal Maker is always sadly imperfect and falls far short of what is his due.  But that is all the more reason why it should be as near brimful as we can make it, and brimful in every way.  For it is not only a question of the number of duties involved or how often we actually fulfil them.  There is above all the spirit in which they are fulfilled.  And that means there must be within the heart that inner love for God which controls the very thoughts in our minds; which excludes all motives of personal advantage in our actions; and which also animates us with an ungrudging good will towards others.