I hear a great deal of talk in religion about how people should want to do what’s right or how they should want to go to church. People should want to go to heaven or want to behave “appropriately”. I’m here to tell you that you do not have to want to go to church. You do not have to desire to do the right thing. You do not have to want to do anything because Christian living is all about action. We will explain why by diving into a little bit of science, so please bear with me.
Every feeling and emotion can be reduced to various hormones and chemicals in the body.
This includes the emotion/sensation of wanting to do something. In fact, the biochemistry of desire is actually quite well understood. While many chemicals and hormones play a role in “the want factor“, the main one we will discuss is DOPAMINE.
You may be very aware of this chemical as it is the focus of many self-improvement gurus, articles, and books. We will briefly describe it here in case you are not aware of what this chemical does. This is not a flawless scientific description, but it should give you the basic idea.
Dopamine is the “wanting” chemical. It is a neurotransmitter that regulates goal-oriented behavior and cravings. When we engage in some action that is pleasurable or rewarding, we release dopamine. For example, when we take a big bite out of chocolate cake, our brain says, “Wow, this is delicious. There are a lot of calories in here, so you should remember this for later. This food will aid us in survival”. That is what happens when dopamine is released and the brain remembers the pleasurable activity. Then when cravings for chocolate cake come up a few days later, that is your brain telling you to engage in that dopamine inducing behavior.
Here is the basic principle: Dopamine is tied to a reward.
We release dopamine when we are rewarded for doing something making it more likely that we will do it again. This is how good and bad habits are formed. Without dopamine, we cannot experience the feeling of wanting to do something.
Now if we are punished instead of rewarded for a certain behavior, we do not release dopamine. And because we were punished, it becomes less likely that we will engage in that behavior again. Remember that point, because it is the basis for refuting every individual who says:
“Johnny, you should want to do what is right. You should want to go to church, save yourself for marriage and go to heaven”.
A standard religious individual who has thought through precisely zero of their own philosophical positions.
Rewarded actions are likely to be repeated and punished actions are likely to be avoided. This is built upon the first and most foundational principle of human nature – self-interest. The desire to seek pleasure and avoid pain.
To release dopamine and therefore associate pleasure with doing an activity, there must be a reward for doing it. So let me ask you this, is there always a reward for doing what is right, saving yourself for marriage, or going to church?
NO
Church can be draining. Many times I leave feeling worse than when I arrived.
You can save yourself for marriage only to marry a frigid prude, which happens to many religious men who mistake “attraction” for “arousal”.
Or you can do the right thing and actually suffer for it, everyone knows this.
You can take the right action, be punished for it, and therefore release no dopamine in association with those activities. Because of this, you will not have a desire or craving for these activities. When it is painful to go to church, you will not want to go there. If you are punished for doing the right thing, you will not desire to repeat those noble deeds.
However, all that being said, you can still do what is right without wanting to do it. You can behave righteously without having the dopamine-induced craving to spur you on. So many in the religious world want to tell you that an emotional, dopamine-based desire for church or righteous behavior is required for you to do what is right, but this is not true. You do not have to want to do what is right, you simply have to do it.
You do not have to want to go to church.
Read: Repentance – Change of action, not emotion.
Because it is possible to want to behave righteously and still behave immorally. It is also possible to want to behave immorally but still manage to act righteously. Which case is better? Obviously the action-based case. Feelings do not matter, only action matters.
Maybe with time, the desire to do what is right or to attend church will resurface, but do not worry about that right now. Just worry about taking action, because at the end of the day that is all that matters.
