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Fr. Ted Paraskevopoulos on doing the right thing without feeling like it
What the video says
The priest says doing the right thing does not require feeling grateful or happy about it. He tells people he only cares about what they do, not what they say in confession. He admits that as a priest he sometimes wakes up on Sundays exhausted and does not want to get up for services.
That reluctance does not mean he loves the Lord or the church less; it means he is human and must do his duty because no one else can replace him. He argues that forced prayer is more powerful than prayer that comes naturally because the struggle shows love for God. He concludes that doing the right thing despite not wanting to is admirable.
Key moments
- It's enough. Everyone thinks you got to do the right thing and you also got to be grateful, happy about it. No.
- If we can muster enough willpower to do the right thing, even kicking and screaming, it's still something.
- I tell people all the time, "I don't care what you say, I don't care what you do. I don't care. I really don't care how much lip service you give me in confession. All I care about is what you do."
- I'll confess it. I don't care. I'm a priest. I love the church, I love the services. There are Sundays when I wake up and I don't want to get up. Maybe I've been up all night, like I just had a fever, I'm exhausted, and physically I don't want to get up. I wish I could sleep.
- It doesn't mean I don't love the Lord. It doesn't mean I don't love my ministry. It doesn't mean I don't love the church. It just means I'm a human being and I'm exhausted, but there's nobody to replace me, so I got to get up and do my job, kicking and screaming, and I got to put on a smile as well.
- But I don't think that's a failure. Prayer that is forced is more powerful than prayer that comes naturally. When we fight to pray, when we don't want to, the Lord sees that, and he sees that we try because we love him. That is a stronger test of character.
- Good for you if you did the right thing, even though you didn't want to do it. And I think that's admirable.
- I feel better now of a sudden. I feel better now. I feel better.
The post opens with an observation that faithfulness often feels less impressive from the inside than it appears from the outside. The author notes that people tend to give enormous authority to motivation, treating desire as the measure of whether an action counts. When enthusiasm disappears, the question arises whether the commitment still matters.
The author argues that some of the most formative actions happen precisely when enthusiasm has left: praying tired, training tired, serving family tired, keeping commitments without emotional reward. Feelings matter but make unreliable masters. Repeated action can train attention, appetite, character, and eventually desire. This reflects ascetic practice where obedience precedes inclination, and sometimes the right thing is done kicking and screaming.
The post references Episode 81 of the Orthodox Health Podcast with Fr. Ted Paraskevopoulos. In the episode, the priest says doing the right thing does not require feeling grateful or happy about it. He tells people he only cares about what they do, not what they say in confession: "I don't care what you say, I don't care what you do.
I don't care. I really don't care how much lip service you give me in confession. All I care about is what you do." He admits that as a priest he sometimes wakes up on Sundays exhausted and does not want to get up for services, perhaps after being up all night with a fever. That reluctance does not mean he loves the Lord or the church less; it means he is human and must do his duty because no one else can replace him.
He argues that forced prayer is more powerful than prayer that comes naturally because the struggle shows love for God: "When we fight to pray, when we don't want to, the Lord sees that, and he sees that we try because we love him. That is a stronger test of character." He concludes that doing the right thing despite not wanting to is admirable.
Main points
- Faithfulness often feels unimpressive from the inside while looking different from the outside
- Motivation is given too much authority; action without desire still forms character
- Fr. Ted Paraskevopoulos says he only cares about what people do, not what they say in confession
- The priest admits waking up exhausted on Sundays and not wanting to serve, yet does so because no one can replace him
- Forced prayer is described as more powerful than spontaneous prayer because the struggle demonstrates love for God