Striving vs. Thriving

"What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?" -Ecc 2:22

I remember being in grade school trying to beat all 6 (small school is an understatement) of my classmates by getting through my coursework quicker.  We were working through our phonics books, and it was down to me and the last guy.  Once he saw he was going to lose by a long stretch, he gave up.  I kept on going to finish, but at that point it really didn't matter anymore.  What was going through a phonics book as quickly as possible going to get me anyway?  I really wasn't learning that much more by going through it at a ridiculous pace.  In fact, I was absorbing less!

So much of striving in life relates to a life of faith.  When we're striving, we're busy - and B.U.S.Y. equates to "Being Under Satan’s Yoke."  Do we fear not having enough provision?  God is our Provider.  Do we fear other's thoughts of us?  God should be the one we care about pleasing most.  Do we fear we won't measure up? God has given us our own identity - unique to anyone else. Do we fear success or failure?  "Love never fails." (1 Corinthians 13:8)  "Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel." -1 Chronicles 22:13

Another case in point:  In singing, if you try too hard and strain your voice, you can do irreparable damage to your vocal chords.  But, if you learn to use the natural range of your voice and free it from the rest of the muscles in your throat, you can have a lot of success in singing.  Most of singing is freeing your vocal chords from the tension of the muscles surrounding them, while training your vocal chords to sing the right note.

Are you striving in any area of your life?  Ask God to help in you in that area, and help you give it to Him. 

Diligent Work

"The diligent find freedom in their work; the lazy are oppressed by work."  -Proverbs 12:24

Do you enjoy your job? According to Forbes magazine, 70% of all employees hate their jobs.  That’s a HUGE number!  It seems many of us are in jobs where we either don’t enjoy the work, don’t enjoy the atmosphere, or both. 

I know I have been in jobs before that I didn’t particularly enjoy.  I worked as a server for several years and initially I DREADED the idea.  But you know what’s cool about God?  Even if the job is not our natural bent (I was very shy) or doesn't use our gifts and talents, he can still use that job to shape us and teach us things that we wouldn’t otherwise learn if we were not in that situation. 

Maybe He is developing our prayer life, to pray and interceed for a less-than-ideal workplace.  Perhaps He is testing our hearts with how we respond to tasks we don’t particularly enjoy.  But, even if we are working in a less-than ideal environment, if we work as unto God, we will find eternal reward. 

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3: 23 &24

So even if we aren’t in work we particularly enjoy yet, we can know that the work we do has spiritual value in God’s kingdom.  If we carry a mindset of “I am working as unto the Lord today,” we will find that even the most mundane or uncomfortable of tasks can have eternal value.  When we are faithful in the little things, God can promote us to bigger things. 

Are you a diligent worker? 

Jesus Left the Competition

"Jesus realized that the Pharisees were keeping count of the baptisms that He and John performed (although His disciples, not Jesus, did the actual baptizing). They had posted the score that Jesus was ahead, turning hHm and John into rivals in the eyes of the people. So Jesus left the Judean countryside and went back to Galilee." -John 4:1 MSG

Is competition biblical? In a hurried world where results produce promotion and accolade, it is so easy to get our eyes off where our central focus should be: Jesus. Yes it is right to work diligently and wholeheartedly (Prov 12:27), yes it is good to excel and be faithful (Luke 19:17) - but is it okay to be competitive?

In the Bible there is no mention of the word “competition”, but we can gather from Jesus’ example that He competed with no one. The moment it was suggested that someone was keeping score, Jesus left the playing field entirely.

I remember being a kid in elementary school being put up to the challenge of who could complete the Hooked on Phonics book first. I was definitely up for it, (English was my strong suit), so I worked hard to get the book done before anybody else. It was down to me and the last guy, and I remember staying up late one night to finish it. I was excited to bring that phonics book in complete that day and win the contest. But even though I won, the truth is, it didn’t add anything to my value.

Having a challenge or contest is not wrong, and neither is sports. But when we begin to operate in striving, our worth becomes tied to our performance - and we can miss God’s love completely. Everything we receive comes from Him, not through our own human efforts. (2 Cor 3:5) We have to be careful to check our motives and listen to His heart for us and on behalf of others.

Is there anything you may need to adjust in your life to help you keep a right focus? We don’t need to be bound to performance - instead, we need a greater revelation of God’s love for us, being led by His Spirit, and trust in Him that He will provide for all of our needs.

Whatever You Do, Do It The Best

"...equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Hebrews 13:21

Seth Goddin, the well-known marketing guru, wrote a book called, "The Dip." In it he describes the natural lull we experience after beginning a project, changing a habit, or beginning something new. He examines the difference between "the dip", and something that is not worth pursuing. His recommendation is if you're not the best at something, quit while you're ahead, and find something in which you can excel!
 
This is good advice. Think about it: No body looks for a product or service that's mediocre, no matter what they need. If you're looking for a dentist, you're more than likely going to choose the best one, as long as they're affordable. Either people are looking for the best price, or they're looking for best value. You don't want to be a company that's mediocre.
 
On a personal level, I tend to have the belief that God has given each of us at least one thing that we're good at. Everyone has a gift. Maybe it's not something we view as conventional. We are continually in pursuit of discovering those gifts and talents. Sometimes the cultivation of these talents takes a long time. But the sometimes the best gifts and talents are like bottles of wine - they may take a long time to develop. But when they are ready, they are nearly flawless.
 
Whatever you do, do it the best. You may not be perfect, but it means you put forth your best effort. Best does not mean perfect. Excellence does not mean flawless. It means "of the highest quality or standard, or of the most excellent type." (Encarta World English Dictionary.) And excellence is something God blesses.