"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 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.
