February 1 - Work

My body hurts. Not from the 5 minute run, but from the program we introduced to our PE classes. It's torture doing it 3 times a day. It's pretty awesome to see my students active and moving together in a new way...

Colossians 3:23

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

This is one of my favorite verses in the word. It's like Paul knew that we would be working jobs to just bring home the bacon and retire happily. It's also possible, that when people set out to plow a field or to work in the city walls complained and completed their work with a snarl, hating the thought of doing it again the next day. Things change, but the hearts of men and their desire for a "better job" and "higher pay" will continue to be an issue. Paul isn't necessarily limiting the "work" to our occupations and ways of making money.

Volunteer work, mission trips, and random acts of kindness, can all be done with a stone heart and negative attitude. The truth is, everything we have, whether talents, possessions, time, money, or the people we are with are all from one source...God. The Lord has blessed us with talents, opportunities, possessions that can help other people, but we refuse to show God our true appreciation and willingness to work for Him. For myself, there are mornings that I wish I could just stay in bed and sleep, but instead I have to go to work. It is hard to go to work when our heart is not in it. The problem, that I have experienced and still struggle with at times, is doing the work at my job for the Lord. Unhappy, grouchy, mean, arrogant, and repulsive are all characteristics that our co-workers, customers, employees, friends, and employers see in us when our heart isn't prepared to work for God at the beginning of the day.

Whether we are making money at the time, or helping others by using our time and talents, our hearts should be focused directly on one thing...the Creator our lives. We could worship money, TV, gossip, and possessions, but we gain nothing from that, and most importantly, God gets nothing from that. God deserves the glory for the abilities he has blessed us with. Believe it or not, when work is done correctly, is could be considered a form of worship for our Lord.

God is my employer...