"The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me" (Acts 20:24, NCV).
"I have finished the work You have given me to do" (cf. John 17:4).
"Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness" (cf. Jer 48:10).
"The Lord assigns each man's work" (John 3:27, NLT).
"[E]ach one's work will become manifest.," (1 Cor. 3:13, ESV).
"Rejoice in your labor; it's the gift of God" (cf. Eccl. 5:19).
"A day of no work is a day of no eating." --Zen monastic slogan (No work is considered beneath the dignity and the "sanctity of manual work" is guarded in Zen and considered vital to life.)
We are made to work, not for idleness, which can be debilitating and dehumanizing--even depressing. Some wish they could live a life of leisure, play games forever, have all the entertainment their heart's desire, and amuse themselves to boredom, and thinking this is real R & R. Life isn't made to be just fun and games (though they say girls just want to have fun) we are meant to find purpose and meaning and to set realistic, accountable, measurable, doable, achievable, responsible goals. We only can recoup or rehabilitate our senses and we only need a recreational activity to restore us after work--no work means we don't need it, but everyone deserves a respite from his task or work--we're not beasts of burden!
We need a certain amount of rest, therefore the Sabbath commandment. We can't be like the idle rich leading a life of nonproductive leisure. We are not to indulge in leisure but earn it as a time to recoup! Children are naturals at play and this is their calling or job description; however, God expects more maturity and responsibility from adults.
Whatever you find meaning and fulfillment in can be your calling. But remember that idle hands are the devil's workshop. Whatever we find to do, we ought to do it with all our might and be gung-ho, having gusto and enthusiasm (which means putting God into it!). We all need to apply ourselves to whatever gifts and talents we are blessed with.
Once we've learned to work we will love work and not see it as a curse--even Jesus worked and Adam and Eve were given the task of horticulture in the Garden of Eden. We are hard-wired for work and designed for it, only to be fulfilled doing it and accomplishing our mission. We are uniquely designed by God for His will and work. Being ambitious for God or God's work is good but not for fame, power, or wearing ourselves out to get rich quick. God blesses everyone in some ways, some in all ways; however, some even receive their reward or portion in this life--the evil do prosper sometimes our heavenly calling or job description doesn't define us but how we do it and the attitude we have does.
Brother Lawrence, a seventeenth-century monk in a monastery, practiced the presence of God even while doing the servile task of dishwashing for the Lord! If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well! We all need to feel we have contributed to society and are not just takers. Everyone should be productive in what they are called to do; however, we never retire from the Lord's work and will.
We may not get to do what we love, but that doesn't mean we cannot learn to love our work. What some may need is a little motivation and this can be extrinsic like money, or intrinsic like awards or recognition and validation. We all need to feel we make a difference and are there for a purpose besides making a living. When we die we should be able to say, "Mission accomplished!" like Jesus said He had finished the work the Father had given Him. We should always aim to do our best, not just the good-enough-for-government-work attitude.
Jesus raised the bar and set the highest ethical standard, but also gives us the highest incentive. Perfection is the standard, direction the test--always room for improvement. When the work culture is not improving it's dead and going nowhere we are not to become stagnant like the Dead Sea with no life because there's no growth or opportunity and space for it!
We should feel we are not just leaving our riches to our progeny but a legacy to society--what are we here for? True holiness consists in doing God's work with the right attitude and we don't ever accomplish great tasks alone but only with God's help and with great love and the right attitude--if so, God will bless it and be in it. God rewards His work and it's never in vain, so it pays to see yourself as doing it as unto the Lord as your motive. No task is beneath us because Jesus took the towel to wash the feet of the disciple and when done in the name of God there is no menial task, only menial people. We are not to feel we need to be a success, for God measures obedience and faithfulness.
Our achievements don't matter and are eventually surpassed, records broken, and tributes are forgotten, but God wants us and our obedience and He will surely give us a permanent reward for our labors in the Spirit--that's why it says in Scripture: "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit." Attitude matters and counts with God! We are not to become performance-oriented and be like the condemned servants that prophesied in Jesus' name but He never knew them (cf. Matt. 7:21).
Our job is really a dress rehearsal for our future in heaven and preparation for eternity as to what kind of person we become. We ought to show gusto, be gung-ho, and learn enthusiasm, which means putting God into it. The trouble with most workers is they have taken God out of the equation and forgotten God the source of true attitude and Spirit. What can happen is the reduction to the lowest common denominator when there's no supervision or discipline at the workplace.
In the final analysis, see work as therapeutic and we all need it, it's real therapy! Without it, we become less human and don't fulfill our purpose as being in the image of God. We are creatures not made for idleness or leisure but work! Many people find this out when they retire and have too much time on their hands, becoming bored with themselves and end up unproductive and good for nothing.
We ought not to base our performance on our feelings but our faith and attitude, which need to get regular check-ups and examinations. God is interested in the person we are becoming more than what we are achieving! When we are called to something, it's a labor of love and we are completed in it. In the final analysis, work is the expression of the glory of God and how we express His image as is inherent in our nature. God works and there will be fulfilling, meaningful work in heaven.
Work can be enjoyable and fulfilling, not just have meaning and purpose. We need to have an identity and realize it in finding God in our work and fulfilling our mission, for all ought to be people on a mission and champions for a cause. Everyone ought to be in the movement to improve the culture at the workplace, called to a noble crusade: Christians are held to a higher calling and standard and are to be the salt and light of the earth.
As an attitude check, who has the right one here?
"What are you doing?" "I'm laying bricks!" "I'm building a wall." "I'm building a cathedral!" Are you the best worker, part of the team, or on God's team? The more idealistic our attitude and goals, the better our performance! It's not just for the elite of society to become champions of causes and to be on a mission--we all can find recognition and reward from our labors of love. ("For the people had a mind to work" --Nehemiah 4:6; "I am doing a great work so that I can not come down" --Neh.. 6:3)
NB: WE MUST BE TEAM MEMBERS ON GOD'S TEAM AND TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE TOGETHER WE MUST NOT WORRY ABOUT WHO GETS THE CREDIT OR ATTENTION, BUT BE WILLING TO JUST PLAY OUR PART IN THE PLAY! Soli Deo Gloria!
"I have finished the work You have given me to do" (cf. John 17:4).
"Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness" (cf. Jer 48:10).
"The Lord assigns each man's work" (John 3:27, NLT).
"[E]ach one's work will become manifest.," (1 Cor. 3:13, ESV).
"Rejoice in your labor; it's the gift of God" (cf. Eccl. 5:19).
"A day of no work is a day of no eating." --Zen monastic slogan (No work is considered beneath the dignity and the "sanctity of manual work" is guarded in Zen and considered vital to life.)
We are made to work, not for idleness, which can be debilitating and dehumanizing--even depressing. Some wish they could live a life of leisure, play games forever, have all the entertainment their heart's desire, and amuse themselves to boredom, and thinking this is real R & R. Life isn't made to be just fun and games (though they say girls just want to have fun) we are meant to find purpose and meaning and to set realistic, accountable, measurable, doable, achievable, responsible goals. We only can recoup or rehabilitate our senses and we only need a recreational activity to restore us after work--no work means we don't need it, but everyone deserves a respite from his task or work--we're not beasts of burden!
We need a certain amount of rest, therefore the Sabbath commandment. We can't be like the idle rich leading a life of nonproductive leisure. We are not to indulge in leisure but earn it as a time to recoup! Children are naturals at play and this is their calling or job description; however, God expects more maturity and responsibility from adults.
Whatever you find meaning and fulfillment in can be your calling. But remember that idle hands are the devil's workshop. Whatever we find to do, we ought to do it with all our might and be gung-ho, having gusto and enthusiasm (which means putting God into it!). We all need to apply ourselves to whatever gifts and talents we are blessed with.
Once we've learned to work we will love work and not see it as a curse--even Jesus worked and Adam and Eve were given the task of horticulture in the Garden of Eden. We are hard-wired for work and designed for it, only to be fulfilled doing it and accomplishing our mission. We are uniquely designed by God for His will and work. Being ambitious for God or God's work is good but not for fame, power, or wearing ourselves out to get rich quick. God blesses everyone in some ways, some in all ways; however, some even receive their reward or portion in this life--the evil do prosper sometimes our heavenly calling or job description doesn't define us but how we do it and the attitude we have does.
Brother Lawrence, a seventeenth-century monk in a monastery, practiced the presence of God even while doing the servile task of dishwashing for the Lord! If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well! We all need to feel we have contributed to society and are not just takers. Everyone should be productive in what they are called to do; however, we never retire from the Lord's work and will.
We may not get to do what we love, but that doesn't mean we cannot learn to love our work. What some may need is a little motivation and this can be extrinsic like money, or intrinsic like awards or recognition and validation. We all need to feel we make a difference and are there for a purpose besides making a living. When we die we should be able to say, "Mission accomplished!" like Jesus said He had finished the work the Father had given Him. We should always aim to do our best, not just the good-enough-for-government-work attitude.
Jesus raised the bar and set the highest ethical standard, but also gives us the highest incentive. Perfection is the standard, direction the test--always room for improvement. When the work culture is not improving it's dead and going nowhere we are not to become stagnant like the Dead Sea with no life because there's no growth or opportunity and space for it!
We should feel we are not just leaving our riches to our progeny but a legacy to society--what are we here for? True holiness consists in doing God's work with the right attitude and we don't ever accomplish great tasks alone but only with God's help and with great love and the right attitude--if so, God will bless it and be in it. God rewards His work and it's never in vain, so it pays to see yourself as doing it as unto the Lord as your motive. No task is beneath us because Jesus took the towel to wash the feet of the disciple and when done in the name of God there is no menial task, only menial people. We are not to feel we need to be a success, for God measures obedience and faithfulness.
Our achievements don't matter and are eventually surpassed, records broken, and tributes are forgotten, but God wants us and our obedience and He will surely give us a permanent reward for our labors in the Spirit--that's why it says in Scripture: "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit." Attitude matters and counts with God! We are not to become performance-oriented and be like the condemned servants that prophesied in Jesus' name but He never knew them (cf. Matt. 7:21).
Our job is really a dress rehearsal for our future in heaven and preparation for eternity as to what kind of person we become. We ought to show gusto, be gung-ho, and learn enthusiasm, which means putting God into it. The trouble with most workers is they have taken God out of the equation and forgotten God the source of true attitude and Spirit. What can happen is the reduction to the lowest common denominator when there's no supervision or discipline at the workplace.
In the final analysis, see work as therapeutic and we all need it, it's real therapy! Without it, we become less human and don't fulfill our purpose as being in the image of God. We are creatures not made for idleness or leisure but work! Many people find this out when they retire and have too much time on their hands, becoming bored with themselves and end up unproductive and good for nothing.
We ought not to base our performance on our feelings but our faith and attitude, which need to get regular check-ups and examinations. God is interested in the person we are becoming more than what we are achieving! When we are called to something, it's a labor of love and we are completed in it. In the final analysis, work is the expression of the glory of God and how we express His image as is inherent in our nature. God works and there will be fulfilling, meaningful work in heaven.
Work can be enjoyable and fulfilling, not just have meaning and purpose. We need to have an identity and realize it in finding God in our work and fulfilling our mission, for all ought to be people on a mission and champions for a cause. Everyone ought to be in the movement to improve the culture at the workplace, called to a noble crusade: Christians are held to a higher calling and standard and are to be the salt and light of the earth.
As an attitude check, who has the right one here?
"What are you doing?" "I'm laying bricks!" "I'm building a wall." "I'm building a cathedral!" Are you the best worker, part of the team, or on God's team? The more idealistic our attitude and goals, the better our performance! It's not just for the elite of society to become champions of causes and to be on a mission--we all can find recognition and reward from our labors of love. ("For the people had a mind to work" --Nehemiah 4:6; "I am doing a great work so that I can not come down" --Neh.. 6:3)
NB: WE MUST BE TEAM MEMBERS ON GOD'S TEAM AND TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE TOGETHER WE MUST NOT WORRY ABOUT WHO GETS THE CREDIT OR ATTENTION, BUT BE WILLING TO JUST PLAY OUR PART IN THE PLAY! Soli Deo Gloria!
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