Jesus said, "I have ... [completed] the work you gave me to do ..." (Cf. John 17:4).
"For the people had a mind to work" (cf. Nehemiah 4:6, ESV, NKJV).
"The Lord assigns each man's work" (cf. John 3:27, NLT).
"...[R]ejoice in his labor--this is the gift of God" (Eccl. 5:19, NKJV).
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might" (Eccl. 9:10, NKJV).
"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God's glory" (1 Cor. 10:31, HCSB).
I once accepted a job as a file clerk for the VA. Filing was always my bugaboo, so this was a challenge! My pet peeve around the office was when I was assigned the task of filing. How God has changed my work ethic to realize you can do anything or any task to the glory of God. Of course, there is extrinsic motivation like more pay and there are intrinsic motivations like feeling called to do a work for God and His plan and purposes. Like Nehemiah felt "inspired" to say, "I am doing great work and I can not come down..." (off the wall of Jerusalem which he led to rebuilding in a record 52 days). Zechariah was also an expert on intrinsic motivation, "not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord Almighty." You are only inspired as lofty as your insight is. You probably heard of the three stonecutters at the quarry asked about what they were doing: The first one said he was cutting stones, the second was merely earning so and so pounds an hour, and the third said he was building a cathedral. Obviously, the last one had his eyes on the Lord and was considered for promotion and the good role model. Paul urges us to do our work "heartily as unto the Lord."
The Protestant work ethic has a long history. St. Francis of Assisi was asked, "If you had only ten minutes left to live, what would you do?" He was the gardener at the monastery and said that he would "finish this row." Work is part of our makeup and is an expression of our image and likeness of God. We show God's nature in our daily tasks and occupations. We feel compelled to accomplish something and feel pride in what we do. During the time of Paul's writing, there were 60 million slaves in the world and work was considered a curse and only slaves should do it. However, Martin Luther brought honor and dignity to work (even mundane tasks) by saying that all work can be done to the glory of God. Paul stated that anything can be done to the glory of God (cf. Col. 3:17, 23). During the formative years of Jamestown in 1607, Captain John Smith quoted Paul in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says that if you will not work, neither shall you eat. You've heard of the "idle rich," but those who wear themselves out to get rich are just as wrong. Theodore Roosevelt said, "There has never been a man who led a life of ease whose name is worth remembering." Everyone needs a purpose in life higher than himself. Carl F. H. Henry said we are creatures made for work and not for idleness. And we can be assured of work in heaven, even Adam was assigned the task of horticulture in the Garden of Eden. This is because we are hard-wired for work and express the image of God doing it.
God does not call us to success but to faithfulness, according to Mother (Saint) Teresa. Jer. 45:5, ESV, says: "And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not...." The Bible condemns "selfish ambition" in Gal. 5:20. Everyone has a niche and a calling from God whether homemaker or President and we are judged only by our faithfulness in our calling, not its success. It is not what we accomplish as much as what we are. Only deeds done to the glory of God in the Spirit are to be rewarded. God isn't against good deeds but only those done in the flesh apart from God's guidance and will.
Whatever our hands find to do we should do with "all [our] might" (cf. Eccl. 9:10). We should be "redeeming the time because the days are evil" or "making the best use of our time" (cf. Eph. 5:16). We are a people created to be "zealous of good works" (cf. Titus 2:14). But Paul says it is wrong to have zeal without knowledge in Rom. 10:2. Note Col. 1:19, NKJV, says "...being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (note the correlation!) We are saved "unto good works" (cf. Eph. 2:10). We are not saved by them but so we can do them. I hope you too can find a "labor of love" to complete God's will for you and your mission and calling (cf. Acts 20:27). Note that Haggai, another motivational prophet to rebuild the temple, said "... and work for I am with you" (cf. Haggai 2:4).
An anecdote is told of the work ethic being put into practice by St. Theresa commencing to build a convent. Upon being asked of her resources, she had and telling them she only had the sum of twelve pence; they said not even St. Theresa can accomplish much with a mere twelve pence; her comeback was that "St. Theresa and God and do anything!" Just like Nehemiah finished the wall in 52 days and the people gave the glory to God, we can bring praise to God and glorify Him by doing it His way, with His means, and giving Him the credit and glory! It is noteworthy that Jesus is the highest standard of work ethic, but also the highest incentive! It has been said that to work is to worship! We can realize our full potential in serving God with our work, for "to work is to pray," according to Saint Augustine, bishop of Hippo. NB: We can move mountains and glorify God only when we trust Him and are willing to do it His way and give Him the glory! Soli Deo Gloria!
"For the people had a mind to work" (cf. Nehemiah 4:6, ESV, NKJV).
"The Lord assigns each man's work" (cf. John 3:27, NLT).
"...[R]ejoice in his labor--this is the gift of God" (Eccl. 5:19, NKJV).
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might" (Eccl. 9:10, NKJV).
"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God's glory" (1 Cor. 10:31, HCSB).
I once accepted a job as a file clerk for the VA. Filing was always my bugaboo, so this was a challenge! My pet peeve around the office was when I was assigned the task of filing. How God has changed my work ethic to realize you can do anything or any task to the glory of God. Of course, there is extrinsic motivation like more pay and there are intrinsic motivations like feeling called to do a work for God and His plan and purposes. Like Nehemiah felt "inspired" to say, "I am doing great work and I can not come down..." (off the wall of Jerusalem which he led to rebuilding in a record 52 days). Zechariah was also an expert on intrinsic motivation, "not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord Almighty." You are only inspired as lofty as your insight is. You probably heard of the three stonecutters at the quarry asked about what they were doing: The first one said he was cutting stones, the second was merely earning so and so pounds an hour, and the third said he was building a cathedral. Obviously, the last one had his eyes on the Lord and was considered for promotion and the good role model. Paul urges us to do our work "heartily as unto the Lord."
The Protestant work ethic has a long history. St. Francis of Assisi was asked, "If you had only ten minutes left to live, what would you do?" He was the gardener at the monastery and said that he would "finish this row." Work is part of our makeup and is an expression of our image and likeness of God. We show God's nature in our daily tasks and occupations. We feel compelled to accomplish something and feel pride in what we do. During the time of Paul's writing, there were 60 million slaves in the world and work was considered a curse and only slaves should do it. However, Martin Luther brought honor and dignity to work (even mundane tasks) by saying that all work can be done to the glory of God. Paul stated that anything can be done to the glory of God (cf. Col. 3:17, 23). During the formative years of Jamestown in 1607, Captain John Smith quoted Paul in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says that if you will not work, neither shall you eat. You've heard of the "idle rich," but those who wear themselves out to get rich are just as wrong. Theodore Roosevelt said, "There has never been a man who led a life of ease whose name is worth remembering." Everyone needs a purpose in life higher than himself. Carl F. H. Henry said we are creatures made for work and not for idleness. And we can be assured of work in heaven, even Adam was assigned the task of horticulture in the Garden of Eden. This is because we are hard-wired for work and express the image of God doing it.
God does not call us to success but to faithfulness, according to Mother (Saint) Teresa. Jer. 45:5, ESV, says: "And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not...." The Bible condemns "selfish ambition" in Gal. 5:20. Everyone has a niche and a calling from God whether homemaker or President and we are judged only by our faithfulness in our calling, not its success. It is not what we accomplish as much as what we are. Only deeds done to the glory of God in the Spirit are to be rewarded. God isn't against good deeds but only those done in the flesh apart from God's guidance and will.
Whatever our hands find to do we should do with "all [our] might" (cf. Eccl. 9:10). We should be "redeeming the time because the days are evil" or "making the best use of our time" (cf. Eph. 5:16). We are a people created to be "zealous of good works" (cf. Titus 2:14). But Paul says it is wrong to have zeal without knowledge in Rom. 10:2. Note Col. 1:19, NKJV, says "...being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (note the correlation!) We are saved "unto good works" (cf. Eph. 2:10). We are not saved by them but so we can do them. I hope you too can find a "labor of love" to complete God's will for you and your mission and calling (cf. Acts 20:27). Note that Haggai, another motivational prophet to rebuild the temple, said "... and work for I am with you" (cf. Haggai 2:4).
An anecdote is told of the work ethic being put into practice by St. Theresa commencing to build a convent. Upon being asked of her resources, she had and telling them she only had the sum of twelve pence; they said not even St. Theresa can accomplish much with a mere twelve pence; her comeback was that "St. Theresa and God and do anything!" Just like Nehemiah finished the wall in 52 days and the people gave the glory to God, we can bring praise to God and glorify Him by doing it His way, with His means, and giving Him the credit and glory! It is noteworthy that Jesus is the highest standard of work ethic, but also the highest incentive! It has been said that to work is to worship! We can realize our full potential in serving God with our work, for "to work is to pray," according to Saint Augustine, bishop of Hippo. NB: We can move mountains and glorify God only when we trust Him and are willing to do it His way and give Him the glory! Soli Deo Gloria!
No comments:
Post a Comment