Colossians 3:23 - How to Work with All Your Heart.
Colossians 3:23 - How to Work with All Your Heart.
Colossians 3:23 (NIV) Whatever you do, work at it with all your
heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
There is an important difference between doing something for
people and doing something for God. God always deserves our best
effort. People will disappoint us, betray us, neglect us, and mistreat
us. Some will constantly ask for what we can give while offering
nothing in return. From our human perspective, these people deserve our
minimal effort at best. What then should motivate us to serve people,
except our love for God? God deserves our love, and He demands that we
love others in the same way He does. We are to love our spouses, not
as they deserve, but as God commands (Eph 5:22-33). We are to treat
our friends, not as they treat us, but as Christ loves us (John
13:14). We are to labor at our jobs, not in proportion to the way our
employer treats us, but according to the way God treats us. God is the
One we serve (Eph 6:5).
Mediocrity and laziness have no place in the Christian's
life. Christians must maintain integrity at home and in the workplace.
Working for God, as opposed to working for other people, changes our
perspective as we view our endeavors in light of what He has done for us.
Our toil then becomes an offering to God. We not only worship God at
church on Sabbath, but our labor throughout the week is an offering of
worship and thanksgiving to the One who has given us everything we have.
When people do not measure up to our expectations and we feel our
efforts are being wasted, we must keep in mind that we are toiling for
holy God. He is worthy of our best effort. [Experiencing God Day by
Day by Henry and Richard Blackaby]
From the time I was young, I struggled with work as a service
to God. It seemed as if people behind the pulpit and on the mission
field had a more direct line to God, and I really wanted that, even
though I was working in the secular field. Then I stumbled onto this
passage from Paul, which revolutionized my thinking: I didn't have to
become a pastor or a missionary or some other "full-time" Christian
worker I was already a "full-timer" if I did my work in service to him.
I hope this has made me a better worker.
As God would have it, I did work for several Christian
organizations, and today my full-time job is to write books and scripts that
encourage, strengthen, and challenge people. Every time I sit down at the
computer, I think about this in relation to what I'm writing. I would love
to sell millions of books like Jerry Jenkins does. I'd love to have
Dr. Dobson ask me questions. But I'm not doing what I do for fame,
fortune, or even my editor. I write words for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Period. If readers are pleased and want to buy another book, it's icing
on the cake. I know that if I put my whole heart into a project
and God is pleased, I can walk away from the keyboard with a light
heart and desire to return the next day.
Chris Fabry, writer and broadcaster, is also the author of
Left Behind: The Kids series, as well as the Red Rock Mysteries and
The Wormling with Jerry B. Jenkins. His voice is heard each day on
Love Worth Finding. [The One Year Bible Live Verse Devotional]
Have you seen the painting The Angelus by Jean-Francois
Millet? It portrays two peasants praying in their field. A church
steeple sits on the horizon, and a light falls from heaven. The rays do
not fall on the church, however. They don't fall on the bowed heads
of the man and woman. The rays of the sun fall on the wheelbarrow
and the pitchfork at the couple's feet.
God's eyes fall on the work of our hands. Our Wednesdays
matter to him as much as our Sabbaths. He blurs the secular and sacred.
One stay-at-home mom keeps this sign over her kitchen sink: "Divine
tasks performed here, daily." An executive hung this plaque in her
office: "My desk is my altar." "Both are correct. With God, our work
matters as much as our worship. Indeed, work can be worship. [Grace For
The Moment SB By Max Lucado re Col. 3:17]
In a very real sense, everything we do, we do for Jesus. We can
do our jobs for Christ, or we can do them for a cranky supervisor.
We can do ministry for those who perhaps don't appreciate it, or we
can do it for Christ. It's our choice. [Life Principles SB By
Charles Stanley re Col. 3:23]
When I give you no special guidance, stay where you are.
Concentrate on doing your everyday tasks in awareness of My Presence with
you. The Joy of My Presence will shine on you, as you do everything
for Me. Thus you invite Me into every aspect of your life. Through
collaborating with Me in all things, you allow My Life to merge with yours.
This is the secret not only of joyful living but also of victorious
living. I designed you to depend on Me moment by moment, recognizing
that apart from Me you can do nothing.
Be thankful for quiet days, when nothing special seems to be
happening. Instead of being bored by the lack of action, use times of
routine to seek My Face. Although this is an invisible transaction, it
speaks volumes in spiritual realms. Moreover, you are richly blessed
when you walk trustingly with Me through the routines of your day.
(Col. 3:23; John 15:5; Psalm 105:4) [Jesus Calling by Sarah Young]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE:
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2008/20081009-0856.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2004/20040112-0649.html
CONCLUDING PRAISE SONG - ONE OF THE BEST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E
