Dirty hands that make God smile

(photo credit: churchintoronto.blogspot.com)

"Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." (Colossians 3:22-23, New Living Translation)

I don't think anyone reading this today is an actual "slave", property owned by a master. But, you may feel enslaved by your job. Or you may feel enslaved by your lack of a job. Or you may feel enslaved by your fixed income.

Maybe you have all the financial and material resources you could ever need, you are the boss, you only work for yourself, and yet you still feel enslaved by the systems necessary to keep all those resources in place.

Everybody answers to somebody.

So, how can we experience freedom from this sense of enslavement? I'll give you a hint: it's not by being in charge. It's by offering our work as worship, looking beyond the task of the moment, to bring glory to God in every endeavor, and to do so with joyful abandon.

That paragraph was easy to write. It's pretty easy to read. It is a lot harder to live out. It is ... Work ... Real work.

And isn't that the point?

Question: How can we offer our work as worship? What habits have you found to be helpful to keep that perspective?

Leave a comment below.  Your thoughts might be helpful to someone else.

Which tasks are most important?

(photo credit: suewatkins.net)

"Man goes forth to his work and remains at his task until evening." (Psalm 104:23, Amplified Bible)

This little verse stuck out for me in my reading this morning. Seems like a good one to kick off a Monday.

Actually, I am starting something new with my Monday schedule and I am starting today. The fact that you are reading this means that, in some way, you know that a part of my ministry is writing. Beyond simply writing encouraging devotionals, I am moving more toward creating and developing resources for use in the churches I assist. Some of them have been "in process" for over two years and others are still at the idea stage. When I am working in my office, the pull of the urgent (phone calls, requests, general office things) tends to keep these on the back burner.

So, starting today, Mondays are going to be designated as "content creation and resource development days." I am working offsite, only taking calls from my administrative assistant, and focusing intently on projects that may not be urgent for today but are important in the long term.

My plan may be far removed from your context. You may not have the flexibility to do what I am doing. But you ARE faced with the challenge of balancing the "urgent" and the "important". If we are not intentional, the important will be swallowed up by the urgent every day. No matter what your job situation is, you have more control over that than you think you do.

Question: What deliberate choice will you make today to be sure that you spend time on things that are important?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your ideas.

Cooperating with God

(Photo Credit: OCLC Newsletter, June 2009)

"Today I am who I am because of God’s grace, and I have made sure that the grace He offered me has not been wasted. I have worked harder, longer, and smarter than all the rest; but I realize it is not me—it is God’s grace with me that has made the difference." (1 Corinthians 15:10, The Voice)

Henry Blackaby, in Experiencing God, said that God invites us to join Him in His work. Stan Nelson, one of my doctoral professors, talked about our calling to cooperate with God in what He is doing in the world. 

I thought of both of those statements as I read this morning's passage. (I guess that might be stating the obvious, since I wrote them here for you).

There is a wonderful cooperation between the grace of God and my hard work that makes me what I am. However, the indispensable part of the equation is the grace of God. Apart from God's grace, my work accomplishes nothing. Apart from my work, God is still God. He doesn't need me, but He wants to use me in accomplishing His purposes.

He also wants to use you. 

What will you do today to cooperate with the grace of God at work around you and in you?

I'd love to hear your ideas on how we can all cooperate better with God.  Leave a comment below.