Work Ethic

In review of Colossians 3:23-24 it says, “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ.”

Bottom Line:

Whatever you do, do it willingly, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ.”

What this means to me:

Whatever I do, work at it with all of my heart, as though I was working directly for the Lord and not people. For the Lord will give me as my reward what he has kept for his people. For Christ is the real Master I serve, not men.

Today’s verse comes from the latter half of Colossians chapter 3, where Paul is giving instructions for Christian households. He starts with wives, telling them to submit themselves to their husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord. He then tells the husbands to love their lives and never treat them harshly. Children are always to obey their parents, for this pleases the Lord. And Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged. He even addresses those who were slaves at that time. He told them to obey their earthly masters in everything they did. They were to try to please them all the time, not just when they were being watched. They were to serve sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Lastly he tells us all to work willingly at whatever it is we do, as though we were working directly for the Lord rather than people. We need to keep in mind that that Lord will give us an inheritance as our reward. The master we’re serving is Christ. But if we do what is wrong, we will be paid back for the wrong we have committed. For God has no favorites.

So today, I consider that this life is God’s gift to me. What I do with my it is my gift back to God. In it I can do a lot more than I think is possible; I just need the opportunity to demonstrate my potential. While it’s true that I can do anything I want to do, I can’t do everything. So I should focus on what I’m good at and strive for excellence in all that I do. That means that I should work with a laser focus. I should be doing what I’m good at better than anyone else. If I do God will bring success my way.

Overall, the good news is that I don’t need to be the smartest or the best looking in order for God to use me. However, I do need to apply myself and work hard to be successful. I’m reminded this morning that the only place the “rest” comes before “work” is in the dictionary. So I need to make sure I’m rolling up my sleeves and getting to the work at hand.