“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.” Colossians 3:23-25 ESV

There’s a lot of stuff to do…a LOT of stuff. In our current western culture, there seems no end to the business of life. Every day is jam-packed with tasks and activities, jobs, errands and responsibilities. For those of us serving within the church, we can justify a lot of other things that seem worthwhile and actually look really good from the outside. But it all depends on where your heart is and where your motivation lies.

When we work for God, we don’t care what we’re doing or who knows about it.
When we work for men, we broadcast everything we do to gain recognition.
When we work for God, we want to do it with excellence.
When we work for men, we want to get the job done and move along quickly.
When we work for God, we are looking out for others in the process.
When we work for men, we are still looking out for number one.

And the list goes on…
There is a marked difference in doing work for God or work for men. There is appreciation of an eternal nature behind our efforts for God. The payoff (to use a crass term here) is not something necessarily tangible in this life, and we’re totally fine with that. When we work for God, we know that He has a greater purpose than we can even begin to grasp in those moments or even in our lifetime, but we do the work as for Him nonetheless and trust in what He is trying to accomplish.

The secret to a fulfilling life is simply to do this work for God everyday. Don’t seek out your own answers or understanding. Don’t try to pick it apart or over analyze it. Don’t lift your head to see who might be looking and humbly do the work He has given your hands and heart to do.

And pray over it. For goodness sake, pray over it all. We can often lose sight of this most essential component to our work if we get caught up in the flow of activity. So stop. Be still. Invite God into those moments and allow Him to lead you as you work and serve Him.

There is no greater work than the service in love that God has given to us in Christ Jesus. So, GoLove someone today for Him. Do the work of a servant and honor your Master in all your efforts today.

Amen.