Let’s face it: everyone wants money but not everyone is willing to do the work to obtain it. Some of us do the bare minimum to get our checks, just come in and leave. The thing about working in any capacity or task is we all know someone who should have been fired a long time ago. I’m sure you’ve seen the Facebook memes with people having the messed up face surprised that a certain co-worker still has their job. If you had to fire five people from your current job, who would they be and why?
My wife and I were driving on a trip when she came up with the game “Who would you fire?” It started from being which artists would you fire to whom would you fire from your job. Then my wife hit me with the haymaker “would you fire yourself?” It was a question that hit me to the core and made me question my own work ethic. This is a question that I believe is worth asking yourself every now and again.
Human beings are great at seeing the flaws and shortcomings in other people, but rarely do we see it in ourselves. Even when confronted with clear cut evidence of lack or underachievement in our lives, we still find a way to justify it. Or if we do see it, it’s only for a moment and we forget about it soon after. That’s looking in the mirror and forgetting what you look like as mentioned in the first chapter in the book of James. If you were asked to fire 5 people in 15 seconds you could more than likely do that task. Asking if you would fire yourself however, forces you to take a real honest look at your work ethic.
I’m not one for constantly telling folks that I am a Christian, I’d rather be busy living it. I am not impressed when people tell me they are Christians; as a matter of fact it makes me raise my eyebrows even more with skepticism. Everybody says they are one but I always look at the lifestyle rather than words. Your work ethic says a lot about what you value and who as well.
The Bible speaks very candidly about the value of hard work and the fact that it is not an option but a mandate. This is very counterintuitive to the current American Dream. The old American Dream was to work hard and achieve success but this new Dream seems to find people wanting fame, success, and money with little to no work. If you look at the book of Ecclesiastes you’ll see that the writer said multiple times that to work and enjoy the fruits from your labor is a gift from the Lord. The New Testament takes it a step further by saying “whatever you do do as unto the Lord.” (Col 3:23 and 1 Cor 10:31). We should be working as if the Lord was our boss as if he was cutting our checks. The way we work says a lot about what we think about God. Do we love Him enough to work as if we are grateful that He gave us the job or career we prayed for? If people couldn’t hear what you said but could only judge you by your work what would they believe?
I believe that an overwhelming percentage of us don’t honor God with our work ethic. To be honest, it’s hard to always work in an excellent way all of the time. It takes a transformation of the mind and in many cases a complete turning away from what you have been doing for years. A good musical project that deals with this and will get you pumped up is KB’s 100. This project dropped in 2014 and all seven songs deal with giving our all to the Lord. “No matter who cuts the checks we work for Him and we love it!” Let’s work in a way that brings honor and glory to the Lord and helps move the Kingdom forward, I’m right there with you pressing toward the mark.
