And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him, and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. (Genesis 26:12-14 ESV)
Isaac reaped a hundredfold. Not 30 or 40 or even 50 but 100! Wouldn't you like to have that type of increase in your life? But as you read this - there is something that is said that is often overlooked. It is this - "And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundrefold."
Did you get that? Isaac "sowed in the land." He worked and he worked hard.
Too often we pray for the blessings of God but aren't willing to put the "sweat and toil" which is our part of the equation. That all boils down to hard work. Whether it is the "fasting and prayer" or the actual physical labor that is required of us - it is often difficult and it is often labor intensive.
Ecclesiastes teaches us that whatever we do in life - do with all your might.
"...in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might." (Ecclesiastes 9:9-10 ESV)
This is one of my favorite Bible verses on employment because Solomon says that whatever our job is you are to “do it with [all of] your might.” Wherever God has placed us, it is a holy vocation and not just a job. We work for God and not just our employer. Ultimately, God will reward us, if not in this life, surely in the life to come. For those who hate their job, realize that where you are is no accident. You work for God and so we should do our jobs the very best that we can because we are an example to those outside of the household of faith. We can make a good impression for the Lord or we can bring shame to the cause of Christ so we ought to “obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord” (Col 3:22). In other words, don’t just start looking busy when the boss is watching but even when he isn’t, for God is always watching everything you do.
Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 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. (Colossians 3:22-24 ESV)
Once more, the theme of doing the best that we can where we can is doing it for God. Here we are specifically told that we “are serving the Lord Christ” and not just our employers. The Lord is the one who will reward us in the end, not the employer. I am not saying that our employer won’t reward us for our hard work and diligence but that financial reward cannot be brought with us to heaven. What God rewards us for is for all eternity and can be enjoyed in the Kingdom of Heaven. That is our inheritance, not what we gain while on earth. We do it “for the Lord and not for men.”
I worked many jobs in a serving capacity before I was able to work in ministry oriented jobs - but I tried to make it an offering up to the Lord and for His glory. Whatever I did, I did for Him and not for my boss. That should be your frame of mind, no matter what job you have.
Somebody once said that there is no job below our dignity as long as it is honest work. May I encourage you to look at what your doing and your attitude toward it. Are you working just for aa paycheck or are you working for God? Ask God to help you to become a servant of God in whatever you are doing in life and you will find at the end of the day that you are a person blessed of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment