What is your attitude when you are on the job, working for a living? “Working for a living’ is quite a phrase, isn’t it? We live in this world and have to work for sustenance and so we have a roof over our head. Our attitude when we work has everything to do with our well-being. A bad attitude will work like poison on your mind and body, making your job seem like drudgery. But a good attitude, even with a job you might not like, will make the day go much better. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about this.
There are many things you can do in life. I remember when I was a child, I’d often get asked by adults, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I never had a good answer for those who asked, but it wasn’t because I had no motivation. I have so many interests that I could never settle on one thing.
The sad fact is most people end up ‘being’ or ‘doing’ what they never dreamed they wanted to. The iron worker who labors hard and goes home exhausted us usually doing what he is able to do, what he has to do to earn a living for himself and his family. The office worker who spends 55 hours a week slaving away never wanted her life to end up with that vocation.
Those who do end up doing what they want are particularly blessed in this world. Yes there are some, and to them, going to work is a joy. Most often, they look forward to going to work each day because they are able to do what they like. But sometimes even those situations are not optimum. Sometimes they are doing what they want but the complications they encounter make it less than what they originally envisioned.
Whether you are able to do what you want or not, as Christians, our attitude is different. God wants us to think of things longer-term. Here’s a verse from Colossians that sums up what I want to communicate to you today.
Colossians 3:17,23,24 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for you serve the Lord Christ.
Whatever you do, do it unto the Lord. We are able to change our attitude because we know the bigger picture. We have been promised the ‘reward of the inheritance’ which puts any work we do in this world in a better, truer perspective. We receive a temporal reward for what we do on the job. We get paid our salaries or hourly wages and perhaps a bonus and a few vacation days and other significant or insignificant benefits. But Christians have something much bigger already — that will be fully paid in the future at Christ’s return. We have an inheritance in Christ that supersedes anything we can earn in this world.
Galatians 3:29 And if you are Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s descendants, and heirs according to the promise.
Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will:
We are heirs of the inheritance God promised to Abraham! Christ is the heir and we share in the full inheritance given to Christ. Think of that the next time you go to work and it will lift your day.
Whatever you do in word or deed, do it heartily as unto the Lord and not unto men because you have received the inheritance God promised to those who worship him. Our Lord Jesus Christ earned it for us by his life and sacrifice. It’s ours freely in Christ Jesus. Remember this and your day will be brighter whether you like your job or not.