I’ve always loved Colossians 3:23-24, and have aspired to live my life according to its instruction. “Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.” It’s both a challenge and a frustration because I know too often I fail to live out this simple command.
Yet, if we take it to heart, it has the potential to reshape our perspective, our attitude, and every interaction we have throughout our day. How might our lives be different if we determined to do everything we did with enthusiasm and as an act of service to God?
Most people I know do not have the privilege of loving their job so much they wake up with an enthusiastic desire to get to their place of work. What if we began treating our time at work as time in service to God? I think we’d walk a little taller, step a bit livelier, and greet every person we passed with a smile. Mundane tasks would take on new meaning because instead of doing it for a questionable boss, we are now doing it for Jesus! If Jesus spoke directly to you, giving you a task to do, would you do it halfheartedly? If you answer anything but a resounding, “no”, you should stop reading. This probably isn’t the blog for you.
The fact is we pledged to give Jesus our all, but we struggle attacking our jobs or schoolwork with the same enthusiasm. Remember Paul’s instruction in the verse above? “Do everything with enthusiasm, as unto the Lord.” While we probably wish Paul would have permitted a loophole or two, he didn’t. He said do everything for Jesus. No exceptions, no excuses.
It’s difficult to break through the frustrations and discouragements of our everyday lives to do everything with enthusiasm. But it’s easy when we remember for whom we are doing it. We are here for one purpose, which is to serve and glorify God. This is our mission. Anything else in our lives should and must fuel that purpose. When we begin to see our jobs, school, or social activity as something we do for Christ, we will change how we go about those activities. When we remember to do everything for Jesus, we will begin to live and serve with integrity, honesty, and even enthusiasm.
Do everything for Jesus. It seems simple until we realize we can’t even seem to live our own personal lives devoted to Him. We keep letting pride and selfishness get in the way. How can we expect to do everything as unto God when we can’t even get the little things right? The answer is within the question. The truth is living for Jesus in front of others, but not in private, only makes you a hypocrite. We’ve got to get our personal lives centered on Jesus before we have any hope of doing everything as unto the Lord.
If you study the teachings of Christ, you will see He never compartmentalized the way we do. He didn’t differentiate between personal and business life. He understood everything is part of the one life we live. When you serve God correctly in one area of your life, it should spill over into the rest. In other words, if you submit your pride and selfishness to God’s authority, you will find it becomes a simple thing to do everything for Jesus. The first step is surrender. The second is obedience. The rewards are priceless. Beginning today, let’s do everything for Jesus.