day 9: The Dirty Job

There is a popular TV show called, “America’s Dirtiest Jobs”. If you haven’t seen it, a group of people are put on the most physically demanding jobs and evaluated against how they perform and how they endure. Isn’t it funny how we now romanticize the dirtiest jobs when most people go to school, study and train to get away from dirty jobs? And we do the same with the work we do day-to-day. We work hard to make our jobs today clean from anything messy. The Bible has something to say about that attitude. Proverbs 14:4 says, “An empty stable stays clean, but no income comes from an empty stable”. What does that mean? First of all, I am sure you understand why an empty stable is clean and a full one is dirty? Does the verse mean that we are better off working in a dirty stable with lots of you know what up around our ankles? No, that is not the message. The message is also that work is not always clean and tidy. Work is messy in lots of ways. And that happens when you fill the stable and get to work. And if you don’t accept and ready yourself for the mess and instead shy away and never want to get your hands dirty, then there won’t be much income coming your way. We have lots of examples of great men in the Bible, including Jesus, who was hands on in all they did. They got down with people and got dirty to get things done. Have you ever heard about yourself or others, “you need to be more hands-on”, or “you need to get some dirt under your fingernails”? Leaders and people want to know that the others who they work with are not afraid to dive in and go as deep as needed to get the job done. Today, you will have many of those choices at work. You will have the choice to engage, get into the details, fill up the stable if you will, and get your hands dirty. Or, you can stand back on the sidelines to let others take on the dirty work. Today would be a good day to fill it up, get in the dirty stable and stir it up a little and see what happens. You might be surprised how much you like it and how well others respond to your new heads first and hands on attitude. And if for no other reason, you can rest assured that when you are in there you will know that the full and dirty stable is where you will find the income.

Reference: Proverbs 14:4 (New Living Testament)