day 128: Give It Your All Cheerfully!

I have been writing recently about how work and our jobs can take a lot from us and cause us to become tired, weary and burned out. So, this post will seem contradictory in that this is about giving our all when we do our work. But, maybe not so contradictory after you finish reading. The expectation on all of us in our jobs is to give 100% or more. It's the nature of business to make an investment in an asset and expect to yield all that asset has to give and more so. The financial accounting rules allow us to depreciate an asset down from 100%, over time and until eventually at zero value left, it comes off the books. But people, talent, us, as an asset do not depreciate (at least we hope we don't) but instead appreciate with experience, knowledge and know-how. So, the return on the investment in people should be much greater than 100%. If a business hires an employee they should be able to say that they are getting more from the employee than what they are paying and therefore that person becomes "highly valued talent". It's just how business works and we shouldn't fight that, in fact we should fit right in and be an example of that equation working itself out daily. Nowhere in the Bible does God ever ask us to do something half-hearted. We are to dive in head-first with faith and give it our all. And such is how we are to be in our jobs too. In Colossians 3:23 Paul and Timothy write this: "Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord, rather than for people." Paul and Timothy were challenging the people of Colosse to give it their all and to be an example of people who were working as if they were working for the Lord, which should be with the greatest vigor and joy one could imagine, and for that example to be able to shine through to others with whom they worked. Each day we get the opportunity and privilege to decide how we want to approach our jobs. We can do just enough to get by and have others questioning our commitment, loyalty and work ethic, or we can go at our work as if we were working for the Lord and have others see us as different, inspiring, and motivating. I think we all know which is the right approach. But, there is a another key word in the verse and that is that we are to do this, "cheerfully". Yes, work can bring us down and our jobs can wear us out, but if we are leaning on Him to get us through then we can also pray that we can bring cheerfulness into the office with us, this in itself will make us different. So, today, give it your all and practice your cheerfulness. Practice makes permanent. So, start today and see where it goes for you. I pray that it will take you someplace that is good and right for you.

Reference: Colossians 3:23 (New Living Testament)