Loving God the Most: Working for God Instead of Work as God

One of the greatest blessings that humans can enjoy in this world is to be able to do work that blesses oneself and others and glorifies God. When God made Adam, He did not want him to sit passively in front of a beautiful creation. God wanted him to discover its latent possibilities and do work to bring out those possibilities to show forth the beauty and usefulness of creation.

The Bible’s view of work is positive. The author of Ecclesiastes says that in spite of the effects of the fall on work, “[t]hat each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God” (Eccl. 3:12). In the Proverbs, Solomon commends hard work: “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense” (Proverbs 12:11). Work is such a blessing that even slaves can see themselves as doing something unto God when they are working: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters . . .” (Col. 3:23). Even if you don’t get paid what you deserve, the Lord will ensure that you get a reward for your labor.

On the other side, the Bible condemns those who won’t work. Paul warned the Thessalonians against idleness: “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (1 Thess. 4:11–12). He also said, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat'” (2 Thess. 3:10).

So, work is a blessing, and it is a necessity. Every human being is called to work, and there is great delight in work. To be able to raise and prepare food for people is aiding people with their most basic needs. The labor it takes to raise a child is crucial to human flourishing. Discovering ways to do things more efficiently empowers more productivity and frees people for greater labor. Cleaning an office makes it usable and a blessing to those who are a part of it. So, it is with all honest labor. It is a blessing and God-approved.

The Right Way to Work
However, we must labor in the right way. In terms of God, we must all learn to work for Him and not human masters. We should work “as unto the Lord.” We work unto the Lord. Continue reading “Loving God the Most: Working for God Instead of Work as God”

Keeping Sane and Productive in an Insane World, Principle # 3: Don’t Compare Yourself to Others; Compare Yourself to Who You Were Yesterday

A few years ago, I started lifting weights. I started making some progress. Then, I saw a friend on Facebook. He was at a body-building competition. The immediate thought that came into my head was, wow! I am pathetic.

As we engage in any endeavor, we will find a ton of people doing it better than us. For some reason, this can be discouraging. Maybe we feel bad for not starting earlier. Maybe we are basing too much of our self-esteem on our progress. Maybe we don’t like where we are, and this reinforces the contempt. Maybe we feel that others are looking down on us. There’s a lot of reasons. It’s easy to get discouraged.

Framework for Seeing Better
But most of these thoughts are simply unhelpful. That’s why I accepted a rule I heard elsewhere: “Don’t compare yourself to others; compare yourself to who you were yesterday.”

If we think a little more deeply, we can get encouragement from other people’s successes. We can also recognize the amount of work involved. Then, we can focus on the key question, are we moving forward? That’s the comparison of ourselves, where we were yesterday and where we are today.

Example # 1: Languages
Let me give a couple of examples. When we see other people doing things that take a lot skill, we can rest assured that they have been working at it for a long time. We can do the same. If we work at it, we can make progress.

But it will take a lot of work. One thing I am proud of is that I have learned to communicate well in Spanish. People say to me that I have a gift for languages. That may be true, but I also know that I have spent thousands and thousands of hours working on it.

But I also can get discouraged with my Spanish. Sometimes I meet a gringo who speaks Spanish better than I do. There are words I don’t know. There are times I get lost. Seeing that other people can do better and getting discouraged is not going to help me. I just have to keep learning. I can understand Spanish much better than I could six months ago. I know numerous words that I did not know six months ago. I have made progress. I can make progress in the future.

And that’s the better comparison. Am I making progress? If not, why not? Is my goal to get better? The progress may not be easy to see today, but I will see it tomorrow and in a week and in a month.

Example # 2: Friendships
Let me give one more example from a different sphere of life: relationships. When you see someone you like connect really well with someone else, you can feel like you are on the outside. It may even make you feel lonely because you don’t have a relationship like that.

So, let’s apply what I just said. One way to view that relationship positively is this. See and believe that people can build strong connections and friendships. It really is possible. This should be an encouragement.

Second, recognize that behind this very close relationship lies a great deal of time and work. They have experienced many things together, and they have probably had some trials to walk through. A really strong relationship is based on connecting in a hundred different ways over thousands and thousands of hours.

Third, are you doing the sorts of things that will help you connect in this way? Are you building some relationships like that? Are you on track to build some strong relationships? If not, then what could you do to make that happen?

If you are making progress on this, then you should be encouraged. If you are not, you can make adjustments. That’s the opportunity you have.

Conclusion
Our immediate emotional reactions to others’ successes in areas we want to be successful in is generally not that helpful. By thinking just a bit differently about these things, we can avoid some of the common discouragements we face and set ourselves up for the long haul of building skills, character, and relationships. Wherever we are, we are. Are we moving forward? That is the question. Better not to compare ourselves to others. Better to compare ourselves to where we were yesterday.