Whatever you do

Whatever you do ….

“And whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”

Colossians 3:17

Is there ever a moment during your day when you’re working, whether it be at home with your children or at work with your co-workers, where you wonder, “does what I am doing really matter?”

In Sunday school right now we are studying the book of Colossians. {Paul gives Christians a practical theology for day-to-day living and growth in our faith in this short book}

In today’s world, a world that is driven by success, money, material possessions, our thoughts can become distorted as to why we are working and doing the things that we are doing. Often we work ourselves to the bone, leaving us tired and drained, resulting in irritated and cranky people. Far too often we have nothing left to give once the day is over because we are completely drained from serving man, trying to gain assurance from man that the work we have done is satisfactory.

This is the wrong mindset to take.

All that we do, and I literally mean ALL, should be done “heartily unto the Lord and not to men”.

As a fulltime homeschooling, stay at home mom, my day often consists of cleaning up hundreds of toys on the floor, making lesson plans for my kindergartener, changing an unnatural amount of diapers, washing dishes 3-4 times because we don’t have a dishwasher, and even the gross and daunting task of cleaning out the hair from the drain in the bathroom; and contrary to popular belief, my days are long and grueling. I’ve heard so many times from friends or family, “well, since you don’t work ….,” and I’ve often gotten upset trying to “please” man, explain how what I am doing is work. I realize now, that what I do doesn’t need to please man, but all that I do should be done to please Christ my Lord, my Redeemer, the One who set my soul to the beat that He set forth.

For the woman in the workplace, the one who is struggling to meet a deadline or the single mom who is juggling her children and her career, the task is the same—do all heartily unto the Lord. Whether we are working moms or stay at home moms, the bread winner or the one who humbly submits under her working husband, our tasks are exactly the same—do all heartily unto the Lord.

And why? The answer is simple: because our inheritance comes from Him. Our inheritance, which is an eternity worshipping and glorifying the risen King, is set forth once we have been called one of His. Once we have been called out of this world and into His kingdom, our inheritance is assured. This we should take joy in. We can stop trying to please man and we can focus on pleasing God in ALL that we do.

There’s a new song by Steven Curtis Chapman that I want to end on because it sums up all of this. He puts it to the beat of a tune set forth by the God we serve; it’s called Do Everything.

I challenge you to remember this during your mundane tasks of emptying the dishwasher, or helping your child with their homework. Whatever the case may be, do it heartily unto the Lord, knowing that your inheritance comes from the Lord.

Blessings