:[you better work]:

So this month we will be concentrating on "work ethics." Sounds boring, trite? Not at all... we all have work stories to tell. Some funny, some sad, and the good ones are usually horrific. I personally used to think I hadn't had that many job experiences. I compared myself to Pastor Cowart who had been a little bit of everything from a mortician to a Ford Factory employee. I haven't embalmed bodies (yet) but I have been a burger flipper, a shoe salesman, a mailman, and a role player (not dungeons and dragons... hopefully I'll explain later). Now I am a Youth Director and intern Children's Minister with a little bit of graphic arts and counseling and fund raising and all that other stuff that comes with it.
Is there a standard to how we work? Yes.
Who has set it? God.
Why should He care? Becuase He cares about every aspect of our lives. From ou rspiritual well being to our physical well being... from hurts in the pasts to victories in the future... from being kind to one another to acting right at our places of employment.
And how should we act then? Simply. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will recieve an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." [Colossians 3.23-24]
And one point that may not be too obvious... this includes everyone, even those that don't have paying jobs. You mow the lawn for your parents? Volunteer at the local center? Work with a ministry at the church? Have a paper due in school? God says "WHATEVER YOU DO..." Pretty broad. Makes it much more simplier.
So quickly to end this part one... I have been doing Children's Ministry for four months now. It has not been fun in the sense I see youth ministry as fun. In Youth Ministry I can be pretty much myself. The jokes, the slang, the illustrations, the directness... It's a whole different ball of wax when it comes to the kiddies. I have to do a drive shift in my brain. And to be completely honest, the first couple of months I was not doing it "with all my heart." In fact, every day I prayed to God to release me. Until He, in His gentle way, showed me the error of my heart. I asked for forgiveness. Now, althought I will not say I am doing it perfectly, I am striving to do the part of my job with excellence.
I'll tell you stories from Burger Kin gin Germany and Rack Room Shoes at the Factory Outlets and delivering mail at Armstrong later on. For now, search your hearts. And in everythign you do, do like you are doing it for the Lord. I mean, ain't His reward going to be much bigger and last longer than anythign you get on earth?