I was having a little bit of a tough time getting through my bible. Am I supposed to read an entire chapter from beginning to end? We all know that the old testament can be hard to get through! I brought this question to my spiritual director, Liz, and she recommended a daily bible, also known as a bible in a year.
I ordered The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Daily Bible, from Christian Books and I absolutely love it! I'm reading the entire bible, cover to cover, in one year now, and each day has a mix of old & new testament chapters with Life Principle lessons from Dr. Stanley! Now this I can do!
Here are the highlights of one of my favorite Life Principles thus far...
The Awareness of God's Presence Energizes Us For Our Work, by Dr. Charles F. Stanley
How can you get the most out of your work? Let me offer three suggestions.
1. View yourself as a servant
Jesus came to earth not to be served, but to serve-and He instructed us to adopt the same attitude (see Matt. 20:25-28). Paul wrote, "Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God" (Col. 3:22).
You may not get paid adequately-but taking longer lunch hours, clocking out early, or coming in late is not the way to even things out. If you are paid for eight full hours, you need to give eight full hours. Why? Because you are a servant, and good servants do good work.
Besides, the best pathway to promotion is servanthood. Whoever wants to be a leader must adopt the attitude of a servant. A prideful employee is seldom seen as a "promotion possibility". It is the humble worker who diligently labors with a godly attitude that management sees as leadership material. Never doubt the impact of your attitude on everyone around you-the boss included!
But who's your real employer? That leads us to the second suggestion.
2. Realize that you work for the Lord Himself.
Your employer exercises supervisory authority over you, but Jesus Christ is your Lord. Your work for Him: "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men" (Col. 3:23).
Jesus not only watches you from afar, He's right there with you. You and I need to give a full day's labor regardless of whether we think management is fair, because Jesus is ultimately the employer, and He's always on site. You and I should do our very best, because the Holy Spirit is present, equipping and energizing us.
We make a terrible mistake by segmenting life! We won't be tempted to do our work merely to be seen by men if we remind ourselves that Jesus is our real Boss.
Do I mean that your mundane Monday job is also the Lord's work? Yes! Ministry is not just what you do at church. You worship God everyday of the week, Sunday through Sunday. On Sunday, you worship Him in church; on Monday through Friday, you worship Him by doing a good job at work.
3. Realize your pay comes both now and hereafter.
Paul wrote, "Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward if the inheritance" (Col. 3:24).
Of course, you must get paid now to take care of your household expenses. But if you have done your very best and given all you have, you will never really get paid all you are worth. The wonderful thing to remember is this: you may get insufficient wages down here, but you will get rewarded beyond all reason up there! The Boss who watched over you all these years will reward you justly.
Do you see yourself as a servant? Do you consider Him your real Boss and work "as unto the Lord," no matter how menial or boring your job might seem? Have you realized that you have a tremendous reward coming later for faithful labor performed now?
If so, you are getting the most out of your work.