Sunday, November 25, 2007
Work is Holy
Wow!! As you can see here, we have been busy this weekend. It has been hard, physical labor. I've probably gotten more accomplished in the past week than I have done in the past six months. And it feels good to be this sore, tired and achy.
I mean I ache to the bone. But I have this deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, not to mention a feeling that what I have done this week is pleasing to God.
Now, I am not by any means saying that God loves us based on what we do - I am a grace lovin' girl if there ever was one. But I believe that God does want His people to be hard workers. Let's look at what the Scriptures say:
"Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest;" Exodus 23: 12
"Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense. " Prov. 12:11
"The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor." Prov. 12:24
"Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys." Prov. 18:9
"The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor." Prov. 21:25
"Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men. " Prov. 22:29
"Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty. " Prov. 28:19
"She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands." Prov. 31:13
"Sweet is the sleep of a laborer..." Eccl. 5:12
"Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need." Eph. 4:28
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men..." Col. 3:23
"But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one." 1 Thess. 4: 10b-12
"Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living." 2 Thess. 3: 6-12
"Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled." Titus 2: 3-5
It's clear from these verses that God desires His people to be diligent workers. I can especially relate to Ephesians 5:12 - "Sweet is the sleep of a laborer..." As I lay down last night, I thought to myself this is how I should feel every night when I go to bed. I went to sleep at 10:30 (as opposed to my normal 1:00 bedtime), completely exhausted and grateful for a warm, soft bed. I slept like a baby.
I mean I ache to the bone. But I have this deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, not to mention a feeling that what I have done this week is pleasing to God.
Now, I am not by any means saying that God loves us based on what we do - I am a grace lovin' girl if there ever was one. But I believe that God does want His people to be hard workers. Let's look at what the Scriptures say:
"The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it." Gen. 2:15
"Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest;" Exodus 23: 12
"Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense. " Prov. 12:11
"The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor." Prov. 12:24
"Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys." Prov. 18:9
"The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor." Prov. 21:25
"Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men. " Prov. 22:29
"Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty. " Prov. 28:19
"She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands." Prov. 31:13
"Sweet is the sleep of a laborer..." Eccl. 5:12
"Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need." Eph. 4:28
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men..." Col. 3:23
"But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one." 1 Thess. 4: 10b-12
"Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living." 2 Thess. 3: 6-12
"Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled." Titus 2: 3-5
It's clear from these verses that God desires His people to be diligent workers. I can especially relate to Ephesians 5:12 - "Sweet is the sleep of a laborer..." As I lay down last night, I thought to myself this is how I should feel every night when I go to bed. I went to sleep at 10:30 (as opposed to my normal 1:00 bedtime), completely exhausted and grateful for a warm, soft bed. I slept like a baby.
If you, like me, struggle with laziness, I would urge you to consider these verses listed here. Pray over them. Meditate on them. Commit them to memory.
Then I would also recommend that you visit The Joy Box and read her series on "Overcoming Laziness." It's a nuts and bolts approach to really confronting the sin of slothfulness in our lives.
As for me, I've got a few more chores to do before I head off to bed. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
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- 30 Day Organization Challenge Finale!!!
- Thankful Thursday
- Oh, my goodness!! Can you even read this?
- And the insanity ends...
- WFMW - Most Excellent Cake Ever!
- Please don't go away...
- Menu Plan Monday!!
- Work is Holy
- Ok, Here's The List
- Free Comments & Graphics Codes
- WFMW - Be a Professional Homemaker!
- Menu Plan Monday - Thanksgiving Week!!
- What a fun way to spend a day!!!
- Trust
- Menu Plan Monday
- How to Make a Billion Dollars
- Favorite Ingredient Friday - Blackened Chicken Salad
- It's Official!
- Another Works for Me Wednesday Question!
- Works for me Wednesday - Backwards Edition!!
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- This is the day that the Lord has made
- Menu Plan Monday
- Link Love to Share
- Favorite Ingredient Friday - Cookie Edition!
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1 comments:
You know, whenever I've had days like you describe, I'm amazed that it's still so hard to get into the habit of always having productive days! It's such a good feeling to have worked hard and be exhausted at the end of the day, to really feel like you DESERVE to sit down and relax before bed, and yet it's so easy to rather be lazy.
I love Jana's "Overcoming Laziness" series. She's so incredibly wise and practical. It was another reference from you a while back that led me to her blog and since I started 'visiting' her, I've discovered she's actually another Canadian girl from my province!! She and I have emailed each other a fair bit since. Very cool.