For thought and meditation Wed May 1 2024

For the Lord, Not Men
Blackaby Ministries

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. Colossians 3:23

There is an important difference between doing something for people and doing something for God. God always deserves our best effort. People will disappoint us, betray us, neglect us, and mistreat us. Some will constantly ask for what we can give while offering nothing in return. From our human perspective, these people deserve our minimal effort at best. What then should motivate us to serve people, except our love for God? God deserves our love, and He demands that we love others in the same way He does. We are to love our spouses, not as they deserve, but as God commands (Eph. 5:22-33). We are to treat our friends, not as they treat us, but as Christ loves us (John 13:14). We are to labor at our jobs, not in proportion to the way our employer treats us, but according to the way God treats us. God is the One we serve (Eph. 6:5).

Mediocrity and laziness have no place in the Christian’s life. Christians must maintain integrity at home and in the workplace. Working for God, as opposed to working for other people, changes our perspective as we view our endeavors in light of what He has done for us. Our toil then becomes an offering to God. We not only worship God at church on Sunday, but our labor throughout the week is an offering of worship and thanksgiving to the One who has given us everything we have. When people do not measure up to our expectations and we feel our efforts are being wasted, we must keep in mind that we are toiling for holy God. He is worthy of our best effort.

Have a great day!

Amen, we serve a Sovereign God.

Reminds me of a saying I sometimes use..."Faith in God, not so much in man".
JW

To be successful at this we need to constantly remember that God is our supply, our support, and generous to us. When I started in business as a Clinical Psychologist my statement to anyone who was interested was that God was in charge of my income, not my clients. This was continued for 40 years, though three companies. LOML kept a record of the family income and outgo on a monthly basis from the time we were married. During one of the previous recessions the insurance companies withheld payment for several months, and my income consequently went down. LOML came to me once during that time and said "Wayne, all the bills are paid - and I have no idea where the money came from!" We both believed and trusted God for our support and He provided. He has been very generous throughout. LOML and I will be celebrating our 48th anniversary in June - God has been good.

Amen.. Thank you for the reminder

God Bless

JDAS