Dear SCC & Friends,
In all labor… ~Proverbs 14:23
Reflection #234
Work can be defined as a mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a desired result. It is an action focused on results… In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. ~Prov. 14:23
The old country song, “Take This Job and Shove It,” is a disservice to both the dignity and necessity of work. Viktor Frankl, Nazi Holocaust survivor and renowned psychotherapist, observed that it was work that kept them alive in the death camps. The Nazis were horrific and slave labor was the norm, but their jobs inadvertently gave them hope and purpose in the most menial and dehumanizing of work. Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation. ~Viktor Frankl~ You may like your job or you may not… It may fulfill you or it may not… It’s how we respond to God’s placement and purpose in our lives that counts. …for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. ~Philip. 2:13
Work is a gift of God which existed before the fall of man. Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.~Gen. 2:15 After the fall, sin and death changed everything. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. ~Gen. 3:19For years our church took our youth group on a Mexico mission trip. The environment was hot, dirty and dusty… construction, digging ditches, painting, etc. It was hard work, but you could see the sense of satisfaction on those teen faces. The sleep of a working man is pleasant… ~Ecc. 5:12 …Work is a gift of God… I can honestly say that every job I’ve had has served a purpose in my life… Every boss, every coach, every teacher taught me something, albeit good or bad. Our work, job and career are to be first and foremost unto the Lord…Whatever you do in your life, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men… ~Col. 3:23Happy Labor Day weekend… May we be ever grateful for the work the Lord has given… We were made for these days…
Keep up the good work
Kevin