Dear SCC & Friends,
…but mere talk… ~Proverbs 14:23
Reflection #182
Labor Day weekend is celebrated in the United States to honor the dignity of work and the people who do it. Every morally good task has dignity, whether the laborer who sweeps floors or the boss who runs the company. Our jobs are what we do but do not define who we are. Throughout the course of our lives, we may have many jobs but will always have one calling to Christ alone. If our identity is in our work rather than Christ, success will go to our heads and failure will go to our hearts. ~Tim Keller~ The blessing of work properly understood is life giving and not a curse. Work is a blessing God so arranged the world that work is necessary, and He gives us hands and strength to do it. Enjoyment of leisure would mean nothing if we only had leisure. It is the joy of work well done that enables us to enjoy rest… ~Elisabeth Elliot~ Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men… ~Col. 3:23 …Selah…
Our words are to be matched by our actions. In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. ~Prov. 14:23 “Mere talk” is like a cloud without rain or a well without water. “Mere talk” is analogous to leaven mixed with hot air… or shadow lacking substance. It leads to… “Do as I say but not as I do”, which will never get the job done. Thinking about cleaning the garage and cleaning the garage are two very different things. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves… not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does. ~Jam. 1:22, 25 Thank you, Lord, for giving us work… a place to earn wages… a place and purpose to glorify you and extend the Kingdom of God… Indeed, we are blessed to be a blessing… Keep up the good work!
Happy Labor Day,
Kevin