DAILY DEVOTIONAL – January 13, 2020
“Hard is Good”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Humble King who came to serve and not to be served. You took the most lowly and despised position on the cross, forsaken by God, so that we would be redeemed and able to serve the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. By Your grace and power, Lord, help us to do just that. Amen.
Scripture: Colossians 3:23-25
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
Devotional – “Hard is Good”
CNN recently ran an article reporting on some photos that had surfaced of actor Geoffrey Owens who is best known for his role as Tibideaux on “The Cosby Show”. Due to a series of unfortunate events, Owens was forced to take what some unfortunately consider a menial job, bagging groceries at a local Trader Joe’s.
As the CNN article reports, Owens “has found a silver lining after being thrust into the spotlight for simply doing his job.”
In an interview later held with Owens about the photos and circumstances that led him to working at Trader Joe’s, Owens said, “I got to the point that I needed to take a job to pay my bills, to support my family.” Owens’ income took a hit after reruns of “The Cosby Show” were pulled due to Bill Cosby’s conviction of sexual assault last spring.
“I lost a lot of money from that,” Owens said. “I don’t feel sorry for myself about that. But the fact is that was another contributing factor, along with everything else everyone has to deal with — medical bills, car issues, kids in college, you name it.”
It’s unfortunate that in our world and society today, any job is viewed as less than dignified. While some people exploit the unfortunate hardships of others, I have great respect for Owens, his humility and his commitment to providing for his family and not letting a successful career in Hollywood go to his head. Most of all, I was impressed and encouraged with one statement in particular Owens made in his interview. He said:
“What I hope continues to resonate is the idea that one job is not better than another. A certain job might pay more, it might have better benefits, it might look better on paper, but one kind of work isn’t better than another kind of work. We need to reevaluate that whole idea and we need to start honoring the dignity of work and the dignity of the working person.”
I often hear people complain about the sense of entitlement that today’s younger generations have. I certainly am not in disagreement with that. Even amongst many of my own contemporaries I am often bewildered by how often doing more than the bare minimum or enough just to get by is interpreted as success or a level of work you can be proud of or expect benefits from. That being said, this problem didn’t just come out of nowhere. This may or may not be a popular thing to say, but entitlement starts in the home. As much as I am frustrated with the general sense of entitlement, I am also frustrated with parents, teachers or anyone who has a significant influence on children and who propagate the idea that anything is possible if you just dream it or want it bad enough. I call it the Jiminy Cricket philosophy. As the song from the cartoon movie Pinocchio goes:
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires will come to you
Retired 4-star General and statesman Colin Powell knows a thing or two about hard work and success. Powell said, “A dream doesn’t’ become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.”
The truth is friends, everyone can’t do everything or anything. We all have different talents and levels of ability. We all do better at some things and are poor at others. Sometimes you will work your hardest and still not succeed, but though the task at hand may have failed and another route need be taken, the dignity and pride of hard work is still the greatest success. This is a truth and principle we find throughout Scripture.
Take for example the 2nd chapter of the entire Bible. After God made Adam from the dust of the ground it says that “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Although Adam was made perfectly good, Adam was not complete by himself. As the Lord said in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him.” You see, we cannot and nor should we expect ourselves or anyone to do everything well. We were designed for fellowship and cooperation and working together with those who help us.
In our Scripture passage for today, Paul says in verse 23, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
If we live this life in servanthood to man and as slaves to men, then yes, we will view some jobs as being better than others and will view our limitations as failures. However, if we live as the redeemed children of God who serve and live for the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord, who died and rose again in order to bring joy and peace and purpose to our lives in all circumstances, then all work is worked for the Lord. Our Lord gave His everything for us on the cross, so as those who know His love and salvation, the Lord should always receive our hardest and best efforts no matter what we are doing or what situation we find ourselves in.
Our Lord Himself came as a servant, as a carpenter. We wouldn’t have found Jesus in a 3-piece business suit on Wall Street. We would have found Him joyfully and diligently at work as a common laborer and working the jobs too many people look down upon.
It is possible to dream of something other than the Lord’s will for our life. It is possible to work very hard at what our Gracious God doesn’t want for our life, because He knows what is best and has only the best planned for us. To live by faith and live in the joy and fullness of Christ is to work hard for Christ alone and find joy in all that we put our hands to because we work for Him and no one else.
As Proverbs 13:4 says, “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”
God bless you and your hard work my friends, and remember that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
