We sometimes think of work as a burden, something we would choose to avoid. However, work for most of us is required if we are to provide the necessities of life for ourselves, family, and others. There is a misconception that, before the fall, Adam and Eve were not designed for work. That is not true. God created Adam and gave him the job of caring for creation. It would not be a stretch to say Adam was CEO of the earth. Then God saw that Adam should not be alone and created Eve to help him. They had dominion over the earth but things changed once they partook of the Tree of Life. They lost the dominion. God banned them from the Garden so they could no longer gain access to the Tree of Life. After they were banished, the nature of their work changed. But not for eternity. God did not cancel the Garden of Eden plan, He did not abandon Adam and Eve or us. He set in motion a plan for the redemption of the world. God designed us for work from the start of creation and it continues today.

Why Should We Work? Our primary motivation for work, at least in the beginning, is to provide for ourselves and our loved ones. In I Timothy 5:8, Paul said “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” That is some pretty strong language. It clearly tells us that work should be a part of our faith. 

It should not stop there. We should discover other reasons for our work. Someone once said “Find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” This is a very appealing statement holding a grain of truth, but not entirely accurate. In one of my careers, I was a CPA who prepared tax returns. I found this work exhilarating, and was sometimes thought to be weird (otherwise known as a tax nerd). It provided income but it takes someone with a calling to engage in this work. It is a stressful job. Most people despise working on their tax returns. I found that I got a great deal of satisfaction, helping people with their taxes.  This is not something people can do optimally on their own. To save people thousands of dollars from their tax liability was a very satisfying feeling. I had one client tell me that they valued my work as “You are a Christian and you don’t like to pay taxes.”  Another told me I couldn’t retire because he didn’t know what he would do without me.

How Should We Work? When I could help people I felt fulfilled. However, It was not all a bed of roses. Clients could sometimes be difficult, dishonest, or truculent. Others would tell me a certain tax law didn’t make sense. In that case I would have to agree with them, but my response would be that it was the law, and there was no legal way around it. And of course, I was often dealing with those who were told by a friend of a friend of a friend that my approach was wrong. Dealing with these situations was not pleasant, but I knew that to maintain my integrity and relationship with God, I needed to stand firm.

We are made in the image and likeness of God. We are uniquely like Him. Nothing else in His creation comes close to what we are. Guess what? God was a worker. I Corinthians 3:9 reads “For we are God’s fellow workers.” We work with God. God is not asking anything of us that He does not do. He works, so should we.

I recently saw an article that expressed the view that Only the mediocre are always at their best. Admired Leadership wrote that average-performing workers accept mediocrity and, therefore, can easily meet the standard they set for themselves. Often this is a preference that allows them to get by and focus on more pleasurable pursuits. They do tend to have a good work-life balance and don’t often get placed into crisis situations at work. They come to work, do their tasks, and go home. No anxiety, no work-related expenses, or bother about improving themselves.

While this may sound attractive, it flies in the face of God’s expectations of our work. Colossians 3:23-24 reads “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” Notice four things in this scripture.

First, regardless of who our “boss” is at work, the truth is we are working for the Lord. We may sometimes have to work under a “less-than-ideal” human boss. We will not always be working under that person, but we will always be working for the Lord.

Second, the Lord deserves our best in everything. He gave us His best, His Son. He gives us the greatest gift of eternal life. What should we give Him in return?

Third, our reward is from the Lord. Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Our reward is permanent, and cannot be removed. As a child, I had a sense about permanence. I would read or hear language to the effect that “This is a temporary offer.” My six-year old mind told me that everything is temporary. Later, I learned that only God is permanent.

In the late 19th century C. T. Studd was a renowned cricket player on the English Ashes team which toured the world. This provided him fame and fortune. Yet, he gave it up to serve God in China. He wrote a poem that expressed his life and included these lines “Only one life,’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Fourth, we serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Joshua 24:15 tells us to get off the fence “choose for yourselves today whom you will serve.” This is not to say that we should not accumulate wealth. We just need to keep it in its proper place.

R. G. LeTourneau was a very successful businessman, inventor, and industrialist. He dedicated his life to the Lord and was richly blessed, financially. The drive and determination that led him in the workplace compelled him in evangelism and discipleship. Not only did he work for the Lord, he gave generously. It is said that, as his wealth grew, so did his giving to his Lord. He started giving a tithe of 10 percent but eventually reversed that and was giving 90 percent to God and keeping only 10 percent for himself. His priorities were spot-on. He once stated “We need to give careful thought to our ways, asking ourselves if we’d do better to give more to the Lord and ask him to maximize what we keep. That’s so much better than trying to hang on to more, only to watch it leak out of our pockets.”

These tenets apply to any Christian. It can be doubly hard if we are self-employed or not working for pay. In these cases, we are, in a real sense, our own taskmaster. We may choose to make ourselves accountable to someone to help keep us on track. Whether we are an employee, self-employed, or a volunteer, the same standard of excellence applies.

How Does Our Work Impact the Kingdom? Deuteronomy 8:6 tells us “Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.” When we are at work (and at all times) we are to walk in His ways. People will see our faithful example.

I once had a co-worker comment on how I never seemed to get ruffled at work but was always calm and steady. My first thought was that she didn’t see my inner workings. But in truth, she was correct. Putting God first in my work allowed me to remain calm (most of the time).

Working for the Lord is not a license to spend your time at work evangelizing, but doing your assigned tasks. An hour’s work for an hour’s pay. We are to give our employer our best efforts on his behalf. My mother was very fond of saying “What you do speaks so loud, I can’t hear what you say.” They see our faith in our daily activities.  This is our mission in the workplace.

In carrying this out on a daily basis, we should seek to exhibit Godly behaviors. We should follow his law in our work. There is no sacred versus secular. Everything is sacred. As such, the goals we set for ourselves and those under our supervision should promote worthy causes. I read a work of fiction in which a team of covert operators was given a difficult assignment. As they pursued this assignment, something did not seem right about what they were doing. They eventually discovered that the “assignment” was the work of two men with a vengeful agenda. Changes were made to assure the operators were pursuing a worthy cause. If your work is not worthy, God may have another place for you. I know several friends and former students who were faced with an ethical dilemma at work. Yet, they maintained their integrity. And moved on to a better job.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines hero, in part, as “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities or one who shows great courage.” Heroes often don’t seek the adulation they receive.Heroes come sometimes when we least expect it. Ray Foster was a custodian in the church I attended as a teen. He was devoted to his job and to the Lord. He felt a keen responsibility to have the church building ready for worship each week. Sixty years later, I still remember him. He was a hero. We should find the heroes in our own lives and imitate them. 

In the Bible, Paul presented Timothy as an example of selflessness (Philippians 2:19-24). In this respect, we never “arrive.” We are always learning so we should keep alert for examples to follow.

Your source of work does not matter. You can be an employee, self-employed, volunteer or whatever. Christian should always be serving the same Master. Will we hear Him say to us “Well done, my good and faithful servant”? (Matthew 25:23 NLT)

All scripture quoted is from the New American Standard Bible unless otherwise stated.

Work photo credit to Thinglass

The phrase “In God We Trust” has been the official motto of the United States since 1956. However, this inscription can be found on the country’s money beginning around 1862 where it arose during the Civil War. Interestingly, the motto was also frequently seen on banners and the like in the Confederacy. The phrase derived originally from an obscure stanza in our National Anthem which reads “”And this be our motto-“In God is our trust.” President Theodore Roosevelt was vehemently opposed to placing the motto on our currency but was fine with the inscription showing up on government buildings. There was some basis in his reasoning. He felt that putting it on our currency and coins could lead to a degrading of the motto and even invited levity and ridicule. Roosevelt was somewhat vindicated with this stand as frequently one would hear it said “In God we trust, all others pay cash,” and other such epithets. Nonetheless, it has remained. Efforts to remove it have failed. Challenges based on the First Amendment have not succeeded as the motto does not create an accommodation for a single religion since the motto could be used by any religion. Also, the courts have stated that “ a repetitious invocation of a religious entity in ceremonial matters strips the phrase of its original religious connotation.”

As Christians, we are often told to “Trust God.” But what does trusting God look like? What do I do to be able to trust Him more? It’s one thing to say we want to trust God, but it is something else to make it happen. How?

There is no shortage of statements made by Christian leaders about trust. Buzz Williams said “Trust is the tie that binds any and all relationships with God, our spouses, our friends, and our community. The more trust we have, the more influence we have.” Really? Isn’t trust more than influence?

Rick Warren – “The more you believe and trust God, the more limitless your possibilities become for your family, your career – for your life!” The key here is trust. Even the demons believe.

Joel Osteen – “When you’re really believing, when you’re in peace, you’re showing God by your actions that you trust Him.”  Again, believing isn’t enough. 

Brett Harris – “It’s amazing what we can do if we will trust God enough to step out of our comfort zones!” God gives us comfort when we trust.

All of these sound good, they may motivate us to want to trust God more, but none address the “How” of trusting God.

I readily admit I don’t have a definitive answer to trusting God, but there are some specific things we can do to move us closer to Him. A Google search will give you a three-step, five-step, seven step, ten step plan to accomplish this. So I’m going to outline some steps that I think have enabled me to trust Him more fully. It’s not a comprehensive list, it’s probably not the best list, but it’s something I have found helpful. Before I go any further, I want to address one thing that it is not. We cannot just sit back and wait for God to move. Isaiah 40:31 reads “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”

The first line tells us to wait upon the Lord, then it goes on to describe what happens. Waiting on the Lord is not sitting in our recliner, waiting for God to act. Waiting on the Lord is an active waiting, continuing what we have been doing for Him. When we are doing His work, we are drawing closer to trusting God more.

 Brittany Yesudasan writes that trusting in Him means believing what He says about Himself, about the world and about you is true. Secondly, she states that “trusting God is more than a feeling; it’s a choice to have faith in what He says.” Our feelings and circumstances may not be reliable and we can easily deceive ourselves. Third, trusting God is living a life of belief in and obedience to God even when it’s difficult. Our feelings and circumstances should not be ignored, but are two factors in trusting God.

I have identified seven behaviors that we can undertake to increase our trust in God.

First, Our trust in God is rooted in our faith and knowledge of God. This means we should talk to Him regularly in prayer and learn about Him through reading His message to us. As we make this a habit we become more confident in Him and His character. As we learn about Him through His word, we can use our knowledge of Scripture as a checkpoint. In our prayers we should not hesitate to cry out to God. We should confess our unbelief. In Mark 9, a father was asking Jesus to heal his son. He cried out “I do believe; help my unbelief!” 

In John 8:31-21 Jesus said “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Other translations use the word abide but the concept of remaining in Him seems to be a term we can more relate to. To remain in someone or something means that it is a part of us.

Second, Our trust in God is obedience and, yes, dependence on Him. Don’t depend on yourself. And when we trust Him and need Him, we cry out to Him. In I Samuel 7:9 we are told that “Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.” God does not change. When we cry out to Him, He hears us even today. 

But we must obey Him. In Acts 5, Peter and the Apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin and ordered them to stop teaching in Jesus’ name. Under threat of death they responded. “We must obey God rather than men.” In today’s world, there are many who deny Christ, many who would attempt to discredit our faith. We must stand firm, obeying His word, or He will deny us. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus said “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ If we deny Him on Earth, He will deny us at Heaven’s gate.

Third, Our trust in God is believing in spite of our feelings. We may feel Him leading us in a certain way that seems the opposite of what we think we can do. Faith is a steadfast trust in His truth, feelings are fleeting emotions not grounded in faith. Think about your favorite sports team. They play a lousy game and lose. We are disgusted with them and vow never to watch them again. Yet, your emotions fade and you are once again avidly watching them, only to disavow them then in their next unfortunate showing. Our faith in God is steadfast as He never fails us.

Fourth, This should go without saying, but in today’s world we need to be aware that evil is very present. We should never accommodate evil. That first, seemingly harmless, step may be our first step to destruction. Our trust in Him should have us running from evil. Psalm 37:27-29 reads “Turn from evil and do good, So that you will dwell forever. For the Lord loves justice and does not abandon His godly ones.” Other translations show urgency, implying us to “flee from evil.” 

Fifth, God sent us the Holy Spirit to be our comforter, our advocate. Listen to the Spirit and build your trust. In John 14:16-17, Jesus told us “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you.” This helper, the comforter is the Holy Spirit. Two things to note here. The Spirit can only be received if we are in Christ. If you are of the world, you cannot receive the helper. Next, we see the word “remain” in relation to our relationship with Him. The Spirit is always with us when we remain in Him.

Sixth, Our trust in God is bolstered when we remember things grateful for which we are grateful. Times when God led us in the right direction. Henry Blackaby called these times “spiritual markers.” Remember your spiritual markers. Write them in your journal to help you recall them. In Joshua 4:8 we read “So the sons of Israel did exactly as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the Lord spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the encampment and put them down there.” This was to help the people remember God bringing them into the promised land. Maybe they never returned to this spot, but they remembered the celebration of God’s faithfulness.

Finally, When we place our trust fully in God, we can find rest in Him. God established the sabbath as a weekly day of rest. In today’s world, we often find ourselves running to and fro, non-stop. This is not God’s design. He intends for us a time of rest. Matthew Sleeth was an emergency room doctor who was worn out from constant work. At the time he was not a Christian. Yet, he felt led to take a weekly “sabbath” one day a week to do nothing. He learned that he was refreshed and accomplished as much or more in six days as he had previously done in seven. He later discovered God’s plan for taking a sabbath day of rest, and became a Christian. Take a day off. Take a nap. Give rest to your body, mind, and soul. This is so important to God that He established it as one of the Ten Commandments. And it is also the longest of the Commandments. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”  (Exodus 20:9-11).

It takes time to build trust. But we know that God can be fully trusted all the time. Why not take the next step and trust Him?

In I Corinthians 12, Paul is instructing the church in Corinth regarding spiritual gifts. He concludes the chapter by writing (31) “But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And yet, I am going to show you a far better way.” He continues in Chapter 13, elaborating on the gifts with the additional caveat that without love, the gifts are useless. Starting in verse 8, he affirms that “love never fails,” then proceeds to outline that the spiritual gifts are temporal, they will be done away with, their purposes fulfilled. 

Spiritual Gifts will Pass Away. Paul likens spiritual gifts to partial knowledge. They are similar to looking in a mirror in a dark room, you can see an image but it’s not very clear. He emphasizes this point with another observation that there is a time for acting and thinking like a child. But when we become adults, we move on to adult activities. The partial (spiritual gifts) will pass away. This reminds me of the verse in Ecclesiastes 3:1, where the Teacher expounds that “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven.”

Faith, Hope, and Love Remain. This, then, begs the question “If spiritual gifts are “the partial” what is left? What will be “fully known?” Paul answers with the concluding statement (v. 13) “But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Elliott’s Commentary reads “Gifts such as the Corinthian Church rejoiced in shall pass away when the perfect succeeds the imperfect; the graces of faith, hope, love shall remain in the next life, exalted and purified.” It is of note that Paul used the singular “remain” and not “remains.” This is no mere slip of the pen, This is intentional grammar. Faith, Hope, and love are seen as a unity. 

A common belief today is that everyone will go to Heaven. This is not the case. Simply being a good person will not get you into Heaven. Faith, Hope, and Love; and Heaven remain for those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Those who have not accepted Him will not be in Heaven. God does not send us to hell, which we all deserve. He gives us a choice to avoid that fate. When we make him our Lord and Savior, there will be a change in our lives.

Faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1 as “the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.” Certainty in this instance can be read to mean assurance or title deed. Title deed represents absolute ownership as it is a document constituting evidence of a right, especially to ownership of property. Although we haven’t seen it, our faith will be rewarded, that we know because the things we have hoped for in Christ are divinely guaranteed. When did God ever go back on His word? Faith accepts as fact what our physical senses cannot experience.

Hope, in a Biblical sense, is not the hope we have on earth. Earthly hope is a feeling of expectation, a desire or wish for a certain thing to happen. As a sports fan, I hope that my team will win. If I am traveling, I hope for good weather. Earthly hope is what I wish  to happen. 

Biblical Hope is an expectation with certainty that God will do what He has said. Hope in the Biblical sense is capitalized. It is a step further than the dictionary definition. Our Hope is in God, based on the fact of who God is and nothing else. It’s more than us uttering a prayer for good weather. Someone else may be praying for rain to help his crops grow. God has not said that all our prayers will be answered as we desire. James 4:3 reads “Beloved, let’s love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God has promised us eternal life with Him in Heaven. Clarence L. Haynes, Jr. has written “You cannot have Hope unless it is tied together with faith. In essence, you have Hope because you have faith and you have faith because you have Hope. However, you don’t just have faith in faith or hope in hope, there is no real value in that. What matters most is the object of your faith and hope – that makes all the difference.” That faith and Hope is centered in God.

At this point, it would be easy to think that faith and Hope will cease once our faith is made sight and our Hope in God has come. But that’s not the case. Our faith will only increase because our trust in Him will grow greater. Our Hope has been realized for all eternity as a continual communication of God to our spirits. We don’t remain the same in Heaven, we will see progress for all eternity. Where there is Hope there is progress. We will still learn in Heaven.

Love Which brings us to Love. Faith, Hope, and Love is not a progression from one to the other. As we observed earlier, Paul treated these three graces as a unity. We don’t move from faith, to Hope, and then to Love. Each builds on the other. I tread softly here but I think it could be said that Love is the greatest of equals. God is Love. When our faith is made sight, when our Hope has been realized, our Love abounds as we are in the eternal presence of our God and Savior. Love is an essential part of who God is. After all, in I John 4:7-8 we read “Beloved, let’s love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

We are commanded to love.

Love is from God.

Whoever loves knows God.

If we don’t love, we don’t know God.

God is Love.

If we believe those five statements we carry the Love of God with us here on earth and for eternity in Heaven. There are no qualifications placed on who we love. The poor, the rich, those of other races, those who don’t think like we do, those who are overbearing and obnoxious, those who deny Christ, Democrats and Republicans, sinners should all be objects of our love. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:20) tells us to “teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” That includes love. Go out in love.