Day 373 · Year 2 · Life with God
Whatever you do, work heartily
Paul makes ordinary work a place of worship.
Today's passage
Colossians 3:23-24
23Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, as for the Lord and not for men,
24because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Berean Standard Bible · public domain
Reflection
Most of your week will be spent doing ordinary work that no one celebrates. Paul says: do it heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. That single reframing changes spreadsheets, diapers, deliveries, code reviews. Your real boss is not the person who signs your check. The Lord sees your faithful, unseen hours. He intends to reward them. If you have been wondering whether your work matters, the question is not 'am I being noticed?' but 'am I doing this as for the Lord?'
From the great tradition · paraphrased
Martin Luther · Reformers · 16th c. · Germany
Martin Luther dignified ordinary callings — the milkmaid, the cobbler, the magistrate — by teaching that any honest work done in faith is a place where the Christian serves God and neighbor.
Paraphrase only. Scripture, not any teacher, is the authority.
Think it through
- Who does Paul say you are really working for?
- What does he promise as the reward?
- What is one task this week you can deliberately do 'as for the Lord'?
A prayer to pray
Hand your work to God. Ask him to make the most ordinary task today an act of worship.