And the winner is….These will be the words
that we will be flooded with over the course of the next few weeks. We are
surrounded as a people with the applause of men. Who will win the Super Bowl?
(Please, Lord not the Patriots!!) And the Oscar goes to… (You have got to be
kidding me. Hugo, has to win. The story is great. The direction is fantastic
and it is beyond what 3D should be in a movie. It is artistry at its
finest.)Well, anyway you get the picture. We are driven as a people in our
desire to please men. There is nothing wrong with praise but the praise of men
should never be our driving force.
Ephesians 6:5-7 ( ESV )
5Slaves,£ obey
your earthly masters£ with
fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,
6not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants£ of Christ, doing the will
of God from the heart,
In all that we say and do as Colossians
states, it should be done for the glory of the Lord. Here in Ephesians 6, Paul
makes that kind of a statement again. All our service and whatever we do should
be treated as our gifts to God.
In the book, “A serious call to a devout
and holy life,” Brother Lawrence wrote that even when he did the dishes he saw
it as a gift to God. He wanted to give of his best for the Lord and for His
glory.
I was thinking about this even this last
week. For those of you who know me, my life has always been about preaching in
one form or another. I have no greater joy in this life than to share the Word
with others. It has been my life’s blood and greatest desire and purpose.
So this week has been about counting,
doing inventory and trying to deal with the details of the work that I do.
Sometimes, I get confused, overwhelmed and in all honesty asking myself what is
the purpose. I do appreciate those who are over me and I do want to do a good
job for them. They have been more than kind in working with me and my situation
as we are in this holding pattern.
Yet, the beauty of God is that He reminds
me that the job that I do is to be used for His glory!! No matter what I do it
can be used for Him. My counts need to be accurate so that I can make the work
of others easier. My attitude at work needs to be consistent so that I can give
others hope in the midst of a dark and often difficult world. All that I do, say
and breathe is to bring Him glory.
I want to do my job with respect for those
who are over me and to do it with a SINCIRE HEART. Note how Paul uses the word
heart twice in these verses. God wants my motives to be pure and clean as I
serve others and Him. How I pray that He will keep me from whatever I do so
that I can hear the applause. I want to render my service with a good will as a
gift to Him.
So while I am counting, let it be done for
His glory!! So that while I am working with those around me, let it be done for
His glory!! Guard my heart Lord in all that I say or do to bring honor and
glory to you.
I would just like to close my thoughts
with these words from one of my favorite Cathedral Quartet songs. How I pray
that these words will be the sincere prayer of my heart.
All the glory belongs to
Jesus,
All the praise belongs to
Him,
All that I am, or ever hope
to be,
All the glory belongs to
Him.
1 comment:
Would be happy to.
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