“Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24
We spend a great deal of our lives trying to impress or please other people. While some of this motive is honorable, noble, and necessary, it is definitely a second-tier priority, and to make it an ultimate goal is cause of a great many fears and anxieties. “Approval addiction” is a serious problem for many people.
A related mistake is to seek great circumstances in which to serve. To seek a great place is to always have your attention elsewhere. For example, you imagine how good it would be if you worked for a different company, or lived in a different town, or even married a different person! You can waste a lifetime in a mental court of appeals, rehearsing past decisions and regretting present circumstances.
Paul very clearly emphasized that you are here to serve the Lord Christ in whatever you do, writing it twice in the two verses quoted above. He meant that wherever you are, whatever your circumstances, serve God there. He is the one who can discern your true motives. He is the one who will bless you.
In the same way, your task is not to seek a great place. If that is your attitude then there probably is no such place for you. However, if you seek to make great the place where you serve, then you are looking for the opportunities God has placed before you today. The people around you right now are the ones you were sent to serve, today.
This constant principle of serving God means that you have a consistent purpose, and you fulfill that purpose whether you are at work, home, shopping, exercising, etc. Serve the Lord Christ.
Grace,
Dr. Terry Ellis
September 10, 2012