Monday, August 1, 2011

What Do You Have


What do you do, or have, that God can bring glory to Himself through? What are your strengths?

It seems like most people want to be a super star for the Lord!  It seems that we all want to possess the greater gifts of the Spirit.  These are things that we should be praying for but, in all reality, if we were all pastors who would there be to preach to?  

Now when you think about the body, you realize that there is more to the body than the eye or the hand and so forth.  The body is made up of many parts but every part has a purpose.  And there are many gifts, there are the gifts of the Spirit and most believers know what they are.  But what about the other gifts and talents you possess, like a carpenter, housewife, doctor, nurse or janitor.  Maybe you’re a landscaper or you work on a garbage truck, whatever job you may have it is something you can bring glory to the Lord through.  When we do whatever job we have, if we are Christians, we should be doing it so that the Lord will be seen in it and us. Whatever gift or talent we have has been given to us for the betterment of all.

Sometimes we let our spiritual gifts get out of control and we go around thinking we are more spiritual than someone else.  The Corinthian church had this problem, and the same thing happens with our other gifts and talents.  But like I said before, every gift that we possess is for the betterment of all.  Our gifts or talents are not given so that we will get puffed up and prideful, in fact they should humble us realizing that the Spirit has entrusted us with these gifts.  If we have others gifts or talents that are not spiritual gifts, I think we should treat them somewhat the same.  Think about a runner, biker or anyone else in a race, they may not take the gold medal but each one can strive to be the best they can be.

How many Christians have careers but don’t strive to do their best?  That is part of being salt and light wherever we work.  If all we do is grumble, complain and demonstrate a bad attitude no one will see Jesus in us.

Read what Paul said to slaves and masters in Colossians 3:22-4:1, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.  Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.”

So if Paul is giving slaves and masters this advice shouldn’t we also put these things into practice ourselves?  I know we are not slaves in the sense that our bosses own us but they do have authority over us and the Lord is our Master.  I know that not every job we have is one we are delighted in, but we can make the best of it and try to do the best we can.  I also know that some supervisors are very hard to work for but they have a responsibility to treat everyone rightly and fairly and if they don’t God will take care of it. Try not to buy into the ‘woe is me’ attitude and try to work as though you are working for the Lord and He will bless you for it.  Matthew 5:16, “ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
   
We may be in these situations to show us what we need to work on.  God is always trying to transform us into the likeness of His Son.  So try your best to glorify the Lord in what you are doing because He sees your progress and rewards your best effort.  P.S. When David was in the field tending sheep it was a stinky, nasty job but David did it to the best of his ability.  While doing it he learned to be a servant and to honor the Lord.        
Because he was willing to be a servant and had a good attitude about what he was doing, God blessed him and he became a King.  How you perform may bring great rewards that will amaze you.  So pray about your attitude, your situation and your supervisor and put them in the Lord’s hands and don’t be shocked at what He may do.

God bless you and have a great day.   


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