In the movie Return to Me (one of my favorites), a main character is asked by his granddaughter if he needs some help with cleaning up. His response, "No, no. I've been blessed with work."
I don't know about you, but I don't always feel that way. Some tasks I enjoy, yes, and I feel blessed to be able to do them. Other jobs not so much.
But is all work a blessing? Yes, I think that it can be. God has given us all tasks to do, whether that be answering phones, leading a Bible study, or wiping runny noses. The thing that makes a difference as to whether it's a blessing or not depends upon our attitude.
Colossians 3:23–24 says, "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."
That's an easy thing for me to forget—that whatever I'm doing, I am really working for Jesus. Yes, it's easier if I'm serving at my church or doing something else "ministry-related." But the times I've had to do data entry for hours upon end? Or at home when I'm cleaning the bathroom?
Yes, those things, too. One of my favorite authors and speakers, Elisabeth Elliot, has often said that whatever we're doing, even if it's ironing clothes, we can iron those clothes for Jesus.
Nancy has explored this subject as well. In her radio series "The Counter-Cultural Woman: A Fresh Look at Proverbs 31," she talks about how the Proverbs 31 woman approached her work with a joyful heart.
This is a woman who takes manual labor . . . [and] offers up that work to God, and it becomes an act of worship. It becomes an act of love. As she works willingly, her work is sanctified. The work of her hands is consecrated to God, and that makes it holy work.
We read in Ecclesiastes 9, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might." Do it energetically. Do it enthusiastically. For this woman, her work is not drudgery. It's not chores, though she could certainly look at it that way. But she has chosen to have a different kind of attitude about work because she sees the end result.
She sees the purpose. She sees the meaning. She sees the motivation behind that work. It's love. It's love for others. It's love for God. It's a love for God that makes her willing to work with her hands at providing food and clothing and cleanup around the house. It's motivated by love.
That doesn't necessarily make the work any easier. But anything that we do for love of God and love of others—the load is lightened. Haven't you found that to be true? When we do it with a willing heart, it takes on a different perspective. She's not living for herself. She is living for others. She finds her greatest joy in loving service for others.
I have found that to be true. If I approach a task with dread, the whole thing is just drudgery. But if I approach it with the attitude that cleaning the bathroom, changing a diaper, filing papers, or whatever is something I can do to serve Christ and others, I find joy in accomplishing it. And I also take more care to "do it with all my might."
What about you? How have you been blessed with work?
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