Day 3 – You are the manager of what God entrusts to you
Colossians 3: 17, 23, 24
17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,
as working for the Lord, not for men,
24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.
It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
When we are working, whether at home, in school, or on the job, the way we work is going to be hugely influenced by one question:
Who are you working for?
Is it your spouse and your children? Is it a difficult teacher? Is it a demanding boss?
Colossians 3 tells us that despite who we most immediately serve, in reality, we are serving Jesus. All those meals you cooked? You were serving Jesus. All those clients you helped? You were serving Jesus. All those floors you mopped? That was for Jesus, too.
This is both a strong encouragement and a huge responsibility. It is encouraging because we won’t always think highly of the people we work for, so if we realize that in all things we can (and should) be serving God, we have the best motivation there could possibly be. On the other hand, if we’re serving God in all we do, we can’t just say certain parts of our lives are unimportant so long as we take care of the “spiritual” parts. You know that time you did a sloppy job and didn’t care? Well, that was for Jesus. You remember that customer you wrongly offended; well you did that for Jesus, too.
This same idea goes for how generous you are in life.
When you are generous, you are generous for Jesus.
When you are cheap, you are cheap for Jesus, as well.
Martin Luther said; people go through three conversions, heart, head, and pocketbook. His point was that we have such difficulty giving from our finances that it takes a change in perspective like being converted to start living generously with the wealth God has given us. But, this is not simply a call to give away a bunch of stuff; but, it is to realize that in so doing, you can serve God. Don’t live generously because someone is trying to make you feel guilty. God won’t be at all impressed by your coerced “generosity.” Be generous to people because you are grateful to God for your salvation. Then go ahead; go be generous for Jesus.
Today’s Generosity Challenge:
Before you head out today, ask the Lord to give you a new mindset for today’s tasks. And no matter how menial, to show you how each is a task unto Him. Then, before the day is over, write down how you saw your day differently at http://GenerousLife.net/Day3.
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