Thursday (10/30/2014)

Thought for the Day:

This morning’s devotional thought from Os Hillman was so perfect, I decided to include it in its entirety:

Worship and Work

Romans 14:5   “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike.”

“Avodah (Ah´-voe-dah) is a Hebrew noun used in the Bible that has two distinct yet intertwined meanings: worship and work. It is also derived from the Hebrew verb L'Avod which has two meanings; to work and also to worship. The dual meaning offers powerful wisdom for modern times for how we are to view our work lives.”

“Work, if done with integrity and unto God, is a form of worship in the biblical Hebrew context. There has never been a concept of segmenting our work from our faith life in the Bible. It is in the realm of the sacred to bring God into our everyday life. Hebrews did not set aside a "day of worship," such as Saturday or Sunday, but everyday is a place and time of worship. They did set aside a Sabbath day of rest.”

“It is a western idea to segment one's faith life from our work like. In the Middle East and Asia, their cultures would never separate their faith from their work life even though their faith foundations might clearly contradict Christian beliefs. When someone comes to faith in Christ from this area of the world, they have an easier time of assimilating their faith into their work because they have always done so.”

“God calls us to do our work as an act of worship to Him. Our work is not to be a place of sweat and toil, but an expression of our love, faith and adoration of Jesus Christ. Today, before you work, ask God to help you see your work in a new way--as worship to Him.”  [Os Hillman, Today God Is First (TGIF), on-line devotional, 10/30/2014].

So what differences would it make in your life if you approached your work as a form of worship?  Potentially, I see a change in attitude.  Work as worship removes some of the drudgery and the mundane aspects of the daily 9-to-5 grind.  Its importance is elevated; it is no longer “just a job.”  If I see my work as a part of my worship, my motivation changes.  Perhaps some of my words and actions will need to be changed as well.  Questionable practices would need to be eliminated.  How I look at and treat others might need some revision.  The idea of seeking to “please the boss” takes on a whole new meaning as well.  Work as worship also makes my life a unified whole—no longer segmented into separate and distinct pieces because it would challenge our “traditional” division of life into work, my time (time off), and God’s time.  In reality it is all God’s time.  Our workplace is a part of the specific mission field that God has placed you in.  You don’t have to be a hell-fire breathing, bible thumper who obnoxiously confronts everyone with their spiritual condition.  Instead, your work, your attitudes, the manner in which you speak, etc. would be a part of a “silent testimony.”  Perhaps there would be a few, appropriate opportunities to say a word for Jesus; but your life itself should be a reflection of your Christian faith and be enough to make people question, “Why are they so positively different from everyone else at work?”

I am certain that there would be plenty of other adjustments to make the transition to work as worship.  What others can you think of?

Colossians 3:17  “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”