Proverbs 1:
¹⁸ But these people set an ambush for themselves;
they are trying to get themselves killed.
¹⁹ Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money;
it robs them of life.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word greed as follows:

“a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed”

When our focus is on money it only means that everything else loses focus and is lost in the picture. This means that the object of our vision is money and nothing else.

Luke 16: ¹³ “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Generally speaking, we all perform activities in exchange for money or needs to be met. This is known as employment or work.

Have you ever heard someone tell you “I just work here for the money.” Or “I need this job for the money.”?

If our motive for employment is money, then that is where our focus lies. That’s really why we get out of bed. Either the job or the compensation becomes our god or gods. This is because the job is looked upon as our provider.

Where is God in that equation? What is God’s role in that picture?

Genesis 22: 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

If Jesus is truly our Lord and Master isn’t He the Ultimate Provider? He is the One responsible for seeing that our needs are taken care of. That’s His role.

Matthew 6: ³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

What has been dominating your thoughts?

Here’s another way He puts it:

John 6: 27 “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” (NASB)

This tends to change our focus, doesn’t it? Please don’t misunderstand me, I’m not suggesting that you quit your job tomorrow. What I am saying is that you should work as if called for a higher purpose, which we are:

Colossians 3: 23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.

If we live by these verses and have them be our driving force, as if to say “Jesus wants me out of bed by 7:00 so that I can work for Him.” then our focus is placed on Him, not the job, nor the money.

The job then becomes the work or the service that He’s given us to do, whether we enjoy it or not. Again, not to be misunderstood, I’m not saying never to leave your job either, as this message is simply a concept to change our heart and look at our daily work activities from a spiritual perspective. Whether you change jobs or not is between you and your Master, but rest assured that His desire is that we learn to trust in Him, and not our employer or the money they pay us.

Psalm 34: 10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.

When God is clearly in focus, money becomes a tool and simply a blessing (or curse), nothing more.

Looking back to the opening passage, “Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life.” It’s no wonder that this is true. If our focus and motives are on anything but Jesus, who gives life, then we are robbed of that life.

To summarize these thoughts I think I can say “Don’t work for money but for God’s great purposes.” An eternal purpose and a healthy fear of the Lord is a more powerful driving force than money. After all, who wouldn’t want to report to the God of all creation every day? Doesn’t this perspective change our attitude about everything we do?

John 5: 17 But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.”

In a closing thought, ask yourself this, in this most famous of Psalms: “Can I recite this first verse personally?”

Psalm 23:
¹ The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.

Why do you work and who do you work for?

“In Jesus name, I pray that I can work for you with a willing and cheerful heart, giving my life in service to you. O God, thank you for calling me to be involved with your family business. It is for you that I get out of bed. Please help me to carry out all the work you’ve put in my life and change my heart so that I can be more obedient to you. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you, Lord”

 

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

God cares a lot about your work and how you approach it. Have you ever thought much about how to balance your loyalty to God with expectations at the workplace? Do you think first of your earthly master or your heavenly Master?

Let’s look at some great examples of servants in the Bible.

Here’s my favorite example, Joseph…

Genesis 39: 1 When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

2 The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. 3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the LORD was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. 4 This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned.

The boss didn’t worry about a thing!

5 From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the LORD began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. 6 So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!

Joseph is a shining example of how God blesses us and blesses our masters in whatever situation we’re facing. From Potiphar’s house to prison, Joseph is stellar.

Joseph helped a cupbearer, Nehemiah was a cupbearer

For our second example, let’s look at another fine servant, Nehemiah…

Nehemiah 1: 1 Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. 2 So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.”

Then I was terrified, 3 but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
4 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”

With a prayer to the God of heaven, 5 I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”

6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request.

How’s that for favor?

I appreciate that Nehemiah admitted that he was afraid to make this request of the king. This was a huge deal and the king could’ve killed him. I also enjoy knowing that Nehemiah prayed up until he made his request in verse 4 (Does this remind you of the last time you asked for a day off?). The best part, of course, is seeing how God caused the king and queen to favor Nehemiah by granting his request.

This clearly illustrates that when we seek to honor God and rely on His help, He will help us with whatever work we have before us. This also demonstrates that we are wherever we are because God put us there and if we are faithful to Him, He will help us succeed.

To summarize, I think the key is to approach all the work we do with the understanding that we are serving Jesus first, and everything else will fall into place.

Colossians 2: 23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Who are you serving?

“O God in heaven, you are my master. I live to serve you. Thank you for the privilege of working for you. Please use me in whatever I do and help me to look for ways to honor you and serve those you’ve placed in my life. I give you all the praise. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash