Whatever You Do, Work at it With All Your Heart

I have a 3-year-old daughter who is full of life, FULL of questions, and watches just about everything I do. Anyone relate? 

The other day, I found myself pressing pause on the never-ending task list running through my brain to sit down and color with Charis for 10 minutes. She opened the coloring book to a spot where there were 2 blank coloring pages right next to each other – one for me and one for her – and began carefully coloring. Sometimes she likes to be silly and scribble all over the page, but most of the time, she’s pretty careful to color inside the lines because she has someone in mind that she wants to give her picture to when she’s finished. As we color, she asks me 50 questions about why I’m coloring the flowers purple and the girl’s shoes red, and any other “why” that crosses her mind. Then she says “Mommy, ask me why I’m coloring inside the lines.” I oblige, and she answers, “Because, ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for man. – Colossians 3:23.’” Wow! I celebrated that she’s applying God’s Word to her life in her own little 3-year-old way, encouraged her, and then heard her little voice echoing this scripture in my head the rest of the day.

Life and motherhood are full of opportunities for sanctification, aren’t they? There’s nothing that will spur you on toward Godliness like having your child understand, live out, and speak a biblical Truth that you still sometimes struggle with well into your walk with the Lord.

If I’m being honest, I’m easily distracted. Sometimes I lose sight of the greater picture in the middle of all the things I do daily that seem mundane, tedious, repetitive, unnoticed, and even meaningless. And when I allow my feelings to distract me from the bigger picture, I can easily fall into a pattern of working half-heartedly or even begrudgingly.

Sometimes, though, all it takes is a simple reminder from my preschooler for my heart to remember that I’m a partaker of God’s divine nature and have been given everything I need for life and godliness.

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 

2 Peter 1:3-4

Diligence is part of God’s very nature and is foundational to my spiritual growth.

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8

When we work diligently, everyone in our life benefits. It brings peace to our own lives, serves those around us in a way that makes them feel the love of the Father, and brings Glory and Honor to God, the One who created us in His image and prepared for us good works to be done while we’re here on Earth (Ephesians 2:10).

When I remember this, I can work wholeheartedly in everything I do, as if I’m working for the Lord and not for man, because I really am working for the Lord and not for man.

When I’m diligent in disciplining my daughter, I’m working as God’s agent for her good and for His glory.

When I’m diligent to keep my home in order, I’m working for the Lord so that my home is a place where my family and others experience the peace of His presence.

When I work diligently in my job, I’m representing His excellence to my sphere of influence and drawing those around me to Jesus. 

Elisabeth Elliot, a missionary, author, speaker, and woman of incredible wisdom, summed it up this way:

This job has been given to me to do. Therefore, it is a gift. Therefore, it is a privilege. Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God. Therefore, it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him. Here, not somewhere else, I may learn God’s way. In this job, not in some other, God looks for faithfulness.

So I want to encourage you today like Charis encouraged me: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for man.

Because you really are working for the Lord.

We would like to thank Catherine Dunn for sharing this post.