Work for God

 3/1/2021          

Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”

Today, I saw an interview with LeVar Burton on CBS Sunday Morning. He has been a favorite of mine since my son and I watched Reading Rainbow together many years ago. His gentle nature and enthusiasm for promoting literacy (which is another passion of mine) drew us both into his world. In the interview, he shared that Mr. Rogers was actually his mentor. He taught LeVar that the medium of television could be used as a ministry. Mr. Rogers was an ordained minister, and Mr. Burton studied to become a priest when he was younger. This commonality between them is plainly evident in both their approach and gentle nature. They both had decades-long ministries that reached millions of children. It reminded me that no matter where we are employed or what we are called to do, we can approach anything as a ministry.

I recently said to my boss during a conversation at work, “This is my job, but I work for God.” I am blessed to be able to voice that truth at my place of employment. The organization that I am a part of was started by strong women of faith, and that truth is baked right in to everything that happens there. As I peer up at the picture of the two amazing founders near my desk, I cannot help but feel their presence, and I want to honor their legacy. Our small staff continues to serve people’s needs with care, kindness, understanding, and compassion.

I endeavor to approach my job like I approach my life, and strive to do all I do for God. My pastor asked this morning during his message, “How much of your time every day is spent devoted to God?” This made me sit back and honestly assess the time I spend on myself and the time I spend devoted to God. It is a difficult question to answer, and unfortunately, it depends on the day. I came up with an answer of 60-40, and that is on my very best days of working for God. (Honestly, that number is probably a generous one.) It definitely helps me to stay focused on God when I begin my day in His Holy Word and in prayer. This sets the course for the rest of the day, and draws me in to being more sensitive to those Holy Spirit nudges. It also has helped me with my boldness in sharing the love and grace of God with others. I still have a long way to go, but thankfully, God’s mercy is new every morning.

I am, as always, a work in progress.