Do Your Best

What kind of work ethic do you have? Do you always put forth your best effort? When you do work hard, do you get positive feedback?

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism." Colossians 3:23-25 NIV

Another version called The Message puts it this way:
"Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being Christian doesn't cover up bad work."

My parents instilled a good work ethic by their example. Both of them were always loyal workers at whatever job they had and went over and above what was expected of them. Even though my mother is retired now, she still approaches her volunteer work the same way. My father still maintains company airplanes and co-pilots on trips. He continues to go over and above the call of duty to insure the planes are in top condition.

Though my parents have been ideal employees, they haven't always had openly appreciative bosses.

When you work hard and don't feel appreciated, it can be hard to continue. Often, you might want to cut back and just do what is expected or less.

We all experience times like this in our jobs or even in other tasks we might undertake within our churches or other organizations. But, how do we keep our good work ethic when we're not appreciated? How do we stay motivated to do our best?

Reread the scripture passages above and be encouraged to take a different perspective. As you work at anything whether a project with your church or community or in your vocational job, focus on working for the Lord. No matter what you do, you are serving God.

As I've tried to take on this perspective of my work, I feel an even greater responsibility to do my best. And, God's retirement plan is out of this world!