“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”
Colossians 3:23
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when reading this verse? I bet it’s giving your all at your job – doings things like arriving to work on time, leaving work at 5 o’clock and not a minute before, focusing throughout the day, not taking shortcuts, not putting the workload on someone else.
“Whatever you do… work at it with all your heart.”
I guess my question is, what are we doing? It seems the only thing we’re doing is our job.
“So what are you up to these days?”
“Oh you know, just workin…”
When Paul said work with all your heart, I wonder if this is what he meant: work hard so you make as much many as you can. Work hard to afford an expensive car and a big house. With all your heart, work a job that does not excite you, but gets you neat stuff. Work really hard so you can reach the weekend. Bust your ass for that week-long vacation once a year, where you can truly be yourself at the beach. Work with all your heart, for the Lord, so that when you retire, that last 1/6 of your life when you’re just about too old to do anything, will be really easy. “Whatever you do…”
I guess we can’t be sure, but I think those who said I wish I had not worked so hard did not mean, “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard at being there for my family,” or, “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard at loving everyone I came in contact with,” or, “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard at building relationships,” or, “feeding the hungry,” or, “.”
I wonder if Martin Luther King, Jr.’s last thought before he died was, “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard at setting the captives free.”
I wonder if Katie ever thinks, “I wish I wasn’t working so hard to love and care for the abandoned and lost children of Uganda.”
I wonder if Indiana Jones thought, “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard saving the world from the Nazis.”
I don’t know, but I doubt it.
Point is, find something with meaning. Find something you’re passionate about, that will make you come alive. Find something dangerous and risky. Find something greater than yourself.
And then, whatever it is, work at it with all your heart, as for the Lord, not for human masters.