Yesterday, I posted an article about the importance of play in our lives as Christians. I described where the Bible very clearly points out that God created the heavens and the earth for His pleasure. I then proceeded to have a wonderful game of Nerf Tag in our sanctuary.
I thought it would be nice to balance those thoughts today with some discussion of the nature of “work” in our life.
You see, try as we might, none of us can avoid work. We must work to make money. We must work to have insurance. We must work because, left to relaxation alone, we might all get fat and slobby. But…what if work could be about more than just money or security?
What if everyone wasn’t working for the weekend?
I meet persons every day that work their jobs with the desire to get back to the playing that they so love to do. They talk at work about what they are going to do when they get to leave and…it usually involves recreation. It seems to be the rule that work is a necessary evil that must be overcome in order to get to the play.
I am the exception to that rule.
I work one job for money and security and all that stuff. When I leave that job, I work another job for…(trumpets blasting)…purpose. You see, God created me for His pleasure, but part of the pleasure He gets is in seeing me do and accomplish the things He designed me for. In my case, He designed me to be a minister and leader of others to Him. I have planted a church and work diligently to let others know about His existence and His plan for humanity. Heck, I even write a blog that, more often than not, points to Him on a regular basis.
Sure, I love to play. But, if the sum of my life is working for sustenance and playing for enjoyment, then what do I do to gain fulfillment?
In Jeremiah, God speaks of knitting me together in my mother’s womb. It says that He knows the plans that He has for me. I don’t think that the plans He is speaking about is which club I am going to party at this weekend or how good I become at Nerf Dart Tag in the sanctuary. Recreation is good…and important…but, it is not purpose.
On a daily basis, I examine my purpose and what I am doing to fulfill it. Is my life consumed with working for sustenance? Then it must change. Is my life dominated by thoughts of recreation? Then it must change.
Because when my last breath is breathed and they prepare to lay me in the ground, I do not want my eulogy to be, “He sure did make a lot of money” or “He knew how to party with the best of them”. Instead, I will live my life writing my own eulogy.
“He always tried to do what God made him to do.”
