Colossians 3:23

You want to know which verse keeps going through my head? This one...

Colossians 3:22-24
"Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 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."

I read it at some point while reading Angela Thomas' book "Do You Know Who I Am?" & it has stuck with me. It is sticking in my brain, which i like. :) I usually have a lightbulb moment or revelation & then it's gone. I forget. Haha. I know...awful. But yeah, this one keeps replaying over & over in my mind now.

I wrote a post earlier this week about having a really bad couple of days at work. It got easier & better yesterday. And it's fine today. But one of my complaints was that so many others here do not do their work properly & i somehow get stuck with it. Which is sometimes okay & sometimes not, depending on what it is.

There is this one thing i do that got thrown on me, and i was not given a choice about it. I told them i couldn't do it, that i was too busy, that i hate doing things like that & i was told i have no choice. Well, i know i complain sometimes... but i like my job. I don't want to lose it. So i did it anyway. It's a thing you have to do each week. Well, after coming back from vacation, i got really backed up on it. And yesterday i stared at it for 30 minutes. I couldn't ever do it because i kept getting interrupted - with things that need my immediate attention. I finally had enough - last time they told me i had no choice, but HELLO - i have been given OODLES of work since then & i now REALLY do not have time. I can't do it. I emailed my boss. She emailed me & said "I can fix this. Come see me."

Well, let me just say... i nearly danced out of her office, shouting hallelujah! Basically... i will not have to do this anymore, after this week.

I AM SO THANKFUL.

Now what you don't know is... and yes i know this is a public blog & there comes a great risk in sharing this... but i want to... because i want to share it with you & because i want to remember it... but i have always done something a little wrong with this one thing. See, all my other things i do accurately & quickly. i am on top of things. My boss emailed me yesterday & asked if cloning had become legal yet, because she needs 10 of me! :) I am a hard worker. I am a good worker.

But there is this thing i used to do with this thing (hahaha) & it wasn't really how i should do it. Kind of a shortcut. I will put it like that. And i didn't care. Because i just couldn't keep up. But really - that is not how i'm supposed to do it.

Are you following? :) I know i am being so vague.

So after saying this verse to myself all week, i have been sure that i have to do this the way that it is supposed to be done. I had made that decision before i was told that i won't have to do it anymore (after this month). It was almost like God was rewarding me or blessing me for making that decision. However... i hadn't obeyed yet. I had only made the decision to obey. & as i sit here, i still have to finish this months worth.

And i do not want to. I keep putting it off because i am dreading it. I don't wannaa, i don't wannnna, even as i write this i am thinking "i am REALLY going to have to do this the right way now" & i STILL DON'T. WANNA!" & i have to do it TODAY.

But yeah. I have to do it. It's the right thing to do.

I am so tempted to do it my old way & tell myself that it doesn't matter, but you see, it DOES matter. That is what is getting through this thick skull. :) Because of that verse. It says do it as if i'm working for the Lord & not for man. Well, hello! I asked myself even this morning as i was walking in the door at work, "If the Lord was my boss - sitting in my boss' office right this minute - if HE was actually my boss... would i take the shortcut? Or do it right?"

Well, i would do it right. No question!

This verse also encourages me when i get so mad at coworkers for not doing work how they should. Or for doing things that cause me to have to pick up the slack. Or for asking me questions when they are the ones that should know (as they are the ones with the degree, the training, & with double the paycheck). Sometimes these things tick me off, but then i have to remember that ALL of us here are extremely overworked. And if we'd all work together to make it a little easier, then that would  help tremendously. So maybe they don't always help out. There is an aspect of their job that keeps them busy enough to where a lot of their other work gets ignored. Even so, I should do my part & not be a slacker. This verse is helping me with that. Because if i am working for the Lord & not for man...yeah...i'd want Him to be proud of me. :) And i'd want the work to get done! So i keep at it, just as i have been. But this verse is helping me to keep my attitude in check.

I kinda like how The Message version says it.

Colossians 3:22-24
Servants, do what you are told to do 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 a follower of Jesus doesn't cover up bad work.

Wow. :) Guess I'd better go do "that thing" now. Heehee.

P.S. Thank you so much for praying for me earlier in the week when i wrote that post on Work & Divorce. I really appreciate your prayers. Maybe this lesson on working for the Lord is a direct answer to your prayers for me.  HUGS!