Work Focus.
Colossians 2:23&24 "(23)Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men, (24) knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."
Working was never a bad thing, even since the beginning of time. In the first book of the bible, Genesis, we see humans being given work to do and work that is purely glorifying to God, and there is nothing about complaining from them or laziness in their tasks. (Genesis 1:26, 2:19) What is also true of this time is that the Garden of Eden was a perfect place, not like the world we know now. However, this ended after sin entered the picture, and we see that from even just a piece of Genesis 3:17, "...Cursed is the ground because of you..." The work we do now is not pleasant like the work at the beginning of Genesis all the time, but sometimes it is, and sometimes we have to suck it up even if it's not.
But, to be real, "sucking it up" is easier to type and easier to say than it actually is to do. I think, though, that it's because we can sometimes be going about it the wrong way. When faced with something tougher or more tedious than we'd like, shutting down or being lackadaisical about the issue seems to be where we first go. It's overwhelming and "I don't want to". Well, why don't you want to? Is it because there is no reward involved, no immediate praise, no one to impress, no high-stakes that topple if you don't do it at all? All of those things we look at through our small lenses of life forgetting the bigger picture, that's when I think hard work becomes so dreadful to us.
And, we do have those things, IF we work "as for the Lord and not for men..." Focus your eyes on the subject in the foreground. (P.S, it's Jesus.)
The reward? An inheritance in the Kingdom of God.
The praise? God's continuous pouring out on us.
Someone to impress? You should only be looking to God to validate you, so don't even think you need to be impressing anyone else. (Cause ya' don't, and you're precious.)
This isn't to add pressure, either, it's to relieve it. When we work for the glory of God, we get ensured satisfaction that will not and can not be found anywhere else.
As you work, work for something greater than yourself, something greater than those around you and something greater than everything. Work for God and do it well. "You are serving the Lord Christ."
