Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.  Colossi ans 3: 23

I remember speaking to an Immigrant the other day, he had graduated from a great university - had his Bachelors and his Masters degree but he had a problem getting into his career.  He had to pay back those student loans and had a pregnant wife also in tow.  He didn't know what to do, so he took a menial job using the skill he had in painting to paint houses.  It was tiresome to say the least.  Imagine, there he was with his masters degree and all he could do, was go from house to house, painting or repainting and using the craft skills that he had learnt as a child in his home country. 

There were many times he was frustrated, particularly when he had to go paint houses for his class mates who he used to tutor and he could see how far they had reached in their careers.  He would go home to his wife and children (time had passed on) and would want to lash out but he remembered that though this job was not his career choice since he had obviously studied for something else but this job was what was the backbone of  his family's financial planning.  One day, on the bus, he came across a page from a  torn bible with this verse highlighted and that was his wake up call.

He could use the situation that he was in to praise God, he could stop looking at what his mates were doing and do his job as if it was a sacrifice of worship and praise to God.  He started doing that and things turned around.  How well others were doing stopped bothering him and instead, he started finding out that what he had studied, could be used in his new life situation and he started using those skills. 

In no time, he stopped working for other people and started his own painting business.  Using his skill and everything he had learnt so far, he was able to move really fast and  far and basically it all  turned out for good.  Currently, he has surpassed his peers in terms of finances but what he went through taught him that what society thinks does not matter rather it was God thinks that matters.

Our question for the day is this - is our work life an offering of praise to God?  Do we do our jobs or whatever our endeavour is as on to God.  Forgetting humans and whatever they have to say.  Are you stuck in the idea that you should be at this level and you aren't just keeping up?  Now, this isn't to tell you to get complacent. NO! Honestly, as Christians we should not have the spirit of complacency but rather we should keep on striving but the question is this - are we striving for God or Man?

This verse asks that in all things we do either big or small do it in acknowledgement that it is to God and from God.  Don't get caught up with your position or get stuck in the 'what will people say?'.  Let God use your workplaces as a testimony of who he is .