It’s a familiar verse. The one where Paul commands us to always work as though for God.

Colossians 3:23-24:

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

As a business person, this passage has begun to take on a whole new perspective for me. When I say a ‘new perspective’, I don’t necessarily mean a new meaning. The meaning is very much what it always was. But its importance from the seat of authority is very different.

As a business owner, I am my own boss. I work when I wish and for as long as I wish. Of course, this means the temptation to slack off is there—but so is the pressure to get all the work done regardless of what else might be going on in my life. In a sense, I have no ‘authority’ over me in business. The only people I have to answer to are my customers. As long as they are happy, I am satisfied. But what it takes to keep a customer happy doesn’t always mean putting in 110% of my effort.

The temptation to work only as hard as is necessary to please my customers is ever-present. This is where this passage—and ones like it—become so important. Because in reality, I do have an authority over me and my business. God. When I serve, I  must constantly remind myself that my efforts are not just for my customer’s satisfaction, or my bank account. They are for God and his satisfaction. This means that in everything, at all times, I should be giving everything I have and rejoicing in it.

Jesus, give me the strength to work to all of my potential, with all of your strength.

What kind of a perplexing, yet encouraging promise is this of God’s in Psalm 37:23-24:

The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
   when he delights in his way;
though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
   for the LORD upholds his hand.

It’s hard to miss this one.

Though we make choices and our choices fall on our heads, whether they are good or bad, there is a tension between God’s planning and man’s choosing.

Our steps are set out by the Lord. And whether it is passive, or aggressive in nature, they are God’s will. Among those steps will be failures, but they will not be to our detriment, but our progress, our sanctification, ultimately our joy and satisfaction.

This is a promise that I find it necessary to remember—often. For I seem to be in a perpetual state of forgetting.

C.S. Lewis’ Perelandre is (as would be expected) full of insights. As I read today, two main characters shared a dialogue about desires and their fulfillment or unfulfillment.

It would seem that in any situation in which something is to be received, whether food, or good fortune, or prosperity, or relationships, we have some concept in our minds already as to what outcome we wish to experience—at least on a subconscious level. When we receive what we had not expected, what we do receive becomes bitter. Even if the thing itself is sweet.

As adopted children of God, every gift we are given is from him and is good in its own right. And, coming from him will lead only to our pleasure in him. Yet, when we establish our desires quietly in our minds, we make the gifts we do receive (should they differ from our expectations) seem like rubbish when they’re given.

I can’t help but wonder if this is, at least partially, what Paul had in mind when he wrote to the church at Philippi. Philippians 4:11-13:

“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Perhaps it is that Paul realized that forming his own desires only serves to spoil the gifts he is given—whether they are in abundance or modesty. And instead, saw that to look only to Christ will give him satisfaction in whatever the Lord sees fit to give.

What a challenge it is to desire nothing but the Lord—but what a reward it must be!