Ecclesiastes 2:11

Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

There are three things we need to know about work. First, believers should view their work as a vocation.  An occupation simply occupies our time, but a vocation is a calling where we use our gifts, abilities, and training to honor God. 

Second, because our work is a vocation, we should find meaning and purpose in what we do. How will this day of work make an eternal impact for Jesus in the world? That should be our prayerful question before we clock in, log in, or sit at our desk. To be clear, finding meaning and purpose does not mean we place our identity in our work. Identity is found only in Jesus. Be passionate about what you do, not enslaved to it. I know that there is a fine line there. Ask God to help you stay on the right side of the line.  

Finally, our vocation is a gift from God. Every day we should do our work in a way that honors him. Sure, we have a boss and performance reviews, but at the end of the day, only one review will matter. The Scottish pastor and Bible scholar Harry Ironside worked for a cobbler when he was a boy. One day he noticed another cobbler down the street purposefully omitting a critical part of the shoe-making process to make more money. Ironside told his boss, an outspoken Christian, that they should be doing the same. Here was the cobbler’s reply. 

“Harry,” he said, “I do not cobble shoes just for the four bits or six bits ($0.50 or $0.75) that I get from my customers. I am doing this for the glory of God. I expect to see every shoe I have ever repaired in a big pile at the judgment seat of Christ, and I do not want the Lord to say to me in that day, ‘Dan, this was a poor job. You did not do your best here.’ I want Him to be able to say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”

Father, remind us that all we do should be done to bring honor to you. Help us work as unto you and help us to determine how we can make our work count for eternal things. In Jesus’ name. Amen.