Good work keeps us occupied with what is good in life. It also keeps us from sin. People were made with the desire to do good and have purposeful work. When this is removed, they stumble. I’ll be honest, I’ve struggled too. Two years ago, we were told to stay home. My work became serving my family at a whole new level because they were home full-time. But now they are back to their workplace. And I am at home homeschooling my teenager.
Recently I started attending a Bible study at church. There is a ton of homework I work on throughout the week. I am learning to learn again. It has been quite a while since I’ve done a Bible study this intensive. It is so good for my brain to be working at this level again. What good work for both my mind and my spirit!
Clearly Defined Work Expectations
During the Bible Study, my daughter has a virtual class. Her class gets done before mine does. Last week, to my surprise, all the windows were open when I got home. I mean ALL. It was cold and windy in the house. She joyfully declared, “I’m airing out the house for you.” I was shocked and tried not to snuff out her joy. We closed all the windows and turned on the heater. Then I thought, how can I keep her occupied those last 45 minutes she’s home alone, so she doesn’t do something even more abstract or even possibly get herself into trouble? So I wrote out exactly what was expected during that time and told her I was going to check her work when I walked in the door. It worked. She got it done.
The previous week, I remember telling her to work on math. But I needed to be more precise and tell her exactly what work I needed to see accomplished when I got home. She usually does her best when the house is quiet and she’s left alone. She just needs to know what is expected of her.
I am the same way. I need to know what is expected of me for me to thrive. It seems we have been in neutral for some time now. But now, God is requiring me to reengage and work again. There have been some tough starts. I’ve had days where I’m not working to my peak performance, but I am moving forward. God has given me grace, but I feel His hand on my back, communicating to keep working.
Break Timewasting Habits
I think we can all see that too much downtime has caused us to have habits we are now trying to break. Mine has been a YouTube addiction. Endless scrolling on Facebook, Pinterest, or Tik Tok has been the main timewaster for many. Once my total time on my phone hit 40 hours for the week. That realization put the fear of God into me. I knew I had crossed the line and was sinning.
“For all that is in the world—
the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life—
is not of the Father but is of the world.“
I John 2:16
Lust (verb) have a craving, appetite, or great desire for
Unfortunately this great desire and craving for watching my subscriptions/channels had grown to a huge number equal to the number of hours for the typical work week. Wow, how had that happened?
Missing the Point
I was missing the point of life. When the Bible talks about sin, it translates to “missing the mark” in Greek. I believe that spending so many hours staring at a device is not only missing the mark; it’s missing the whole target.
Once King David stayed in Jerusalem instead of going to war. Immediately he fell into lust of the eyes. Remember the whole Bathsheba story? Yea, that didn’t end well for David.
The blessing of work is that it keeps us doing what is good. It keeps us from being idle. Idle hands are the devil’s workshop Proverbs 16:27, And no Candy Crush doesn’t count for keeping your hands busy. Actual work isn’t getting done.
Set Top Priorities
If you feel you don’t have much to do. I want to remind you of a verse that keeps my priorities in line.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33
Friend, are you asking God what kingdom work there is to be done? Are you making His work your priorities?
This morning I was cleaning the shelves of my refrigerator before my grocery order was filled. I had neglected to sit down and finish this blog. I heard a little whisper to my heart say, are you going to start kingdom work? My reply was, “But parts of my house are messy.” His reply surprised me. He said, “MY HOUSE IS IN SHAMBLES. Are you okay with that?” No, of course, I’m not.
There is good work to be done. Kingdom work and taking care of our families. I encourage all of us to stop some of those time-wasting habits we’ve picked up along the way and enjoy the blessing of work.
Kim Griffin
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