23 Whatever you do, do it from the heart for the Lord and not for people. 24 You know that you will receive an inheritance as a reward. You serve the Lord Christ.
Reflection
When my grandmother died in 1998 and I offered to speak at her funeral, this scripture leapt to mind. I guess you might say this was the first Bible passage I ever preached.
My Nana, Mildred Harris, was someone who worked hard throughout her life. Having lost her own mother, she had to assume the responsibility of caring for her siblings very early on. She was always cooking, always cleaning, always taking care of something or somebody. After retiring as a nurse and nursing supervisor in a mental hospital, she remained a force of nature even into her late 70s and early 80s. She drove big Pontiac coupes with doors so heavy that none of us could understand how this tiny woman ever managed to get in and out, especially when parking on the steep hillsides of Altoona, PA. When I was young, she came by a few days a week to help Mom around the house and to care for me. One of my most vivid memories is watching her washing and re-hanging the curtains that covered the large picture window at Mom’s house. She insisted on doing this by herself long after it was wise for her to do so. Mom tried to talk her out of getting up on the stepstool, but she wouldn’t hear it. For Nana, that would be a dereliction of duty.
The scripture reminds us that when we serve others, we’re not just serving them. Our work has a bigger context. It’s part of a bigger picture. God has given us work to do in this world, and calls us to offer our very best. In things big and small, we put forth our best effort knowing that when we serve others, we serve and honor the God who created them. So we don’t give up, even on the hard days. We don’t quit, even though we may feel like it.
We offer our best because it doesn’t just matter to people, it matters to God.
by Joe Monahan
For Pondering and Prayer
Are there areas of your life where you have held back from offering your best? Why? Does it help to reframe that relationship as a place where you’re serving God and not just people?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we often feel discouraged in life, and struggle to offer our best effort to serve those around us. We know that we could love our family, friends, and neighbors with greater thoughtfulness, greater kindness, and less grumbling. Today, we ask for the grace to see how our efforts matter – not just to them, but to you. Amen.
