Work at it with all your heart

By PASTOR KEN ANDRS

Consistency is key.  I was told this as a young man, but didn’t understand what it meant till I got much older.  I thought it had to do with doing the same thing over and over again, just to get it done.  That is not the case though, rather it is a reminder to work at everything.  Keep going and don’t give up.

The hard part about being consistent is understanding the end goal and holding onto that goal.  People set a number of different goals in their life.  The clearest goals I have seen people set have been with weight, wanting to lose 5, 10, or 20 lbs, or adding 10, or 20 lbs to a lift at the gym.  The less clear goals are harder, when people want to be happier or more satisfied with life.  How do you measure goals like that?  How would you work to be happier?

Goal setting needs clarity and consistency, goals need to be evaluated and measured.  If we don’t know what you are shooting at, and what constitutes a win, we don’t know if we have reached our goal.  Now some of you are getting ready to stop reading at this point and I ask that you would finish this article.  Just because we are old, or young, don’t have goals, or don’t feel like we can reach our ultimate goal it does not mean that we should stop living or trying.

As followers of Christ Peter tells us to continue on through difficult times:

6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.7 These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:6-9

The goals we set in this life should be set with our ultimate goal of salvation in mind, is what we are doing with our time and energy and talents drawing us closer to Christ in all things?  Can I take a day off for God’s glory? YES.  Can I pursue hobbies for God’s glory? YES.  Can I go to work for God’s glory? YES.  Let us set goals that keep the whole of our being in balance that we may have rest and accomplishment, enough food for the table and to share with friends.

Goals do not have to be all encompassing, but rather draw us to our ultimate goal in knowing Christ and stewarding the relationships and things He has put in our lives.  Everything we do should be done with the end goal in mind, but that does not stop us from pursuing other good things, because God can use anything to draw us to know Him.  Paul reminds us in Colossians 3 how we should approach anything that we do:

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Let’s be consistent in all things for God’s glory, set goals that build off of one another.  Don’t give up on doing good and continue to pursue Christ in all things.  Our faith all starts with trusting Christ and our end goal is to know Him through salvation for all eternity.  Let us consistently work at setting goals that build our faith and allows us to enjoy all that God has created.