no slacking

Whoever is slack in his work

is a brother to him who destroys.

Proverbs 18:9

Lazy shortcuts, slacker attitudes of “just getting by”, and mediocrity have no place in the life of a person who follows Jesus. He gave everything for us! We work for the Lord. And Jesus deserves, as a significant aspect of our serious worship, the best attitude and actions that we can bring to our days. This means that even volunteers and part-timers should contribute the very best the have in their labor in honor of the Lord.

The disruptions of this last year have made it harder to do that. When quarantines and lockdowns became routine many people lost employment. Others of us had the circumstances and expectations of our careers downgraded for quite a length of time. The word “unprecedented” became an almost routine way to describe our situation. It has become easier to start to slack off. But any attitudes of worry, dependence, or extreme dissatisfaction can erode work ethics and destroy a lot of good. It takes re-centering on WHY we do what we do to begin to recover. Slacking destroys. But diligence to do our very best “no matter what” and in frequent changes is what will carry us beyond these disrupting circumstances.

I’m glad this little proverb comes as a reminder right now. The dark winter is breaking. Despite pandemic numbness, restriction burnout, Zoom fatigue, vaccine slowdowns, lumbering slow logistics,  and homebound weariness, there is strengthening hope in the reality of doing work “as to the Lord and not to men”. Serving Jesus well means the extra effort to overcome the drag of disruptive influences is worth the reward of His approving words of “well done” at the end of it all!

Lord,

You know the days and weeks ahead of me. I pray that You will remind me of this proverb, empower me by Your Spirit, encourage me in Your Word and by Your people, so that gospel ministry will impact my broken and hurting world. Make my work show Your glory and save me from slacking I pray!

Amen