Do you hate your job?

I found an amazing statistic from an '05 Gallup poll that says that 77% of people dislike or hate their jobs. What about you? Do you get up in the morning excited to go to work? Or are you like three out of four Americans who would rather skip work?

This Sunday at church we will talk more in detail about what work is all about. God works and He made us in His image. We are made to work. That at first sounds bad, but when God works it is always good. It is very good for us when He works. So, when you are productive and are working you honor the Lord. You are working for God and for those He wants to serve through you. God is the creator and we need to be creating, too. It is in our nature.

Think of what you do as a service or ministry to others. Even if you sit at a desk all day pushing paper or you have your cubicle and a computer screen, you are doing work so others can have something they need. You are making someone's life better. God is all about making things better and good for us.

Then there is the money aspect. You can have your needs met and you can have extra to help serve others. The best is to help others hear the gospel. To take someone to heaven with you is eternal. And this happened because you worked on a job and gave some money. That money enabled them to hear a message about Jesus in some form and they were able to respond. Spending your money on just stuff down here on the earth is so fleeting. How much stuff have you tossed into the garbage that was the thing you needed. Now it is yesterday's news.

Look at what Eph 6:7 says, "Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." (NLT) It takes the right mindset, the right attitude, to work with enthusiasm especially if you hate your job. You notice it doesn't say to have enthusiasm if your boss treats you right and your co-workers are sweet to you. It says work for the Lord. There are benefits that come to us with this right way of thinking about our work.

I have heard about people that finally retired from their job and then they died right away. Retirement did not give them life, but the other way around. I think we need to be producing, to be useful. Feeling valued and useful goes a long way. Most think they would love to just sit around and lay by the pool. But, after awhile you would feel bored and become depressed. Now don't get me wrong, we do need some down time, too. All work and no play makes Kevin a dull boy and we don't want that.

So, love God by working for Him. Let Him be your boss. Blow all the people at your work's mind by your enthusiasm. Love people by serving them, ministering to them by and at your work. You will reap the benefits (come and hear this Sunday's message to find out what they are). OK, now my work is done for today. I can't wait until I am back to work tomorrow. How about you?