| Our verse to DATE the Word on March 23 (3/23) is Colossians 3:23. |
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| Colossians 3:23 says, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” |
| Autograph your work with excellence! The Bible speaks of having a “strong work ethic.” Colossians 3:23 challenges one to see whatever you are doing to be done “as to the Lord.” In Colossians 3:17 we are to do everything we do “in the name of the Lord.” In Colossians 3:17 we are to be representing the Lord with our work. Our work ethic should be consistent with who CHRIST is. Now Paul adds that our work should be done “AS TO THE LORD.” The idea is that we are to be looking for His approval. Our mindset then should bring about a desire that no matter what we are doing we are to be doing our very best. We want to hear from the Lord WELL DONE! Within the instructions to do whatever we are doing as to the Lord the Apostle Paul instructs us in how to do whatever we do so that it will be approved by the Lord. He says, to “do it heartily.” Other versions will say “work at it with all your heart,” or “do it enthusiastically,” or “work at it with enthusiasm,” or “do it wholeheartedly.” Interestingly the Greek word here is not one for the heart but is the word for the “soul.” The idea is that you put your soul into what you are doing. To do something for the Lord is to be filled with passion, with soul! I have had many employees working for me and I have been blessed to have many who went the extra mile, giving to the various ministries excellence. Occasionally I would have someone who needed some encouragement to do better. I recall a time that I gave an employee an assignment and was looking forward to seeing what they would produce. When they returned to my office and handed me their work, I reviewed it and was astonished. It was clearly work done with little effort. Believing they could do much better work (and that the work was not to my standard) I asked the worker to sign their name to the work. With it being a poster that was to be posted in many locations and many people would be seeing it I quickly heard, “give me a little more time to work on this.” An hour later I saw a very professional poster that was done with excellence! Autograph your work with excellence! Verse to DATE the Word on March 23 (3/23) is Colossians 3:23. It says, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” Are you putting your soul into “whatever” you are doing? Are you making the most of the opportunities you are receiving? Are you truly doing your best? Continue Strong doing EVERYTHING YOU DO AS TO THE LORD! And remember to DATE THE WORD |