Work for the right reason

Know your priorities

Read: Matthew 6 : 19 -24

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Build the right foundations

We are all building something in our lives. Either by accident or design, we are headed towards a life we choose to have. Who we are today is a result of what we did yesterday, and who we want to be tomorrow would be the result of what we do today.

It is easy to get lost in mirage of activities. But if we don't identify for what, for whom and why we do the things  we do today, we might be surprise that instead of a house, we built something entirely different structure from what we really want.

Is what we are doing today have some worthwhile value in the future? Is all the effort we are spending majority of our time, our skills and heart would provide us an eternal value? Today let me share with you the attitude we must have to help us work for the right reason.

Work on the right track

I understand that we must work with 'the sweat of our brows' to provide for our family. But is it all we must do? What are we working so hard on? Often, we tell our friends, our relatives and our acquaintances that the reason why we work so hard on our work is because for our family so we can provide for them abundantly, for our kid's future so we can provide them a great education and for our family's well being so we can give them a better lifestyle.

But if we must really search our hearts desire, and ask ourselves what are the real reasons that drives you to work so hard? If we will be honest with our answers. Most of our answers would be to have a new house, to buy a new car and have great gadgets. Now I'm not saying these are bad, but if these are the reasons that dominates our thoughts, then we are working on the wrong track. We are headed for disaster and frustration and lifetime of regret.

 We must work on the right track. On things that provide a better value in our lives, an eternal value that lasts and a treasure that does not decay. (v.20) Because it's true, whatever we allow our minds to  dwell upon, things that dominates our thoughts and things that we really put value on, is really what our hearts desire. These are the things that we give greater value.

What are the things that dominate your thoughts?

Have the right perspective

What we see in our physical eye, in our mind's eye and in our spiritual eye spells the difference on how we view our lives. We need to have the right perspective. Because what we see or choose to see dictates what we do with our body, our actions and our lives (v.22).

If what we see is a life of opportunity, a life of abundance and a life of balance, our body naturally reflects what we view or how we see our world. Our inner body reflect our outer body, and vice versa. If what we see is a life where we can achieve all our dreams and serve God to our hearts content, then naturally what we do, how our body reacts and what our mind tells us is a reflection of what we see or choose to see (v.22). Suddenly we find yourselves that we can actually do these things we previously thought impossible.

But if what we see is a life of frustration, a life of no hope and a life of chaos, in the same manner our body naturally reflects what we view or how we see our world. We actually find that we struggle most of the time, it seems that we never run out of problems and it looks like that we might never have a better life. Then what happens? Because these are the things that we see and choose to see, then by the naturally law of correspondence, it really became our reality (v.23).

How do we see or choose to see our lives?

Choose your priorities

We need to make a decision. To whom or for whom do we really work so hard on? It is easy to say that we serve God of course, how on earth we will serve money or earthly treasures? But let me ask you, if push come to shove, if we have a very important-like a 5 Million-business deal to close on a Sunday afternoon and in the same time we have a fellowship or family activity, given that we have the power and authority to choose, which will we choose? Our answer, tells us who do we really serve (v.24).

We cannot serve two masters. Ultimately we are all slaves, whether we accept it or not, but we can choose whom we will serve. What is our priorities? What are first thing we do everyday? What are the last thing we do everyday?

The choices we make, the time we spend with and the thoughts we allow our mind to be dominated with, are the things that we really put value in our lives, we give priorities with our time and therefore the things that we choose to serve.

What and who are our 'real' priorities?

 Work for the right reason

PERSONAL APPLICATION

When we know who we are working for and why we are working so hard, it provides us a better perspective on our lives. It gives clarity and a purpose. It gives us a reason and helps us to work harder because we have the right reasons. Here are some things we might want to consider to help us work for the right reasons:

1. Know the track you are working on - It will be frustrating if after a couple of years you are actually working or going on the wrong track and are headed on a wrong direction.  If you find that you have built an office instead of a house. If you find yourself having a thriving career but a crumbling family.
2. Choose which lens or perspective you view life - this really spells the difference. We have the option to see the world in God's perspective or our perspective, the decision is yours to choose.
3. Decide whom you will serve - The moment you decide which you will give a better value in your life, will set the pace, the direction and the tone on how you will live your life. What you will be doing, where you are heading and what you are building on will be the actual manifestation of your decision of whom you have chosen to serve.