Key Scripture:

Ecclesiastes 3:9 – “What gain has the worker from his toil?”

Devotional:

I used to commute between 45-90 minutes to work each way for the better part of 15 years. Slogging through traffic, zipping in and out of lanes, trying to sneak by slower peers, doing my best to avoid dangerous situations and trying hard not to get angry. Nearly impossible, by the way. It required getting up and leaving before both the sun and the family arose, and it required getting home after dinner time just before the kids went to bed. It left me exhausted and with very little energy or minutes for the family. It was not ideal. But at the time, it was necessary. This was not a get-rich scheme, this was making money to keep the family going. It was me living out my responsibility as a dad and husband. This was hard work, so I told myself.

And yet, to a large extent, it felt empty. Not that every moment was bad or that every day was miserable, or that every job was terrible. Certainly not! But I found myself emotionally living for the weekends. Have you been there? What a rut that is! Every Monday morning felt like I was headed back to isolation. Every Tuesday felt invisible. Every Wednesday had a little bit of hope as we got over the “hump,” Every Thursday felt like nearing the finish line. And every Friday and Saturday felt like Christmas morning, a time to try and blow off steam and celebrate accomplishments. Then…Sunday would come, a day that sort of felt like rest but mostly felt like dread as another week of this repeating pattern was coming. I would think, “I wonder how many football games I can watch in order NOT to think about tomorrow?”

As I got a little older, I began contemplating this repeating pattern and questioning why I was doing it. Was it truly to fulfill my responsibilities as a father and spouse? Was it truly to ensure my kids had everything they wanted? Was it to pay for the house, car, appliances, toys and tools that I used every week but also complained about as I fixed them? Was it to tell people how hard I work? Was it to celebrate accomplishments or have people buy me drinks? Was it to try and make my wife love me more? It was hard to nail down. I felt misdirected, living my life as though the goal of it was somehow to make it safely to the end and be celebrated for my struggle. What a lie!

In Colossians 3:23-24, Paul says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

I realized I had a target problem. Not that my hard work was somehow sinful, but that I was aiming for the wrong things, trying so hard to meet worldly expectations and please God with my efforts. I had preconceived notions of success and stability, inherited ideas of correct behavior, botched ideas of validation, manipulated ideas of relationships and deep-seated misinterpretations of the values and goals of life. These things were placed there by a culture and an enemy that knows exactly what he is doing, and I fell for it hook, line and sinker. Gratefully, when God placed truth in my face, it started to awaken me. I realized I was living my physical, spiritual and emotional life in reverse, trying incredibly hard to perform the right behaviors and expecting those behaviors somehow to change my environment, my relationships, my feelings about myself and my feelings about this life. Exhausting, and probably relatable.

Through God’s grace as well as scripture, my church community, and my marriage, the Holy Spirit helped me to understand where to move my target, relieving much of the pressures by which I was feeling burdened, and replacing them with peace…over time.

The truth is, our behaviors are the eventual result of where we have centered our lives, not the other way around. If we are rooted in the gospel and surrendered to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then what we believe about the world and our role in it will be fundamentally grounded. As a result, we will value godly things and we will behave in a way that lives out those values, almost effortlessly. However, if we are rooted in the world, basing our daily decisions on things like upbringing, global events, self-confidence or circumstance, then our belief system will be all over the map, our values will be like shifting sand, and our behaviors will be volatile.

So, where are you centered today? What is it causing? I encourage you to evaluate it. In Matthew 11, Jesus tells us that His “yoke is easy” and that in Him, you will find “rest for your soul.” I want that. I imagine you do also.

Deepening questions:

• What or whom do you work for? Does it bring joy or frustration? How do others experience you?
• What do you think it means when Jesus says His “yoke is easy” and His “burden is light”? Does this line up with your experiences of life and faith? Why or why not?

Further reading:
Colossians 3:1-17, Matthew 11:25-30, “Understanding culture” by Lloyd Kwast, From Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, A Reader (4^th Ed.), Ralph d. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, eds. Pp. 397-399.