Labor Day. I've always chuckled at a national holiday dedicated to work. When I was pregnant, I thought “labor day” was perfect, but as I reentered the workforce, labor just grew more intensive.
Our son is a computer IT guy. He's worked for years for an international company. He ensured his work ethic was great, and his willingness to learn was always upfront. This past spring, the company decided to downsize, so they laid off hundreds internationally. HUNDREDS. Now, my son struggles to find a job in his field of study.
He's not below taking a lesser job, but all those years of schooling and hard work seem wasted if he can't find something in his wheelhouse.
We live in a world where everyone is for themselves. Rather than working toward our eternal well-being, we struggle with the earthly. We need work. Obviously, we need wages to pay our bills and buy food, but things begin to get scary when we can't find a job. My son is searching for a physical way to provide—to be fed.
Jesus had just fed the five thousand, and the crowds were searching for Him the next day. When they found Him, Jesus saw through their desire. He told them they were there because He'd fed them, and they were looking for more food. Jesus told them they needed the bread of life—the food that would prevent them from ever being hungry again. He "fed" them truth and told them their focus should be on eternity. He reminded them that working for food that perished was futile when He offered them eternal life—well worth the work.
We know we must have necessities to survive on this earth, and though those things are essential, our eternal work is greater. In our humanness, we prioritize wrong. Of course, we need work, but we need Christ in eternity first. The hard thing is recognizing the eternal's place over the temporal.
Work hard on earth and earn a good wage, for the laborer deserves his wages. But focus on your eternal life and the work needed to draw you closer to God. When you get the order right, the physical tends to fall into place.
On this Labor Day, rejoice in your blessings, then work for the eternal.
(photo courtesy of pixabay.com.)
(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)
Cindy K. Sproles is a best-selling, award-winning author. She is a speaker and a conference teacher who teaches nationwide. Cindy is the cofounder of Christian Devotions Ministries, www.christiandevotions.us, and www.inspireafire.com. She serves as a writing mentor with WRAMS (Writing Write Author Mentoring Service) and is the director of the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. Visit Cindy at www.cindysproles.com.