Take a moment to think about all the people God employed to get a bowl of cereal in front of you this morning.
He used farmers to plant and cultivate.
He used suppliers at farm equipment companies, and bankers who arranged the financing for these businesses.
He used scientists who checked the food for purity.
He used plant operators who processed the grain into crispy flakes.
He used manufacturers of the trucks that get the boxed-up cereal to market, and the truck drivers, and the truck stop operators who make their routes possible.
He used the engineers who designed the highway, and the laborers who laid down all those miles of road work.
He even used the humble pallet makers who hammered together sturdy wood strips to make it easier for the forklift drivers (whom God also used) to unload the boxes of cereal at the delivery dock of your grocery store. And then there’s the person who stocked the shelves and the clerk who scanned your selection at check out.
God used a lot of people to get breakfast to your table this morning.
Your work, too, is a vital part of this vast, complex system God directs to meet the needs of this world. Because of that, God is as interested in the quality of your work as he is the quality of your prayers. In 1 Thessalonians 4:10-11 (LB) Paul wrote, “This should be your ambition: to live a quiet life, minding your own business and doing your own work.”
Paul combined two words that don’t seem to go together.
Ambition. Quiet.
“Be driven by this passion,” he said. What passion? “To live a quiet life of ordinary self-sustaining labor.”
Your work matters to God. If you’re employed, thank him for it and do your job well as part of your obedience to God. It’s part of the Still Life we’re talking about on Sundays at Hillcrest. See you at 10am!
--Tom
(The illustration about breakfast cereal comes from a book by Doug Sherman and William Hendricks called Your Work Matters to God.)
Tom Goodman serves as pastor at Hillcrest Church in Austin, Texas. His sermons are available on YouTube and the HillcrestToGo Podcast and you can find him on Facebook and Twitter. If someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, sign up here to receive Tom’s weekly devotional in your email inbox.