The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl last year. The star quarterback for the Eagles was Carson Wentz. He led them in dramatic fashion until he had an injury. His back up, Nick Foles, took over and carried them through the Super Bowl. Both Wentz and Foles are young dynamic Christian men.
Carson Wentz went through a tough year. He had some discouraging and disappointing moments. When asked how he dealt with that, he said that he always faces every situation in life with his faith. He told reporters, “On the field and in everything I do, honestly, my faith gives me a bigger picture so that when I’m playing football and its good, bad or ugly I realize I’m not trying to please the fans or the media. Ultimately, I’m just trying to please the Lord, and I know where my heart is. It helps me play more freely and a lot more confidently.”
He said his verse for dealing with all the ups and downs in life is Col. 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as if you are working for the Lord and not human masters.”
That puts a fresh perspective on life and why we do our work. Who are we trying to please? Ultimately, when we please the Lord, everything will work out for the best.
Working to please the Lord means we should do our work with excellence. Excellence is never an accident. Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an accident but a habit.”
At the recent 70-lap Canadian Grand Prix, model Winnie Harlow had been selected to wave the checkered flag. She inadvertently did not count well and waved it after 69 laps instead of 70 laps. After a brief huddle, Formula One officials declared race leader Sebastian Vettel the winner. Harlow tweeted an apology for her lack of excellence and said, “I’m so grateful no one was hurt.”
Working to please the Lord means that good supervision and accountability are extremely important. Last year Joa Quin Garcia, a Spanish civil servant employee, didn’t show up for work for six years. They only caught this because he was nominated for a dedicated service award. He had been given the responsibility of hosting the construction of a water plant in Cadiz, but he thought he was too good for that job. He did continue collecting his $41,500 salary until city officials tried to give him an award for 20 years of loyal service. His co-workers said they hadn’t seen him in years. His fine wasn’t as much as one-year’s salary. He complained because he thought it was “media lynching.”
Working to please the Lord means we don’t make excuses. The Washington Post carried an article showing that excuses for being late to work are about the same in every industry. A Career Builders survey of more than 1,000 HR managers said that the most common excuses are traffic, over sleeping and the weather. But some had more interesting excuses: “I was here but I fell asleep in the parking lot;” “My fake eyelashes were stuck together;” “An astrologer warned me of a car accident on a major highway so I took all back roads;” and a male employee said, “I had morning sickness.”
Proverbs 25:13 reads, “A faithful employee is as refreshing as a cool day in the hot summertime.”
Why do we go to work every day – to earn a living or to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives? Who we try to please determines if we go to “my job” or “God’s ministry.”
