Are You Working for Rewards that Last?

What are you working for?

Money, power, fame, and comfort? A school building named after you? A company that lives on after you’re gone? A house at the beach? Helping a lot of people? Using your talents?

The rewards Jesus provides are far greater than anything the world offers. And they last forever!

Consider what Paul writes to the slaves in Colossians 3.

Why does he tell them to work with sincerity of heart, as working for the Lord and not for human masters? Because they know that they “will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward” (Colossians 3:24)! If that is true (and it is), then no vacation house can compete with this reward. There’s no greater reward in the universe than what Jesus gives to those who work for Him.

Once you accept this truth and believe it, it begins to change the way you approach your work. No longer do you look to your job to provide you with ultimate rewards, because you know that the greatest rewards you can ever have are secure for you in Jesus. You are free, not to make your work into an idol, but to make it an arena for loving God and loving others. You’re free from the trap of idleness, from growing frustrated and bitter in the difficulties or drudgery your job brings. Your happiness is secured elsewhere; you don’t have to be discouraged that your job isn’t providing it. Instead, you can approach your job – even if you don’t like it – as an opportunity to love God more and bring Him glory.

Knowing that you work for King Jesus and not for other people changes the way you approach your job. You have a new master, a new assignment, a new confidence, and new rewards – all because of Jesus.

It’s a whole new way of thinking. And this new way of thinking leads to a newfound freedom in the workplace.

Excerpted with permission from The Gospel at Work: How Working for King Jesus Gives Purpose and Meaning to Our Lives by Sebastian Traeger and Greg Gilbert, copyright Zondervan, 2014.

* * *

Your Turn

This morning, tell the Lord, “Today is yours, Jesus. I’m working for You.” Frame your day with the knowledge that your Boss is Jesus and do everything you do for Him, unto Him. How does that change your day, your plans, your outlook? Join the conversation on our blog! We would love to hear from you about working for eternal rewards! ~ Devotionals Daily