Understanding Why We Should Be Working

Writers, for the most part, are strange birds. I know, because I’m one of them. You might say we’re made of “the write stuff.” For many of us, writing is nearly as natural as breathing. It’s part of the fabric of our being, perhaps much like a thoroughbred horse that’s made to run or a handyman who feels frustrated if there’s nothing to fix. 

A longtime friend, also a journalist, reminded me of this when he cited a Latin phrase I’d not seen before. It is, “Nulla dies sine linea,” which means, “not a day without a line.” He noted this is his practice, rarely going a day without writing in some form. I’m much the same. Whenever I go any length of time without writing, it’s like going without eating. Just gotta do it.

 

In my case, writing has always been a way to conceptualize my thoughts, more effective than speaking them out loud. I’ve often said, when preparing to sit down at a keyboard, “I can’t wait to see what I’ve got to say.” Even in the days when I was staring at a typewriter rather than a computer, placing my fingers on the keys has been like turning on a switch in my brain.

 

For me, writing is more than a vocation, certainly more than just a hobby. I’ve come to regard it as a calling. I’m not sure I felt that way during my days as a newspaper editor, but that was my conclusion after I had become involved in vocational Christian ministry. Years ago, I came across a Bible passage that I adopted as my ‘career verse’ because it sums up how I feel. In the New King James Version it reads, “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer” (Psalm 45:1).

 

In books I’ve written and edited, magazine articles I wrote, and the devotional meditations and blog posts I write today, my motivation has been to honor God and seek to communicate biblical truth, showing how relevant and practical it is for everyday living.

 

Of course, most people aren’t writers. I’ve lost count of the times people have told me how much they admire people who can write with any competence. “I can’t write. If I tried to write anything, it would take me all day,” they’ve often said. My response is that I struggle to do just about anything else. I’m mechanically challenged, and I’d regard a profession like that of an accountant, attorney or salesperson as daunting, if not terrifying.

 

But the principle applies to any form of work people find themselves doing. Whether it’s parenting, working in a retail store, cutting down trees, working with patients in a hospital, repairing a leaking faucet, teaching a class, or functioning in an executive position, we should have a singular motivation.

 

I think the apostle Paul expressed it best. He wrote, “And whatever we do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him…. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:17, 23-24).

 

We don’t need to be in a sanctified setting like a church sanctuary to put God in the forefront of our minds and actions. Followers of Jesus Christ are called to serve as His representatives wherever we go and whatever we find ourselves doing. As Jesus admonished in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

 

Whether you’re wielding the pen of a ready writer, the wrench of a ready plumber or the computer of a ready IT specialist, the Lord wants us to shine His light and bring honor to Him.

One Shall Become a Thousand

When I started writing these posts in 2008, I had no aspirations or expectations. I just wanted an avenue for expressing random thoughts about a variety of topics. My desire was to offer my perspectives as both journalist and follower of Christ, applying biblical truths I believe are as practical and relevant today as they were when God inspired dozens of men to record them many centuries ago.

When I first thought about writing a blog, I wasn’t sure I could sustain it. So I wrote several posts before publishing the first one, reasoning it would be silly to run out of steam after just one or two. Obviously, I haven’t. It was my plan to write only one per week, but soon realized that wouldn’t accommodate all the stuff I was “just thinking” about.

Initially I limited each post to 300 words, since someone had told me that was the optimum length for online articles. Before long, however, I found that limit too restrictive, especially for including Bible passages related to the issue at hand. Soon my word count grew to 600 or more, with occasional gusts up to 900 or so.

My first efforts included topics like personal finances, communications, holidays, death, setting goals and making resolutions. Over the years since, I’ve revisited many of these, as well as others. The question I’ve always asked and sought to answer was, “What do the Scriptures have to say about this subject?”

Today marks my 1,000^th post, which I suppose is an anniversary of sorts. A lot has happened over the past 11 years – career changes, additions of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, learning about the aging process firsthand, hearing daily about a polarizing figure named Trump. But what hasn’t changed is my conviction that the Bible is true and that God has provided it as His perfect Owner’s manual for how He intends for us to live.

I know there’s an incredible range of opinions about the Scriptures. Some consider it outdated and irrelevant; there’s a segment of people who have labeled it “dangerous”; and others find it “figurative,” that we’re free to pick those things in it we like and ignore – or re-interpret – the rest. However, I concur with what the Bible says of itself: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

A friend was leading a Bible study and asked one of the participants what she thought that passage meant. She replied, “It means that God wrote a book!” I wholeheartedly agree. Jehovah God, who created the universe, saw fit to guide and inspire the writing and compilation of a book that stands unique from any other. As someone has said, “Many books can inform, but only the Bible can transform.”

I recall a top executive speaking to a crowd years ago, telling how he had spent countless hours listening to and reading books by self-help gurus who claimed to know the secrets to business success. Then he discovered the Bible, and after thorough examination, concluded it was superior to all the other resources combined. 

Sharing that view, I continue to offer these posts in the belief that the teachings and principles the Lord gives us in the Scriptures – starting with how we can receive forgiveness, reconciliation with God, and eternal life through Jesus Christ – provide the answers to all of life’s biggest questions. We’ve become what some call a “post-Christian nation,” which I think is much to the detriment of our society. But that doesn’t diminish the importance and impact of the timeless truths available to us as we read from Genesis to Revelation.

Toward the end of one of the Bible’s prophetic books it says, “one shall become a thousand” (Isaiah 60:22). I’m sure this had no reference to online commentaries – unless Isaiah was an even more insightful major prophet than we realize. But as of today, my idea for one short blog post has literally become a thousand. 

I haven’t a clue as to what I’ll find to write about, Lord willing, for the next 1,000 posts. But I know one thing: I’m eager to get started in writing post No. 1,001. Because as Psalm 45:1 states so well, “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”

What’s Your Mission?

Are you on a mission? If so, what is it?

“He (or she) is on a mission.” How often have we heard someone described that way? We use this phrase in a variety of ways – a person determined to achieve a goal; an athlete striving for victory, or someone seeking to further a cherished agenda. An interesting word, “mission.”

Decades ago, when NASA and the American space program were making news almost daily, we often heard about “mission control,” as well as various space missions, whether orbiting the earth or going to the moon. Today people talk about taking a mission trip to a foreign land. Members of one religious sect devote a couple of years to a “mission,” setting aside education and careers during that period. Businesses of all sizes draft mission statements that express their reason for existence, along with the how’s and why’s of what they do.

Like this sandpiper on a Florida beach, the waves of
life can toss us about if we're not firmly grounded.

But have you ever viewed your own life as being on a mission – or even took the time to define what your mission is? Years ago I was at a conference where the discussion turned to developing a personal mission statement. “What is your purpose?” some asked. “What do you think is God’s reason for you being here?”

Deep questions for many of us. Until then, the idea of having a personal “mission” had never crossed my mind. Like many people, being married, having children, and pursuing a career were sufficient rationale for who I was and what I did. But having an articulated personal mission statement, I learned, could help provide focus for my life, in both the big picture and smaller details. It also can provide clarification when making key decisions.

So I set about crafting such a declaration. Actually, someone helped me when he read a verse from the Amplified Version of the Bible. The passage, Philippians 3:10, was an elaboration on what the apostle Paul had written. The portion that impressed me the most stated:

“For my determined purpose is that I may know Him (Jesus Christ) – that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly.”

As I pondered these words, it occurred to me that “knowing Christ” meant more than an intellectual exercise. Becoming “more deeply and intimately acquainted” involved more than just perceiving the character of who Jesus was – and is. It meant desiring and allowing that relationship to express itself through my life in every way possible. So as the passage stated, my “determined purpose” – my mission – meant becoming so closely identified with Him that it couldn’t help but be evident to others.

Then I came across another passage that more sharply defined how this personal mission statement would be manifested in my life vocationally: “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer” (Psalm 45:1).

Since then it’s been my intent to communicate through writing, in as many ways as possible, what I understand as God’s truth, hoping to help others discover how to relate it to their own lives.

Of course, just as the mission of one company is different from that of another, even within the same industry, a personal mission statement should be unique for each of us. The question is, what is your mission. Have you ever thought about it?

Is it necessary to have a formalized expression of one’s personal mission? No. I’d venture to say for many people the idea has never occurred to them. Most of us go from one day to the next, acting upon opportunities, responding to challenges, and tackling everyday tasks without much thought about how they all fit into the grand scheme of our lives.

But taking the time to assess one’s life, in terms of passion, gifts and abilities, as well as trying to discern a sense of calling, certainly can’t hurt. As with a business, it could help in determining questions such as: Where am I going? How am I going to get there? And, how will I know when I’ve arrived? And the best way to answer those questions is to seek wisdom from God.

The alternative, too often, is to be like the description the apostle James put forth: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God…. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (James 1:5-6).

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not let my life be blown and tossed about by life’s circumstances, one day waking up and asking, “How in the world did I get here?”