Everything you do

I struggle with feelings of insignificance.  What do I do that is important or worthwhile?  Because I like to try and be both therapist and patient, I ask myself what is something that is purposeful.   I think maybe a job would be helpful.  Or maybe volunteering would help fill this seeming void.  Then I realize nothing I of which I think would make me feel purposeful.  While I would be busier, I certainly wouldn't feel any more significant simply because I was filing, maintaining databases, or directing calls.

Recently, I decided to volunteer at the Creation Museum for a day.  I was all excited!  My parents have volunteered there in the past, so I was anticipating maybe a day's work in the gardens, or perhaps being in the office and helping send out mailings to donors.  I anticipated something bright, pretty, and maybe a little fun.  Instead, I was assigned to work in the hot, lonely, windowless cash room where I sat, locked in, and rolled coins for 6 hours.  Thankfully they have a machine that counts out the coins, and all I had to do was dump the appropriate coins in and then make sure the funnel and wrapper were all lined up properly.  "Monotonous" best described that job.  As I sat listening to the endless rattle of change, I became determined to amuse myself.  I decided to sing inside my head since at least four cameras were trained on me, and I didn't want to pain security too much.  I ran through several different hymns and quickly turned to popular Christian music.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your view of things, I starting mentally playing Steven Curtis Chapman's song "Do Everything."  I repeated an endless loop of a portion of the chorus "it all matters just as long as you do everything you do to the glory of the one who made you, 'cause He made you to do everything you do the glory of the one..." for the next 4 hours.  I wish I at least remembered the rest of the song so I didn't have to repeat the same few words over and over again.  It helped, though.  I wasn't discouraged.  I knew that what I was doing was important simply because I was doing it to the best of my ability.  I still felt rather sad at the end of the day because I didn't feel like I'd accomplished anything as people were dropping off that day's worth of coins from their cash boxes.  It is a never ending job!  I am happy I was able to relieve the full-time lady from having to do that for a day, though, so she could focus on her other duties.

In daily life, I have found this song and, more importantly, the Scripture verses, to be helpful.  There's not much glory to folding laundry.  There's even less in cleaning the bathroom.  Practically, yes, these things are wonderful, but when people ask, "So, what did you do today?" and the answer is, "Well...I finally found and removed the source of that nasty mystery smell in the refrigerator..." you don't feel like the most exciting or relevant person.  But, the point is, we all are appointed for or do different tasks.  They might seem inglorious from our perspectives, but everything we do brings glory to God.  Essentially the stuff we do here on earth is done for Him.  We are all caretakers in some way or another, and our work glorifies Him.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31


And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Colossians 3:17

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 3:23-24

I do not have to do it alone...

What a crazy few weeks!  Two weeks ago, my dad had to have an emergency appendectomy, both of my aunts were out of town, so my mom and I were responsible for helping care for my grandma.  I have learned a lot during this time, mostly life lessons, and but a few funny things as well.

 Just because I can do it all by myself, doesn't mean I should.  Also, delegation is very different from sitting back and watching people do my work for me.

We'd planned a week ahead to have an ice cream social at my house to celebrate my good friend Charlotte.  It worked out that the party fell the day after Dad's surgery.  Because I had been at the ER and with my grandma Friday, I wasn't able to get as much of the cleaning done like I had wished.  But, because I was determined to do so, I spent several hours to get the house in order.  During this time, I had two offers for assistance.  I did not accept these offers, though, because I was determined to provide a party for everyone to enjoy. Why should my guests have to work?  So, I was rather tired by the time the party started and groaned audibly when I saw one of the guests brought Risk.  Fortunately, my sarcastic sense of humor kicked in to save my guests from embarrassment.
Application: When people offer help and the task at hand is easily divided, take them up on it.  If they didn't actually want their offer of help accepted, they won't offer next time!

The Holy Spirit is a very good cook!

When cooking, I frequently have people telling me to follow my instincts.  In general, this is good advice.  I can call on past experiences, knowledge about good flavor combinations, etc. to increase and improve my current dish's flavor profile.   Throughout my past weeks (were they really only two?) of cooking, I kept relying on a little voice that wasn't "me."  I'd want to add something more to a dish because it was seemingly flat, but I would not because that authoritative voice told me to hold back.  This meal would go over well, especially for the convalescing patient.  But, He advises on more than how to make good hospital food.  Yes, He even guides the making of smoothies and helps improve existing "go-to"/"signature" dishes.  My stove-top (rather than oven-baked) curry chicken, for instance, was the best I've ever made.  My instincts told me to put in a can of diced tomatoes and increase the chicken broth, but the voice said to just stick with coconut milk throughout the cooking process.  What an enjoyable cooking experience!  I partnered with God to make supper!  What a simple yet profound time.

When unsettled feelings and anxiousness take over, turn on some Third Day (or whatever is appropriate), grab a tissue if desired, and plop down supine.

  

"Your Love, Oh Lord," "King of Glory," and "Agnus Dei/Worthy" provided me with a good refocus time and got me through a day where I was convinced I was going to explode (which would have been messy and just another thing I'd have had to deal with...).  This was the most important lesson I (re)learned.  I'm not exactly sure it was, but I think it was Martin Luther, who would spend hours in prayer daily.  The more tasks he had to complete in the day, the more time he spent in prayer.  When I first heard this several years ago, my practical mind thought it strange.  Now I understand.  The more hectic a day will be, the more overwhelming a task seems, the more I need to make sure I spend time focused solely on God so I can go through my day partnered with Him and His peace.  I feel called to be a beacon of peace and tranquility.  I don't know how well I succeed at that normally.  However, I know I certainly, utterly fail when I figuratively, and somewhat literally, plow over people with an attitude of "don't even talk to me!  I have to get this, this, and this--oh, and don't forget this--done!"  

 "Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep."

 Psalm 36:5-6a

Will do Works for____?

Lately, I have been contemplating why I try to be "good" and "moral."  My thoughts stemmed from several conversations I have had with people who do good things, yet are atheists.  In many of these cases, I looked at their lives and assumed they were Christians based off their actions.  They were honorable people, hard workers, and seemed to have a genuine concern about others. When I found out they weren't followers of Christ, I was initially surprised.  Typically, as I got to know them better, I realized I shouldn't have been surprised.  This has gotten me thinking.  Why do people do good things?  Some might say to promote the good of society.  Others might say because it is the right thing to do.  And others would say because their religion dictates it.

James 2:17, 26: "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (in context)

Then my question returns to myself.  Why do I attempt to behave in a good way?

I would like to think my answer would be because it is proof of my faith living in me.  But how often is it that instead of simply doing what I know I have to do to be considered "good?"  If works are "proof" or "fruit" of my faith, shouldn't they be done without my thinking I should do them?  Shouldn't they come naturally?  But what about when I make myself do something good?   I suppose it is all about attitude.  If I do something I don't want want to do because I am trying to express Christ rather than make myself look good or mold myself into a better, more self-actualized, and societal being, I assume it would be an expression of faith rather than a selfish act.  But then, how does one go about doing something as an expression of Christ rather than dolefully saying "well, the Bible says I have to do it this way, so I guess I have to..."  Perhaps the latter is not such a bad thing initially if we are fighting sinful flesh with spiritual self-discipline.

I also suppose another main thing is motivation.  Is my desire to be "good" or to be "Christ-like?"  Am I trying to be shiny and pretty on the outside?  Or am I trying to express my soul that has been purged clean from the inside out?  If I am simply trying to be "good" because it is right and what people expect from me, that is wrong.  I need to stand on the foundation of Christ, and then my actions should follow as godly because I am desiring to stay on that foundation and follow the narrow halls built on it.

I cannot be good on my own.  In this life, perfection is out of the question.  But Christ washes away my sins and instills His Holy Spirit inside of me to guide me.  I should focus on following Christ rather than trying so hard to look like I am doing it right--that is when I fall the most anyway.

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:8-10 

The Point

The biblical perspective, where false teachers and and false teachings are concerned, is that we are to have compassion and love for those who are enmeshed in the teachings of the false prophets, but we are to vigorously oppose the teachings, with our primary objective the winning of the soul and not so much the argument.  It must never be forgotten that cultists are souls for whom Jesus Christ died...(pg. 23)

The Kingdom of the Cults: The Definitive Work on the Subject 

by Walter Martin, Ravi Zacharias, general editor. 

God has an interesting way of presenting currently relevant information to you.  I had a conversation about debating the morality of something with a non-Christian.  Then this popped up later in my reading.  It didn't apply to the situation exactly, but it said what I was trying to convey.  Coming up with the perfect argument (a "zinger") shouldn't be our goal, but pushing people to evaluate their position and hopefully seek a right relationship with Christ is what is important.  Debates can be fun and beneficial, but getting an agnostic to accept something like "abortion is wrong" won't matter much on Judgement Day.