On Sunday, our Pastor taught out of the book of Ephesians. One of the things he said stood out to me. Basically, he told us to "go to work as worship." Hmmm. Really. I don't like going to work. LOL It's somewhat an annoying place. There is a lot of unfairness there. It's physically demanding. My work area is cold in the winter, hot in the summer....And you're telling me to go there as an act of worship to God!! Couple that with the fact that there is so many other things (none of which pay the bills) that I'd rather be doing.....Let's just say, I have to constantly remind myself to be grateful for a job (and I am) and to try and do it with a God honoring attitude. So thinking of it as worshiping God was a stretch for me. Definitely a stretch!
Ephesians 6:5-8 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
I like the version out of The Message Bible..."with a smile on your face." Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ. Don’t just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ’s servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you’re really serving God. Good work will get you good pay from the Master, regardless of whether you are slave or free.
This is definitely a tough call. But it is what we are commanded to do. So if God is telling us to do this, then He will supply us with the ability and the power. Something else that came up Sunday: Pride gets in the way of submission. That is quite a thought provoking idea, and something I really don't want to examine too closely but probably need to.
Okay, on to the next mention of this "life as worship" theme. I've mentioned that we are doing the Redeemed study by Angela Thomas-Pharr in our ladies group. And this was the topic she taught on in the chapter I'm up to. Angela stated, "Worship is how we're meant to live our lives every moment of every day." Referencing Romans 12:1-2 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect Angela put the thought out there that true worship comes from a grateful heart, a heart that looks at all God has done for us and that causes it to worship. Makes sense to me.
So, twice, in the span of a few days I am being told all areas of my life are to worship God. This is a tall order. Tiredness, busyness, frustration, little irritations, interruptions....on and on the list of things that get under our skin during the course of a day can set us up to be derailed from gratefulness and praising God. But I think there is so much joy in the act of worship, it's worth the effort to work on. Definitely will take some practice!
Lord, make my life a living sacrifice, a holy worship unto You. Let gratitude fill my heart and mind causing praise to overflow in my words and deeds. As I wrote on Tuesday, I want to fix my eyes on things above, looking over the waves of life's vexations and irritations and find the plateau where thankfulness lives. There is so much wrapped up in being grateful. That becomes more and more clear to me. I want my life to worship You. My heart, my mind, my words, my actions....all glorifying, all singing Your praises. Help all of us get to this place. In Jesus name. Amen
Practice worship today.
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