Reason #405
I'm learning a lot about Ruth right now. Mostly, I'm learning how much I am not like Ruth. In the attempt to try and refrain from comparing myself, I'm doing my best to not only learn about Ruth but to learn from Ruth.
I am the queen of comparisons when it comes to me. I compare myself to any and everybody only to end up feeling totally defeated and distraught. I do a really good job of listening to lies over truth. I once heard someone say, "When we compare ourselves, we are comparing our insides with someone else's outsides, so it's not really a fair comparison." And this is true. So, sometimes, when I read Ruth's story, I have to fight the temptation of comparison. I have to fight the temptation of feeling down about myself because I think Ruth is one awesome woman. She is. The girl has it going on. She has such upstanding character, and I she's not trying. It's just who she is. Second nature, a natural behavior for her. And I so admire that about Ruth.
This week, I gleaned something new that I've never considered when reading Ruth's story. I learned more about Ruth's work ethic. Ruth, out in the field working when she didn't have to be. Choosing to sweat and labor at a hard job when she wasn't required to. But she gave it her all, and she didn't see it as something she was too good for. She didn't feel over qualified or as if she was stooping to do something lower than she deserved, she just worked. And she worked hard. In her honest and meek manner, she worked so hard that she was noticed. Noticed for her diligence and her stick-to-it spirit. She didn't have someone standing over her shoulder praising her. No one was saying, "Way to go, Ruth! You're picking that grain like an all-star. You're the best grain picker there ever was! We're so lucky to have you in our field." She wasn't getting a bonus or extra vacation, in fact, she wasn't even getting paid for what she was doing. But she was giving it her all, and taking this task seriously. And eventually, Ruth's hard work paid off not because she was tooting her own horn or flaunting around her ability, or because she was over qualified or really talented, but because she was doing this task to the best of her ability without being told or asked. She was working as if it mattered because, well, it did matter.
Sometimes I have a hard time with work. Some days I wish I played the lottery so that I could have a chance of winning millions of dollars and could retire early. Some weeks, 40 hours seems too much, and there are a thousand other places I need to be than behind a desk. Because I do more than work. I have a life that goes on outside of my job. And so sometimes I forget that, really, my job is to do a good job. Whatever it is I'm doing, whatever task the Lord has assigned to me, my job is to do it and do it well. Not to do it for recognition or praise from others but to serve Him while I'm there. For those 8 hours, my job is to be a diligent and selfless servant. My job is not to complain or whine or feel entitled. My job isn't to talk about how I am better qualified for this and too qualified for that. Because, truthfully, I'm not so sure that God really cares about those shallow and selfish things. I don't think God is too concered with looking at my resume or what my GPA was in school half a decade ago. I don't think He's wrapped up or that entirely impressed with the college I went to or with the measly years of experience that are under my belt. God has blessed me with all of those things, no doubt. Were it not for Him, I wouldn't have a one. But I think God is concerned about what I'm doing on a daily basis. I think He cares about how, or if, I'm serving Him and others in my workplace. And, I think He assigns us certain tasks during particular seasons to see where our hearts really are. And, today, I started to realize that. Today, I was reminded that God has given me the job I have for a reason. He allowed me the position I'm in and He placed me at that very spot. It really wasn't anything I did on my own. He brought me there for a purpose, and my job is to fulfill that very purpose.
Same goes for Ruth. He led her to that field. At the right time, He placed her there to harvest. A task He was assigning to her for that season and a task she was given for a paticular reason. And Ruth did it. She didn't try to get out of it, go above and beyond, or do more or less than what the job called for. And God honored her work. God saw Ruth, He saw her heart and her intentions, and He blessed her. I know God cares about us, and I know He is concered with our career paths. But I realize God is more concerned with how we do the job than what the job really is. And when we realize who is assigning our task, who is intentionally placing us there, and that it is always for a reason, it should cause us to view work a little differently. At least, it does me.
#405 - Because He cares more about how we do what we do than simply what we do.
"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ." - Colossians 3:23-24
I am the queen of comparisons when it comes to me. I compare myself to any and everybody only to end up feeling totally defeated and distraught. I do a really good job of listening to lies over truth. I once heard someone say, "When we compare ourselves, we are comparing our insides with someone else's outsides, so it's not really a fair comparison." And this is true. So, sometimes, when I read Ruth's story, I have to fight the temptation of comparison. I have to fight the temptation of feeling down about myself because I think Ruth is one awesome woman. She is. The girl has it going on. She has such upstanding character, and I she's not trying. It's just who she is. Second nature, a natural behavior for her. And I so admire that about Ruth.
This week, I gleaned something new that I've never considered when reading Ruth's story. I learned more about Ruth's work ethic. Ruth, out in the field working when she didn't have to be. Choosing to sweat and labor at a hard job when she wasn't required to. But she gave it her all, and she didn't see it as something she was too good for. She didn't feel over qualified or as if she was stooping to do something lower than she deserved, she just worked. And she worked hard. In her honest and meek manner, she worked so hard that she was noticed. Noticed for her diligence and her stick-to-it spirit. She didn't have someone standing over her shoulder praising her. No one was saying, "Way to go, Ruth! You're picking that grain like an all-star. You're the best grain picker there ever was! We're so lucky to have you in our field." She wasn't getting a bonus or extra vacation, in fact, she wasn't even getting paid for what she was doing. But she was giving it her all, and taking this task seriously. And eventually, Ruth's hard work paid off not because she was tooting her own horn or flaunting around her ability, or because she was over qualified or really talented, but because she was doing this task to the best of her ability without being told or asked. She was working as if it mattered because, well, it did matter.
Sometimes I have a hard time with work. Some days I wish I played the lottery so that I could have a chance of winning millions of dollars and could retire early. Some weeks, 40 hours seems too much, and there are a thousand other places I need to be than behind a desk. Because I do more than work. I have a life that goes on outside of my job. And so sometimes I forget that, really, my job is to do a good job. Whatever it is I'm doing, whatever task the Lord has assigned to me, my job is to do it and do it well. Not to do it for recognition or praise from others but to serve Him while I'm there. For those 8 hours, my job is to be a diligent and selfless servant. My job is not to complain or whine or feel entitled. My job isn't to talk about how I am better qualified for this and too qualified for that. Because, truthfully, I'm not so sure that God really cares about those shallow and selfish things. I don't think God is too concered with looking at my resume or what my GPA was in school half a decade ago. I don't think He's wrapped up or that entirely impressed with the college I went to or with the measly years of experience that are under my belt. God has blessed me with all of those things, no doubt. Were it not for Him, I wouldn't have a one. But I think God is concerned about what I'm doing on a daily basis. I think He cares about how, or if, I'm serving Him and others in my workplace. And, I think He assigns us certain tasks during particular seasons to see where our hearts really are. And, today, I started to realize that. Today, I was reminded that God has given me the job I have for a reason. He allowed me the position I'm in and He placed me at that very spot. It really wasn't anything I did on my own. He brought me there for a purpose, and my job is to fulfill that very purpose.
Same goes for Ruth. He led her to that field. At the right time, He placed her there to harvest. A task He was assigning to her for that season and a task she was given for a paticular reason. And Ruth did it. She didn't try to get out of it, go above and beyond, or do more or less than what the job called for. And God honored her work. God saw Ruth, He saw her heart and her intentions, and He blessed her. I know God cares about us, and I know He is concered with our career paths. But I realize God is more concerned with how we do the job than what the job really is. And when we realize who is assigning our task, who is intentionally placing us there, and that it is always for a reason, it should cause us to view work a little differently. At least, it does me.
#405 - Because He cares more about how we do what we do than simply what we do.
"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ." - Colossians 3:23-24
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