The verse of my Blog: Colossians 3:23

I realized very recently that I have not yet on my blog talked about the very verse that my blog is named after.  The verse that inspired my blog is Colossians 3:23 which says; “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD, not for human masters.”  This is my favorite verse, but I think that even if it isn’t, this verse has a great lesson for all of us to learn.  

While in the United States, being a workaholic is a prized thing. It is a personality trait that we all want to claim that we have, but it can also be a personality trait that if we are being honest can make us really selfish and absent minded to the beautiful things around us.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love to work. I am a type A personality, so the idea of being home for an extended period of time is incredibly hard, as we are during this time of coronavirus. I do know though that I can tend to be selfish about my time when it comes to working, and can often forget the reasons that I am doing the job, but instead focus on looking like I am the best employee.  

Colossians 3:23 is a verse that is for the workers out there.  It is saying that you need to work at things with all of your heart.  This verse is giving you permission to love your job, love doing tasks, love being a hardworking achiever.  However, you need to think about the reasons as to why you are working so hard. Why are you putting all of your energy towards this job or task? Is it supposed to be so that you can look great at your work or for your own pride? Is it because you are a perfectionist and need things to be a certain way because otherwise you won’t feel accomplished.  

Colossians 3:23 is telling the people who do love to work that it can be a very godly act that can produce many blessings and spiritual fruit.  However, the reason that you should be working so hard is not for yourself, but rather for the Lord and doing his work on this earth. There is a desire to complete the will and plan that he has for your life.  This is not working because of the desire to have a million dollars, get fame and popularity, power, but the desire of your heart for God’s purpose and fulfillment.  

For me personally, I had worked hard in high school because I wanted to get straight As.  However, that soon became my obsession. I felt that I would not be myself or I would not get my full fulfillment if I didn’t receive an A.  I felt the most complete when I was the perfect student. Even though I was working so hard and was putting my whole heart into it, I wasn’t doing any of this school work for God, but rather all for myself.  

This verse means a lot to me because I believe that God has given me a desire to work hard.  I want to put my whole heart into everything that I do, (well at least most of the time), and this verse helped me realize that it is a gift that I have gotten from the Lord.  However, how I chose to use that gift is another thing. Just because I enjoy working and putting my whole heart into things doesn’t mean that I am always thinking about the Lord.  There are often times I want to be seen as the hardest working person, just for my reputation and not because I care about advancing the kingdom in this role.  

This verse also serves as a reminder to myself to work hard on the things that I don’t always enjoy.  This verse specifically says, “Whatever you do, work at it for the Lord.” This means whatever you do, which is everything.  There are certain tasks that I absolutely love doing, and I have no problem working at it with my whole heart. Those things are schoolwork, painting, and writing this blog.  However, there are a few things that I don’t like to work at with my whole heart including laundry, cooking, contacting people I haven’t seen for a while, and praying for my enemies.  Not only should I take time to actually do this, but I also need to do it with the same amount of effort as I would with any other task.  

This verse lastly reminds me to live out this verse every day.  There are going to be days when there isn’t a lot of motivation, and there are days when we need to rest.  This also provides the opportunity to rest for the Lord. This can be spending time in prayer, fasting, and reading the Bible.  This is something that I also don’t do to the best of my ability. When I have a day of rest, I tend to spend the whole day watching Youtube and Netflix.  (Like in this quarantine, I have watched a lot of Youtube videos). Now, while this isn’t inherently bad to watch a few Youtube videos and or a show, as many of us have discovered it isn’t the best thing to do for the whole day or days on end.  However even on the days of lack of motivation, there is still an opportunity to grow closer to the Lord. I have at least another few weeks of quarantine that I can grow significantly in my walk with the Lord.  

In conclusion, Colossians 3:23 is my favorite verse for many different reasons.  I love the reminder of working at everything to the best of my ability, even the things that I don’t usually like to do.  This is a great way to continue to find joy in every piece of life, even the hard parts, and we do this all because we want to show glory and love to the Lord.