Work Expectations

[Barry Korthuis] Well, good afternoon, everyone. Good to see you here this beautiful Sabbath day. I do want to say thank you to Ms. Docken here for this song about hope and, certainly, also to Mr. Delamater about being of good cheer. These concepts also will dovetail at some point here in the sermon as well. But by way of introduction, when we think about Solomon, he conveys through much of the Book of Ecclesiastes, that on one hand, he says life is vanity. Life is transitory. It's temporary. It's short. And he talks about this in terms of how life can be empty. It can be a life that really doesn't have a sense of meaning or a sense of purpose if it's not directed in a God-centered way.

So on one hand, Solomon says this, "Life is vanity. It can be that way." While on the other hand, he also conveys something else. He also says, "You know what? Life provides opportunities to develop, to change, and the opportunity now of living a good life, a full life to the glory of God regardless of the various circumstances and challenges we might face," or some of the things that were shared in the sermon about difficulties that may come about. And in the first section, though, of Ecclesiastes 9, he draws one of many conclusions in this book as God inspires Solomon to share some wisdom to give some advice on how to apply it. In Ecclesiastes 9:10 reads...probably a very familiar scripture to us here.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 It says, "Whatever your hands," or whether your hands, excuse me, "finds to do, do it with your might, for there's no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going."

So Solomon tells us there is a time that we can do things, and there will be a time when that will no longer be the case. But with the time that we are given, there is wisdom in diligently making the best of it. And Jesus Christ shared a similar concept in John 9:4, and a sense of urgency as well. 

John 9:4 Reads, "I must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming when no one can work."

So for the sermon time today, well, let's consider something. Consider something that can occupy a considerable amount of our time and something that we set our hands to do, whether literal or figuratively, whether physical or spiritual, and in general terms, let's focus on this term called work. Work, which is where we'll be reminded today, is a pretty broad concept in the Bible. And we're going to approach this, though, in a way that we answer a question. Does God have expectations with regards to our work? Does he have expectations with regards to our work? And as we will be reminded, the principles apply to just about any worthwhile thing. We do with our time and the quality of it.

But first, let's go ahead and talk a little bit about work. A little bit about that. Again, we'll start in general terms here. And if we were, for example, we're to think of it in terms of employment, at least according to the Department of Labor. The most recent published annual statistics I have here is actually 2023, but the average workday for someone employed in the U.S. of A. is 8.3 hours. Probably no surprise there.

But what do people do with the rest of the 24-hour day? Well, on average that is, according to these statistics. Well, they spend about nine hours for sleeping and personal care, a little over three hours for leisure and sports, 1.1 hours for eating and drinking, one hour for household activities, a half hour for caring for others. Again, these are averages, 0.4 hours for shopping and 0.6 hours for everything else, including a whopping eight minutes, get this, a whopping eight minutes for organizational, civic, and religious activities. Yes, that's it. Eight minutes a day on average for people who are otherwise employed in the United States.

Now, of course, if I look around the room, many of us may not have or no longer have a career, a profession, occupation, what have you, for many reasons, including retirement. Or maybe you're younger, or perhaps early in the process of developing your career, maybe you're an ABC student, or you're developing still your profession, your occupation, in which case perhaps you do a different kind of work. Maybe you're heavy into the homework side, schoolwork, or academic-related work. Or as many of us have to consider, particularly in the spring and the summertime, there's things like yard work. There always seems to be more housework to do, particularly in the spring and summer months perhaps, or deep cleaning, shall I say, or spring cleaning.

And then there are all these forms of working out, engaging in physical exercise as it not only has a benefit or can have a benefit on our health, it can enhance our quality of life and longevity. But even Bible studies are a form of exercising the mind and the heart, a form of schoolwork. What we might think of as laboring, laboring in the Word. If I were just to quote here.

2 Timothy 2:15 It reads, it says, "Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 

And just again to refer back to this scripture I read earlier in John 9:4, where Jesus said, "I must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day, the night is coming when no one can work," that reminds us too of the mission, the missions of the church. Preach the gospel, the Kingdom of God, and all of the world to make disciples of all nations, and to care for those disciples, which we commonly refer to as what? The work. The work. And we all have a part to play in that as well. And God instructs us. God even commands us to work. For those keeping pace with our Deuteronomy Bible reading assignments yesterday would have seen similar wording to what I'm about to read when you were reading Deuteronomy 5:13-14 about the Sabbath command. That's what we also read of in Exodus 20. But, again, God instructs us to work, commands us, again, to work.

Deuteronomy 20:9-10 "Six days you shall labor. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. Then rest on the seventh day, the Sabbath." 

You know it's interesting the word work here in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. It's a word called melakah. And it not only points to, like, your occupation or what it is that you're doing for your work, it has another piece to it as well, it's also the manner in which you do it. The manner of workmanship. So, not again, not only the work that we do but also the way that it's done. The quality of it. And we think about developing, if you will, and learning work skills. It's also a part of preparing to live on our own and in preparing for marriage even. Starting a family. 

Proverbs 24:27 Reads, "Prepare your outside work," prepare your melakah, "make it fit." We're called a thaw it. It means prepare it. Be ready. Make it ready. "Prepare your outside work for yourself in the field, and afterward build your house." 

Skill and preparation and occupation, whatever that chosen field or skill may be, even including running a household, is part. Becoming independent. This verse is commonly referred to in marriage counseling in preparation for marriage. And how one chooses to work and acquire those skills is part of that. But let's now turn to Genesis 1. Genesis 1. You know work, it's part of life. And God has set an example. And God has set a standard from the beginning. We're going to go ahead and pick it up here in Genesis 1:31, last verse of that chapter. And we're going to read part of the creation accounts found here. 

Genesis 1:31-2:3 "Then God saw everything that He had made. And it was very good." This word good here is towb. It means it was beautiful. It's fine. It was pleasant. It was well favored. Excellent. "So God saw everything He had made. Indeed, it was very good so the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus, the heavens and the earth, and all the hosts of them, were finished. And on the seventh day, God ended His work," He ended His melakah, "which He had done. And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."

You know work can be as specific as is shown here in the creation accounts, the work that God did with creation, what was made. You know work can also be a profession, an occupation. Even serving and service that's performed is part of work, while at the same time, it's very much framed here and for us in terms of the manner in which it's done. The manner of workmanship, the quality, the excellence of what it is that we do.

In other Scriptures, work is described in more broad terms. It may include all sorts of things that might include what we set our minds to do, set our hands to do. Of course, we read earlier in Ecclesiastes 9:10 talks about that. Also, just our actions in general, what it is that we do. But work as commanded should be part of our life in whatever form that takes. And it should be engaged in a way that we do the best work that we can that God leads us to do.

While we're still here in Genesis 1, let's just take a few minutes and just consider how God made us in His image and for a purpose, as we look to a few additional verses earlier here in Genesis 1. Let's go ahead and read verses…

Genesis 1:26-27 It says, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in His own image. In the image of God, He created him. Male and female, He created them."

As we hold on to what we just read, being created in God's very image, His like likeness, to have dominion, responsibility, to act on that responsibility on the earth, while, of course, in submission to God, but to act according to His purpose and His direction, but also in terms of what it is that God is doing with the pinnacle of His creation. The creation that is in His image. His image. Let's now turn to Ephesians 2, where in a letter to the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul, he talks about us here. He talks about us though in terms of being God's workmanship. And that we are created for a purpose. 

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." 

Let's go ahead and dig a little deeper here. We're going to focus on three words that we just found in this scripture. Three words in Ephesians 2:10. But first, let's talk about workmanship. It's a Greek word. It's called poiema, which refers to what is made or created. You know, we are created. We are made, fashioned by God. He, that is God who does the making, is referred to by a similar word called poietes. And not only in terms of being the creator but something more than that. It's also shown here as the creator who creates a work of art. A work of art. In ancient Greek, this commonly referred to an author or a poet, English word poem is derived from the word poiema. So we are God's creation. We are His workmanship. And in the context here, we're part of God's work of art. His work of art, if you will.

And specifically, as we just read here, we are His. We are God's worksmanship. You know, it's interesting to note the contrast here if you were to take the English text and the Greek text. You know, in this, in the English, this statement begins with we. But in the Greek, in fact, the whole verse begins with Him. Literally, the verse reads, "For of Him we are a product." We might typically see this expressed differently in society today that, you know, perhaps we're a product of our environment or, you know, maybe we're a product somehow of our own experiences, these sorts of things. But God's words declared you are the product of God.

Another useful way to describe poiema is in the context of a potter. You know, we know the clay doesn't tell the potter what to do, or they have some, somehow something to do with what becomes formed. Clay doesn't tell the potter what to do, it's the potter. Potter goes out, gathers clay, brings it into his workshop, and he molds it according to his vision and purpose. And likewise, the divine potter molds us into vessels He can use, created in His image, His likeness. And ultimately, if we're willing, humble, and teachable, we are molded into His character, His very character. And this is part of God's work in us. And it's part of His manner of workmanship, His way. His manner of doing that. Second word, though, I'd like to focus on is the word created. Created. 

Ephesians 2:10 Reads, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." 

So not only are we God's product, not only His workmanship, we've been created in Christ Jesus. Created is a word called ktizo or ktizo, excuse me, ktizo. The K is silent, my apologies. Another word, which means to create or produce, but there's a little added dimension that's part of the description here. This is the word that's used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word bara, which means to create from nothing. To create from nothing. It's kind of common for people to speak in terms of self-improvement, self-help, self-image, other selfisms. But the principle we read here and see here is that God created us from nothing. That means we brought nothing to the table. It also points to the power of God, God's Spirit in creating humanity. And the spirit in man that is part of that as well. Just a reminder that God gets all the credit. It's His design. It's His purpose. He's doing it all.

Third word here, the word works, I'd like to look at. We're created in Christ Jesus for good works. Greek word for works is ergon, which is based on ergo, which means to work, to toil, you know, effort, service, occupation, all those kinds of things. By implication, though, it means our deeds. All the things that we do. That includes our labor, our work, what we set our minds to do, our hearts to do, our hands to do, our actions again. But we are God's workmanship, His product, His work of art created from nothing that we brought to the table. It was all from God with a purpose that includes good works. Good works in all its various forms. And all worthwhile activities we engage in as representatives of God and His Son.

Again, with the opportunities we are given. Inclusive of all the things as well as we just read which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. All of those things. And if we're to, again, take a bit of a step back on the subject of work in general, we give it some thought. You know work, it can really mean a whole lot of different things, can't it? In scripture, work is described in very broad terms. Again, a lot more than a profession. It includes all the things we set our minds and hearts to do. In addition to what we set our hands to do. And frankly, it encompasses the majority of the things we do while we're awake or should be doing. But, again, God's example, His work, His melakah points us to consider this in terms of the manner in which we do our work, our workmanship. Including the quality, the excellence of what it is that we do.

Work should be a very important part of our life in whatever form that takes or may take. And, again, engage and develop in such a way that we do the best work we can with His help and guidance. The best work. While keeping in mind or keeping this in mind, let's now turn to Proverbs 2, oh, excuse me, Proverbs 22. Excuse me. I kind of asked some bigger questions here. You know that is if we're going to follow God's example, should our workmanship demonstrate quality and excellence, again, that's reflective of His principles, His wisdom, His teaching, His standards? That way of doing things? Or put it in another way, is that something God should see in what it is that we do? Should He see that? Or put it in another way, does the quality or excellence of what we do matter? Does it matter? Let's go ahead and read Proverbs 22:29. 

Proverbs 22:29 And it says, "Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings. He will not stand before unknown men." 

Interestingly, Solomon addresses this in the form of a question for each of us to answer, and that's whether we've seen, have perceived, have taken notice of someone with excellent work skills. I would imagine each of us could think of at least a few examples of excellent work that we've seen or heard or thought about. This is not intended to be limited to those of a paid profession. But he says, "Do you see a man who excels at his work?" Excels in this verse has the primary meaning of being diligent and at the ready.

Now, could someone literally stand before kings or people of renown because of their skills? Sure, yeah, that could happen. But what's being framed here is a much larger question, a much larger one. Is God directing our work, our manner of workmanship, the quality and excellence of worthwhile pursuits such that we are diligent, and prepared to stand before our king? Such that, ultimately when we do, He will say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

And we're not saved by our work. We're not saved by our works. But like the parable of the talent teaches, we're to make good with what it is that is entrusted to us from God with the time that we have. And as part of that, we're asked to take notice. Notice what is excellent. Understand what drives it. Understand the role of diligence, being at the ready, and in turn, reflect those qualities as well in our work, in all our endeavors.

Let's go ahead and take this diligent thread though just a little bit further here. Just a little bit further, turn to Proverbs 6. Look at another example that illustrates the importance of diligence in work and, again, other worthwhile pursuits that we have in life. But we find in this proverb a wonderful example of God's creation. That is of itself very small. It refers to the ant. And God inspires Solomon to help us with a word picture. In this lesson, if something we can see with our own eyes or visualize, we can imagine in our minds. Let's go ahead and pick it up in verse 6, though, of Proverbs 6.

Proverbs 6:6 Where Solomon says, "Go to the ant, you sluggard." 

Sluggard may not necessarily be a term that we use every day, but it's a word called atsel. It means indolent. You might want to think about or picture in your mind somebody who just wants to avoid activity or exertion. Think lazy, think of slothful, unmotivated, that sort of thing. 

Proverbs 6:6-11 So it says, "Go to the ant, you sluggard." But then he says, "Consider her ways and be wise, which having no captain, overseer, or ruler provides her supplies in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest. How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep, so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler and your need like an armed man."

While we keep this word picture in mind, let's just go over a little bit further into Proverbs 24. Similar account found there. And, again, we're going to find yet another word picture. Let's go ahead and pick it up in Proverbs 24:30. Kind of continues this thought here. 

Proverbs 24:30-33 He says, "I went by the field of the lazy man and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding. And there it was, all overgrown with thorns. Its surface was covered with nettles. Its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well. I looked on it and received instruction." The next two verses are going to repeat the same conclusion that we read in Proverbs 6. So Proverbs 24:33, "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler and your need like an armed man."

When we think of these two examples, they're both distinct, but both can help us visualize the same lesson, the same teaching, but from two different perspectives, two different ones. We'll start with this ant. Ant's shown what do they do? They're doing the right thing without supervision of their work. Individually and collectively, they just do it. They do the right thing, even if nobody's looking, so to speak. And they also know when they're supposed to do it. Metaphorically, the ant's faithful in the little things. The ant's diligent. The ant's at the ready. And the ant then excels at their job, at their work. And if you sort of sum up the integrity, the consistency, the sum of many decisions, or instinct, as the case may be, it all adds up to their success.

In this sense, the ant doesn't deviate to the left or to the right. The ant does not compromise. But the lazy person, as described next, is entirely different. And their example or their action, actually their inaction is probably a better way or an accurate way to put it, it leads somewhere else. It leads to poverty, the opposite of success. But notice also this example that he shares, Solomon shares, the lazy man's vineyard. You know, all of this does not necessarily happen overnight. It takes time for a field to be overgrown. It takes time for a field to be taken over. It takes some time for stone walls to break down. But as it's shown here, it starts somewhere. And in this case with a little bit of laziness. And it can start when someone's not faithful in the little things...oops, or the big things for that matter.

But when you sum this up, it's so different than the ant's. When you sum up the many decisions not to engage what is needed to be done, again, this sort of this lack of integrity and diligence in the work, will at some point bring poverty and unexpectedly. And, of course, the concern here points well beyond physical or physical poverty. And so these analogies and lessons here, the wisdom, if you will, that's being shared, extends to physical and spiritual life, and whether there will be success in either of them. I'd just like to refer to a couple of additional scriptures here that sort of also sort of illustrate this cause-and-effect element that we just read in Proverbs 24. And one of them is in Proverbs 18:9. If you're in Proverbs, you might want to turn there. 

Proverbs 18:9 But it reads, "He who is slothful," again, this is someone who's lazy or complacent, "he who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who is a great destroyer." 

You know just big warning signs for not engaging. We also read in 2 Thessalonians 3:10. 

2 Thessalonians 3:10 It says, "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this, if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." 

You know work in its various forms it's important. The kind of work we do, our engagement in it, quality of it, and the diligence and integrity that we apply to it as well. Now, I'm not going to ask for a show of hands, but have you ever engaged a task that somehow did not meet the mark of quality and diligence that was needed? Ever happen to you? Or perhaps in preparation for a test, whether that be academic or something else? Were you ever not prepared? Didn't do the study? Didn't do the homework? Weren't ready? Weren't at the ready? That ever happen to anybody here? It's happened to me. But I'm going to go ahead and just share a personal story with you. Perhaps some of you have heard this before. But this is going back a few years.

I remember when I was 14 years old, and I was working on a job site with my father, who was a commercial electrician, which back in those days, you know a 14-year-old was, actually, allowed on a job site like that. I mean, it was some time ago. But I was given a very specific job to do. Very, very specific. Now, the goal was straightforward, but the work, it was hard. It was hard work. But it was this. I was supposed to dig a ditch about 60 feet long or so. And I was supposed to do it in such a way that the electrical conduit that was buried in that ditch, the top of that needed to be at least 30 inches below the surface of the top of the ground, at least 30 inches. So pretty basic, pretty basic goal.

So here I go. I'm armed with a pick. I'm armed with a shovel. And I, you know, went at it. Now, if you think about it, what would a wise person do? Well, they would probably at least do something like this. First, measure maybe from the bottom of that shovel. You know, up the shaft of it. Maybe put a piece of tape there or something that would allow you to easily monitor the depth of the ditch as you went. It would be pretty easy to do it if you did it that way as you progressed. But well, suffice it to say, at, you know, the wise age of 14 at the time, I estimated depths of the ditch as I went. And my estimates erred on digging a shallower ditch. Yeah, yeah, imagine that.

So later, so what happens? You know, you place the conduit in the ditch. You know, you backfill in a few places. You know, you can fill the pipes held into place. And here comes dad. And guess what? The tape measure does not lie. It does not. And upon inspection, my dad found all the places in that ditch that didn't meet the code or the requirement. And, of course, he repeated one of his catchphrases, "Well, son, I guess it's never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over." And, you know, the lesson is this, you know, details matter. Diligence matters. Integrity. Quality. It matters if we're going to do the job right.

They matter if we want, if we need, to be successful. If we're going to attain the standard that's asked of us, again, in work and all worthwhile pursuits and endeavors. So what happened here was simply a failure of the ant test. The ant test is like, "I knew what to do." Instructions were clear. I was given all the tools I needed to do the job. Everything I needed. And you know what? I should have been able to do it without supervision. I should have been able to do that without dad having to come back and double-check my work. But you know, God blesses those who are diligent. He does. Those who do it His way. And perhaps it goes without saying, but, of course, it's a better thing to do it the right way the first time rather than to have to do a do-over or anything less than what it is that's asked.

Success or poverty were offered. Again, the lessons here are both physical and spiritual. But I'll ask this question again. Does God have expectations with regards to the quality of our work? Does He have? Yes, He does. Many other scriptures in the Bible also show us specific ways that we're to do things. It gives specific directions for success. For example, we can find help and we can find guidance by asking others. 

Proverbs 11:14 We read that “In the multitude of counselors, their safety.” 

But, you know, even if we get counsel, though, from others, which can be a very effective and important thing to do, we never want to exclude God, as God can and does show us and instructs us in specific things to teach, provide wisdom, and guidance so that we can have success in the work we do.

And just to illustrate that point, let's go ahead and turn now to Isaiah 28. Have you ever wondered, when you read through scripture, how people knew how to do anything, how to do certain things? I mean, thinking back in history, the first farmers, how did they know what to do? How did they know how deep to plant the seed or how to plant the seed or to derive the seed or what to do? And the differences that would happen with different plants and different things. How did they even know how to do these things? How did the first farmers know, just for example? Let's go ahead and pick it up in Isaiah 28:24. Important principle here. 

Isaiah 28:24-29 It says, "Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods? When he has leveled its surface, does he not sow the black cummin and scatter the cummin, you know, plant the wheat in rows, the barley in the appointed place, and the spelt in its place?" Verse 26, "For He instructs him in right judgment. His God teaches him. For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is it cartwheel rolled over the cummin. But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick, and the cummin with a rod. Bread flour must be ground. Therefore, he doesn't thresh it forever, break it with his cartwheel, or crush it with his horsemen. This also comes from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance." 

You know, God's quite capable of teaching us all, you know, what to do and how to do it, and sometimes in very, very specific ways, so that it works for our success. You know, that excellent work is even possible. And we are blessed to have the instruction book as well, of course, the Bible, and God's Holy Spirit to guide us.

You know, we have access to this, you know, access to all the wisdom and tools that we need for our development, for success in life, spiritually and physically. The example from agriculture that we just read is also about growth, isn't it? About increase. You know, if we want to know how to grow spiritually, what do we do? Well, just to give an example, we want more fruit of the Spirit, we ask God for that. Seek His counsel, study His word. If we don't want a backslide, we ask God for help, direction, resilience. God, give me resolve to endure this temptation. Provide a defense for me. We ask for it. If we fail, we fall short, we repent, we ask for forgiveness, and we ask for something else, too. For God to, again, create a renewed heart in us, a clean heart.

And as we just read, God is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance. I would imagine, though, that each of us have had some measure of experience with some kind of struggle with a problem, a challenge, maybe a solution to that problem as well. And there, certainly, can be times when the solution may seem to elude us somewhat, or at least for a period of time, or that a solution seems to be beyond our understanding in perhaps some way. But in the process of prayer, the process of greater search of God's Word, and we ask for His will, and we implore Him to search our hearts so that we might also see what must be done. But when we're humble, repentant, pliant, and the heart trusts in God and He is acknowledged, well, guess what, we're teachable. He's faithful in giving instruction and provides understanding on the way we should go.

And, of course, this is by no means limited to a struggle with a problem or a shortcoming we might be having or struggling with. It extends to understanding even how to advance the right opportunity with excellence as well. Let's return to the Book of Proverbs. Turn to Chapter 3. As we read more of the promises of directing us on a path of success, of excellence, if we follow His lead, and just be reminded here of a rather humbling truth, we're not simply...well, shall I say that is, we simply are not smart enough to stay on the right path. We're out of trouble for that matter if we try to do this with our own solutions unchecked. They must be checked with God.

Proverbs 3:5-8 Again, probably very familiar words to all of us, it says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones." 

I'd like us to focus a bit more on verse 6. We just read. 

Proverbs 3:6 It says "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." 

When I read this I am often reminded of a particular story, one that helps illustrate the point for me. Hopefully, my memory serves so that I can keep all the facts straight. But many years ago there was a church member in the Seattle area, whose job title was chief scientist at a software development company.

And at that time, the group that he worked for was involved in the...well, it was the groundbreaking phase of the creation of software tools that were used to design computer chips. And I had the opportunity to do a short internship there. I got to work for free to gain some work experience. This was the summer before I graduated from the University of Washington, but while I was there I had several opportunities to drop by his office for lunch, talk to him, learn more about the company, that sort of thing. If you were there and if you sat in the same place that I did when I had these lunch meetings, which was in front of his desk, you would have noticed this too. That behind him, on the wall behind his credenza, it was this really interesting artwork that was there.

And, basically, what it was, it was a layout of an engineering drawing of a computer chip all nicely framed there on the wall, and being there and seeing it, I was just curious. I asked him, what is this? I asked him questions about it, but he wouldn't engage me. He wouldn't talk about it. He seemed reluctant to speak of it at all. But a few days later, and I kind of kept after him, I brought it up again. And he, at that time, filled me in with some details. Now, I would assume everyone in the room, for the most part, have heard of silicon chips and computers. I love that we all have heard of that. Okay. Well, as it turns out this particular artwork was a snapshot of a chip design that used a particular and new semiconductor material, and he had received an award for this thing, which, by the way, was the fastest computer chip in the world at that time.

And I remember sitting there with my mouth open, and maybe you think, "Well, finally, he's silent." But I remember they're just trying to take in and trying to comprehend what this all meant. How did you even do that? The fastest chip on the planet? How did you even do that? And, again, I was just wrapping my head around it, and I just finally started to blurt out a question that was somehow around the question of how. And although I don't remember my question, I do remember his answer. Because he just humbly smiled and said, "God is my partner. I needed help." He said, "I needed help every step of the way." He said, "I asked God for that, and He showed me how to do it. Showed me how to do it."

You know can God help us be excellent? Will God help with those who ask Him, those who acknowledge Him, ask for His wisdom, those who seek Him, diligently pursue Him, follow Him, keep His commands, put their trust in Him? Because God is quite capable of helping all of us in any worthwhile pursuit we might have. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. He will direct our many decisions. He will guide us to success and excellence as the case may be. No better guide in life. No one better than God to walk with us from the very start.

I have to say when I think about this and I think about this scripture and I think about the number of times that I have allowed God to be in the fallback position, you know, I make a wrong choice or I may have an unsuccessful attempt at something, and then I'm like, "Oh, well, it probably would make sense to actually consult God on this." When instead He makes it very very clear from the beginning. He's always there to help if we do our part too. I'm going to ask this question, again, does God have expectations with regards to our work?

Yes, He does. Should it be quality work? Excellent work? Yeah. Should it be reflected in everything we do, all of our worthwhile endeavors? Will He work with us? Will He guide us? Will He give us wisdom? Yes, He is willing to do that. But we need to be faithful too. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, and always acknowledge Him, and in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

You know earlier, we referred to…

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Which reads, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you're going." 

It points to this opportunity that there is a time that each of us can do things and a time when that will no longer be the case. And with the time we're given, it speaks to the wisdom of being diligent and making the best of it. And when God allows us to demonstrate our faithfulness in such small ways compared to the success He can bring, just thinking, again, of the be of good cheer. But until the coming Kingdom of God or such time that we can no longer work, it's a good thing that God provides us opportunities in this life for development, for change, and, again, in a way that is to His glory, in a way that is a life lived to his glory. And that we do our part and follow the example of Jesus too as we read in…

John 9:4 "I must work. I must work the works of Him who sent me while it is still day, the night is coming when no one can work." 

That we engage all forms of work with a sense of urgency and continue to seek out God. Allow Him to help us be diligent in all these things, to be guided by Him but to have excellence through Him in what it is that we do. A reflection of God's example of God living in us. An example that follows His melakah, His manner of workmanship, that follows that but as His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works.