Sermon nuggets Mon Feb 9
Theme- A WORKMAN'S WORRY
Verses-Eccl 2:10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.(NIV)
Reflections on Work
Last week we talked about Solomon's pursuit of pleasure. This week day we are going to look at his thoughts regarding work. Some of his work related to building and construction, as well as ruling and the administration of the nation. He worked with investments and the acquiring of many goods. There were things that kept Solomon very busy. Now he reflects on the place of labor. Solomon admitted that at the beginning he found enjoyment in his work. It was a delight to him. Do you enjoy the work you're doing?
One fellow went to the doctor's "Give it to me straight not all in the scientific language" "You're lazy."
"Thank you, Now give me the scientific word so I can tell my wife."
God made man to work. We are not meant to be lazy. We find purpose when we are able to earn a living. When God placed man on earth in the Garden of Eden it was a perfect environment. There were no slaves and servants, such as Solomon had to take care of all his needs and wants.
God had given Adam some responsibilities. He gave man work to do. Gen 1:28 says, "God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply in number. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule of the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Adam was given the assignment to care for that which God has created and to name the animals. Now isn't that something. God could have cared for it all, in fact he does. But He gave to man the responsibility to organize and work his creation as our enjoyment of what he has given to us.
One person tells the story of enjoying farm land that looked like from the magazines. It had beautiful crops and well manicured gardens and lawns. The person told the farmer, "Isn't God great to supply you with all this? "
He said, "He is, but you should have seen how it was kept before I came along." What some fail to realize is that it was God's intent that we work the soil; bring the crops into greater productivity. He gave man that job. But without the rain, sun and temperatures proper weather and the farmer would be out of business in a day.
There has been political debate over our environment. However you feel about global warming or protection of endangered species, as Christians we need to know that taking care of God’s earth is one of the responsibilities God gave to mankind right from creation. This is my Father’s world. We take delight in it, not abuse it. We were made to have dominion over the land and over the animals. God gave us work to take care of His world. It is a spiritual responsibility. The danger in man’s thinking is when he places himself as God in charge instead of recognizing our part in God’s design.
I am glad that we are spending much more attention to pollution and recycling. Some people because of the sin of greed and selfishness give no thought to future generations, and abuse God's resources for all people. The Lord God took the man and put him in the world to work and take care of it.
With unemployment the way it is in our economic crises, if you have a job, not only thank the Lord but work as unto the Lord as a gift from Him. If you are looking for work seek the gifts and abilities you have been given and let’s also help one another within our church family to pray, support, and encourage. Perhaps you can also give jobs to others to provide for themselves and families. I would like to post jobs and needs on Copes Computer every Wednesday.
Pray and participate. That is the plan for work as we serve God and one another together.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Tues Feb 10
Verses- Eccl 2:17-19 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.
Reflections on Weariness
The delight of work is when one can be used of God to see that needs are met, and help others in their times of need. The delight of work is to see some accomplishments. When you have finished a project or activities and have it said, "Good Job" can give some people worth. When others are helped or blessed, when goals are met, when purpose is fulfilled it is good and it can be a delight to be part of what God made us to be.
God gave mankind work to do. We will be working in heaven. It will be fulfilling as we carry out the work of the Lord and are part of His greater plan. But labor changed when sin entered the world. Things would not be as enjoyable any longer. Gen. 3:17-19 "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree which I commanded you must not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because of you through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life."
As Solomon continues his thoughts on work it hits him that for all he delighted in achieving, some day that will all be gone and who knows what will happen when he leave it behind. Fools take over his dreams and accomplishments. Many entrepreneurs who work very hard lose their companies or sell them only to find their dreams fall apart and result in ruin.
How do the CEOs of large companies evaluate their work when the stock market is crashing? I heard on the TV people who are losing their homes who cry out, “after we worked all our lives for something it is now gone.” A bank or credit company will own the home they worked for and someone else will get for far less money the fruits of their labors. That is the feeling of futility.
The New Testament speaks on the importance of work in our fallen world. 1 Thes 4:11-12 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. And II Th 3:10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
Gustov Ohler said, "Man like God, is to work and rest, thus human life is to be a copy of divine life. God created for 6 days, rested on the 7th day and then began to work again.
Since the fall work took on a different meaning. Now toil became part of the curse of sin. We work not only because of the pleasure of work, but there are elements in all work that are burdensome. Chores, sweat, dirty, hard labor is part of the plight of man as farmers well know. Weeds and thistles, rocks and bad weather is part of our struggle.
Notice that Solomon delved into work but it wasn't long when the delight turned into drudgery. He was not fulfilled. It became wearisome to him. For all his toil it did not produce the lasting peace he was looking for.
Now let me say that Solomon had what we will never have-power, wisdom, fame, wealth, property, and abilities to pursue life under the sun to the fullest. However, life of people on earth is better now than it has ever been. You can read stories of how life was then, and even 200 years ago people lived with poor health, no hope, etching out living under slavery and oppression. There were days when child labor laws did not exist and textile companies worked children 6-10 years old 12 hours a day. There were people in slaughter houses who when injured on the job would lose their jobs. There were horrible unhealthy work conditions and people were at unmerciful hands of employers. We are cleaner, more attractive, more pampered, and have greater luxury than our parents and grandparent and they had life easier than their parents and grandparents. Have we made improvements? You bet we have.
I think of life in my days without cars without TV or stereos, without washing machines, dryers, microwaves. It is hard to imagine not using computers and cell phones and electronic conveniences. But we are not happier. We are just as sad. There is as much anxiety in our day as felt by Solomon in all his plenty and with all his labors. Weariness can come from emotional draining. It seems when there is no purpose more than the paycheck, people are weary in their work. Housewives can easily find it frustrating when all the days labor is destroyed as soon as kids and husband comes home only to do it all over again.
Do you feel as if you are on a working treadmill? Is your work drudgery or delight? What makes it so? How can it change?
Pastor Dale
Sermon nuggets Weds Feb 11
Eccl 2:20-21 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
Reflections on Workaholicism
Perhaps I should entitle this devotional “confessions of a workaholic.” Solomon reflects the feelings of the day that say even though we excel in our accomplishments and make it to the top, and even though you meet all your goals something is missing. It is not fulfilling. We have a measure of enjoyment in what we do, but if all our labor is monuments and trophies and things, there is really nothing to them. Vanity of vanity; all is vanity,.
God gave us work to do, but if God is not in the work we do all the energies we put in the work is worthless. Many people are burned out because they are so busy in their lives and in their work they miss out on that very thing that will give purpose.
Why do workaholics work so much? Perhaps it is because it appears to be a religious virtue. So many men work hard to provide for their families only to find they have lost their families. A simple life has become increasingly unpopular. Many Christians believe if they are not on the top of everything God must not be blessing them. There is a tremendous confusion over the way man interprets success and God.
There is an appropriate protestant work ethic in our society. It came from the conviction of having a fair wage for a fair days work. It is godly to do our best to please our employers, as well as to treat our employees with fairness and right compensation. There are Christian principles by which we need to guide our lives at home and at work. But our self esteem is not based on how many hours we put in or how much money we make, or how much we can show people we've done. Solomon reminds us that can be the very thing that brings dissatisfaction. For such a person work is his or her whole life. The workaholic is living in a performance oriented cultures. v. 23 says, All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest."
Compulsive workers overload days with toil; Fills nights with worry and misses the simple joys of God. I believe some of the real issues are not being addressed. For you see, work become an end in and of itself. It isn't the benefits of salary as much as the task is pleasurable. Some will not rest even if they are tired for tiredness is a sign of laziness. Most are motivated by power, seeking to be on the top, highly competitive and wanting to win and prove it to self.
But it isn't the hours that a man puts in that is important it is what a man puts into those hours. Luther said he had so much to do that he needed to spend at least 3 hours in prayer. We cannot have guilt trips because we do not spend 3 hours a day in prayer, nor feeling unworthy because we don't work 10 to 16 hours days 6 days a week. Many women who are increasing the work force are also finding themselves increase with many of the physical and emotional strains that men have. Women are increasing with heart attacks, ulcers, and high blood pressure.
Solomon said all this toil is vanity and chasing of the wind. As I read my words I feel hypocritical because I was awake at 2:45 AM not sleeping. I find too many things rambling through my mind. I think of the many things that just never get accomplished. There are also more people to visit, more programs to plan, more books to read, more sermons to write, more people who want to see you. The work can be most fulfilling or most discouraging.
Look at the life of Paul. He never stopped or slowed down infulfilling God's mission for his life to take the Gospel to the lost andhurting outside the four walls of the church. He pressed forward,tirelessly, until the very end when he was martyred for his faith in Jesus Christ. Despite the great personal sacrifices, putting his life on the line each day, fighting all of the obstacles he had to face each step of the way, Paul persevered!
The call to follow the Lord with all your heart, can be quickly clouded with personal responsibilities that call for our attention. Whither in the church or the world the wheel of the hamster cage runs round and round and we seem to get no further.
Ps 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.
Pastor Dale
Sermon nuggets Thurs Feb 12
Eccl 2:22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
Reflections on Worry
I remember reading the story of one pastor who felt his main job was to be a servant to his people. He was run ragged and felt tremendous guilt over his increasing resentment of the very people he wanted to serve. He was getting phone calls up to 4 a day by a particular lady who expected him to be her errant boy. She demanded that he take her shopping each week because that was what the former pastor did. She wanted him to pick up her relatives from the airport. Finally when she called to have him help wrap her Christmas packages because that was the other pastor did he put his foot down. He worried he was not doing a good job as a pastor when he was seeking to live up to the expectations of all his people. His worries and over work were headed for burn out. He never felt he was doing a good enough job.
Now there is increased worry over losing jobs. The economy has caused great worry among the workforce also bit resulting in increased performance so people will not lose their jobs. When the competition is greater people are sticking to jobs they do not like and doing them better so they don’t get laid off. When cut backs are made it is easier now for employers to let go of the ones who are least productive and the blame goes to the bad economy. Outsourcing also gives higher paying jobs to countries like India which accomplishes the same work for a fraction of the pay.
I was aware of a successful engineer laid off from work. He was too embarrassed to tell any of his friends. Initially he didn't want even his wife and kids to know. To begin with he left the house and came home at the normal time, but spent his time looking for work until his wife found out. He certainly was too embarrassed to share this news with those in his church. Because he didn't work and couldn't provide for his family, he saw himself as failure and lost his self-worth. He had a hard time living with himself because so many men only find value in their labor, not in their life.
For lots of worry is really wrapped up in pride. Pride says we want to be self sufficient, and not depend on anyone else. Pride doesn't want to have the pity of other people. What finally brought this engineer to his senses was someone in his church did commit suicide because he didn't have a job and thought no one would understand. The place where there should be healing is the hardest place to put down our pride.
Perfectionists worry a lot. They have to have everything just right in their work. The problems come when they cannot do their work perfectly or make common mistake. There is increased anxiety and worry and Solomon understood that thousands of years before. Things do not bring satisfaction.
One worry of Solomon that he mentions is the fact that you work so hard to accomplish your goals, but after you reach them then what? There is the problem with others, fools, wrecking what you worked so hard to achieve. “Why bother?”, he asks in frustration.
When the main focus of our attention is on work it is no longer pleasurable but we become a slave to our anxieties and our worries, most of which we can do little about. Solomon reflected on this whirlwind of activity and decided changes need to be made. He was focusing on the wrong things and was miserable.
How do you look upon your work? Are you at peace with what you do and are doing? What worries you? What alternatives are there for your worries?
Pastor Dale
Sermon nuggets Fri. Feb 13
Verses- Eccl 2:24-26 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?
To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Reflecting on Worth of Work
Whether you are seeking education, or pleasure, or work, the answer to fulfillment is found in Christ. Enjoyment of all things comes from God. Solomon tells us if we think we will have lasting enjoyment from our job that will soon fade away. But when we surrender ourselves to God's desires then enjoyment is gift from God, just like salvation is a gift. What happens on the inside makes a difference. Work, pleasure, and whatever possessions we might have can be enjoyed or not enjoyed depending on our obedience and perception of what God has called us to be and to do.
Man's work can make of him a slave, and lead him to an early grave, but if he waits upon the Lord, His labors bring him great reward. The man who recognizes all he has comes from the hand of God can partake of the simple lifestyle with the grateful heart. Even menial work can have significance.
God gifts to man are basic life functions; to eat, drink and find satisfaction in work. The contrast of the life of the sinner and the life of the godly presented here reflects this crucial dimension-A dynamic relationship with a living, loving God. The workaholic has no time for spouse, children, friend, let alone God, but the godly person makes his or her first priority to know God. When we know Him we have a new alternatives and new ways of understanding life. We have a new ways of relating to our work.
What are the simple pleasures? The first factor is to be able to eat and drink. When was the last time you enjoyed a meal? Psychologists have observed that many people who experience anxiety eat quickly, not enjoying their food and finding it tasteless. More acute anxiety may lead to not eating at all. Some of your biggest tycoons have such ulcer problems they live on mile, raw eggs and Maalox. Others overeat when anxious and worry.
The other simple pleasure is to find satisfaction in work. Are you enjoying your work? Do you realize that God can bless you in the moment by moment aspects of your labors? The capitalist work ethic makes a god of productivity while ignoring the personal impact. Do you believe God gave you the job that you now have? Are you using it to bring his kingdom light into your employment or with the people? Is God directing you to a different job? Ecclesiastes tells us that not our works or performance, but our relationship to God is what pleases him. When a person seeks that relationship then God grants wisdom, knowledge, and happiness.
Some people are so busy learning the tricks of the trade that they don't learn the trade. Our purpose is found in I Cor 10:31 so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." History has shown when people are saved from sin by Jesus Christ, it affects their whole life and witness even to those who are their employers and employees.
God has ordained work, even though sin has flawed it. God has ordained work to meet our needs. It is not always easy. But honest labor can be fulfilling if seen as a gift from Him.
Many retired folks find greater enjoyment in volunteer work since their financial needs are met. They are able to give of themselves in new ways to the Lord, family, church and God. There is a renewed joy in the accomplishments as God directs interest and gifts with his Kingdom.
If you let God set up your schedule how would your days change? How would that affect your life at work, at home and at church as well as your recreation?
Pastor Dale.
