Day 3- Seeing Work From God’s Perspective

Bible Reading: Matthew 25:14-30, Colossians 3:23-24 

Love propels people to action.

God’s love for humanity propelled Him to provide salvation for us through the works of Jesus. 

Doing good works for God should not ideally be based on what we can receive from God in return. God’s love would not be unconditional if it was based solely on the quantity of work that we do for Him. Our desire to do good works and be consistent in doing good works should be inspired from a place of intense love and deep gratitude to God. 

Striving to do good works based only on what you will receive from God in return could lead to frustration and burnout; especially when you realize that the greatest reward that we will receive from Him isn’t found in the here and now. This isn’t to say that God cannot or will not give you rewards here on earth, it just means that the rewards that He blesses us with here on earth are simply teasers or tips of the iceberg for the greatest reward that is to come- a crown of glory while reigning with Him for all eternity. 

The Bible encourages us ‘not to grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap if we do not give in’, because there is the understanding that good works, if done with the wrong motivation, would lead to discouragement. 

What then can we understand about God’s perspective of work? 

• Our Work is Based On Ability: In our reading today in Matthew 25:15, we see the parable of the ten talents, and the master distributing said talents ‘’each according to his own ability’’. This means that God ascribes work to individuals based on our capacity and proficiency at a particular point in time, and gives rewards based on what we are able to do with what He places in our hands, not what we wish He placed in our hands.
• Our Work Breeds Abundance: God doesn’t just reward us for the good works that we do in His name just for the sake of it, but He blesses the works in our hands so that it can multiply and give us more room to do things for Him. ‘’…to him who has, more will be given to him…’’
   
• Our Work Brings Awareness: Receiving work from God makes us aware that we have a very competent Father who never sleeps nor slumbers, and takes cognizance of our labour of love, even if men don’t see it. It’s comforting to know that no matter the quantity of the work you do for God’s glory, there will always be a reward attached to it from God.
• God Blesses Attitude: God does not just reward the works of our hands, but the heart behind the work. In Matthew 25, we see the master of the talents rewarding the diligent servants by calling them good and faithful; and chastising the lazy servant by calling him wicked and lazy (Matthew 25: 20-26). This implies that the master understands that there is first a state of the heart that then influences the works of the hands. The heart and the hands behind the work are not mutually exclusive, but depend on one another to make up the ‘’good works’’ that God so beautifully rewards.

  As God’s stewards, no matter what is in our hands to do, we first do it because we know that we have a good Father who places good works in our hands because He loves us (Colossians 3:17). That in itself is a great encouragement to work.

  Something To Pray
  Father, help me to always put in my best effort, knowing that my work belongs to you, and not men. Colossians 3:23-24

  Inioluwa Oyegbola
  Inioluwa volunteers with the Bible Engagement Team at Sycamore