Worth It

January 4, 2019

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV

A study was done repeatedly to measure the effects of the result of motivation. The researchers offered prime pay to workers to dig a ditch and then fill it up with the dirt and do it again and again. The alternate job was that they could build a house, but for significantly less money. Most workers immediately went for the high paying but insignificant, worthless job of digging the ditch. They didn’t think results would matter, only the money. However, before long most of the workers quit and transferred their energies to working on a house that they could see rise in front of them as they labored. They found out they were far more motivated for the long haul for results than for money.

Our work for the Lord is so significant and valuable. Even though by the standards of the world and day to day labor, what we are doing may seem to pay far less than what others who are not following Christ are receiving, God assures us that OUR work is not in vain. Everything we work for in this life disappears. The moment we take our last breath, it is over. The only thing that lasts forever is the Word of God and people. That’s where our energies need to be directed because that work will always bear fruit that lasts.

When you get a true idea of eternity and the lasting results of everything you do for the Lord and the people for whom Jesus died, your motivation will soar. That is why Paul and the centuries of people like him have been able to endure persecution, hardship, and slander. They knew payday was coming, and it would be worth it.

When your why is anchored in eternity, you will stay with it. You know your labor in the Lord will not be in vain.

• Where is your why anchored? Does an evaluation of your life show you are motivated by the eternal or the temporary?
• Talk to God about your WHY for 2019.