Wholehearted
written at Thursday, May 13, 2010For those who were waiting for an update, here it is! Sorry for my notable absence from blogging the past few days, things have been really busy! On top of the general day and life at University, the last few days have been a time of self-examination and thought about what life in business will be like.
I asked myself a few questions, which arose while participating in various business events, seminars, lectures and interactions. Some questions were, how can I honour the Lord in the business place? Profits, what is the correct way to view profits? How can I be sincere in business, is corporate social responsibility just a façade? Am I really doing it to honour the Lord, or am I just putting up a front to win the favour of my boss so I can get that promotion I so long for?
Eventually, I will be thrust into the corporate environment and I will at some point have to face these issues that have crossed my mind or have experienced as I go about the daily ins and outs of the corporate life. It is easy to think about it, but putting it to practice is an entirely different thing altogether.
Today's study of Ephesians 6:7 was relevant to me. It said, "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men." Then it struck me, "Gosh I can really think of some situations where I have done things for my own ends or to simply please people rather than serving the Lord wholeheartedly." So we were then led to some passages from 1 Samuel 17, we were brought through the account of David and Goliath.
The king was going to give great wealth and his daughter's hand in marriage to the man who kills Goliath. Furthermore, to add to the rewards, his father's family would be exempt from tax in Israel. What an attractive deal. In fact, David asked twice what the rewards were! Interesting. But I think the focus is not on the fact that he was eyeing the rewards, rather what his focus was. Honouring the Lord. Prime example would be the verse below...
1 Samuel 17:46-47
"This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD'S and He will give you into our hands."
The passage above helped me with the questions I was asking myself. There is nothing wrong with making profits, making money, earning rewards for what you have done, I think this verse ties in very well with what Ephesians 6 has mentioned about serving the Lord wholeheartedly. Sometimes, in the motive of money, recognition or acceptance, we conduct ourselves in a manner to simply glorify ourselves. These passages tell me that it's important to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, whether the rewards come, or doesn't, it shouldn't matter, because your heart desires to please the Lord and do His will. I pray that I will serve the Lord wholeheartedly...
As hard as it may be at times.
"This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD'S and He will give you into our hands."
The passage above helped me with the questions I was asking myself. There is nothing wrong with making profits, making money, earning rewards for what you have done, I think this verse ties in very well with what Ephesians 6 has mentioned about serving the Lord wholeheartedly. Sometimes, in the motive of money, recognition or acceptance, we conduct ourselves in a manner to simply glorify ourselves. These passages tell me that it's important to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, whether the rewards come, or doesn't, it shouldn't matter, because your heart desires to please the Lord and do His will. I pray that I will serve the Lord wholeheartedly...
As hard as it may be at times.
