October 27
Work
Worth Doing
"Whatever you do, do it with all your heart. Do it as if you were doing it for the Lord. In the place of the dead, there isn’t any work. There isn’t any planning. There isn’t any knowledge. There isn’t any wisdom."
Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NIrV)
Gary’s job was mind-numbing. Every day, he scanned, packed, and stacked boxes in a massive warehouse, the same routine over and over. The pay was average, the supervisors were annoying, and the work felt pointless. So, Gary did as little as possible.
“Why should I break my back for this place?” he told his coworkers. “They don’t pay me enough to care.”
He mastered the art of disappearing—long cigarette breaks, lingering in the restroom, stretching his lunch by ten, fifteen, sometimes twenty minutes. When no one was looking, he’d sneak out early, slipping past the security cameras like a ghost.
On weekends, it was different. At the gym, he pushed himself hard. At parties, he had energy to burn. He was saving his effort for things that mattered.
Then came the meeting.
A supervisor had caught on. “We’ve noticed some... discrepancies in your hours,” she said, tapping a report. “You’re consistently missing work time. We need you to step up, or we’ll have to reconsider your position here.”
Gary nodded, feigning concern, but inside, he was furious. They barely paid him minimum wage, and they wanted more?
That evening, he vented to his friend, Marcus, who worked construction. “They don’t deserve my effort. I do the bare minimum, and they’re still mad.”
Marcus frowned. “Who are you really working for, Gary?”
“What?”
“You think your boss deserves your best? Maybe not. But what about God?”
Gary scoffed. “God doesn’t care how I pack boxes.”
Marcus leaned forward. “The Bible says whatever you do, do it with all your heart—like you're doing it for Him. It’s not about the job. It’s about who you are while you do it.”
That stuck with Gary. That night, as he lay in bed, he whispered a hesitant prayer.
“God… I don’t love this job. I don’t even like it. But if You want me to change, show me how.”
The next morning, he clocked in as usual. The warehouse was the same. The job was the same. But something was different.
Gary didn’t take an extra break that day. He still didn’t love the work, but for the first time, he did it right. And though no one else noticed, deep down, he felt something strange—pride. Not in the job, but in the fact that he had done it well.
It wasn’t an instant change. It wasn’t easy. But slowly, Gary started working—not for his boss, not for the paycheck, but for something bigger.
And that made all the difference.
Prayer:
Lord,
It’s easy to look at work and see nothing but frustration and routine.
But You call me to do everything with my whole heart, as if I’m doing it for You.
Help me to find purpose in my work, even when it feels small.
Give me integrity when no one is watching and perseverance when I want to give up.
Transform my attitude, Lord, and teach me to work not for human approval, but for You.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
