Who am I working for?

Colossians 3:23-24
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

This piece of scripture is so difficult for me to actually live out. The Bible says whatever you work for, if it’s not the Lord, is an idol. That’s a tough one to swallow. It makes me think that often times I am actually practicing idolatry. This is something I struggle with daily. I look for the approval of man, when God’s approval is all that is needed. I could just kick myself when I think about working for myself or others and putting God in the backseat.

This all comes full circle for me after Thursday of last week and reading this passage today. I often chase so often the big stuff in my work. I get frustrated easily when I walk into a school and they aren’t ready to purchase 100 projectors that day. It hit me like a train on Thursday. As I visited school after school, I was asked about cables and other small equipment. Nothing big, nothing expensive, and nothing I could actually make any kind of money on. As I started to get frustrated at the day, I was reminded by God that maybe, just maybe, this is why I do what I do. Maybe I’m the one that needs to sell them this kind of stuff and just be happy that I have the ability to come out to them and cater to even the smallest of needs. I started thinking this is what we do as a company. This is why we exist. Why has it taken me so long to realize it and accept it and be happy with it? Sure, I can continue to chase the big stuff when it comes up, but the small stuff is why I’m here doing what I do. I can break it down and start thinking about the little money I will make off of these items, or I can realize that is why our company exists and that is what I’m here for. Since God is in charge of our finances, it doesn’t matter what I sell whether it be large or small. God tells me all the time, give me your first fruits and I'll take care of the rest.

I want to work for you God, not myself and certainly not man. I’ll continue to struggle with this always trying to gain approval from this person or the next, but ultimately I know who I am working for even when I don’t always live it. I have to turn back to Colossians 3:23-24 every once in a while and remind myself. My prayer is that God tap me on the shoulder and remind me who I am working for in this life. Thank you Father.