Labor with your Whole Heart

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV

In a story titled “After 2 Straight DNFs, Tom Evans Overcomes Blizzard-Like Conditions to Win First UTMB Title” the writer said “Turns out, the third time running the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc certainly was the charm for Tom Evans, even if the weather was decidedly not. The 33-year-old former British army officer battled rain, snow, and sleet, a strong field of international runners, and about 31,000 feet of elevation gain and loss on the weather-shortened 103-mile race around the Mont Blanc massif on Friday and Saturday, en route to winning in 19 hours, 18 minutes and 58 seconds. Following his win, Tom said “My goals today weren’t to win. My goals today were to be able to look at myself in the mirror after the race and be proud of what I’ve achieved.”

And, you know, in honor of the celebration of Labor Day today, you and I would do well to give thanks as we rest from our work and then stop to consider whether our goals honor the Lord, which must always be a higher objective than winning. You see, at the end of the day, our bodies are not our own. The Bible is very clear that we were “bought at a price” and, in light of that amazing truth (that God gave up his one and only Son to redeem us from our sins), are to “honor God” with our bodies, acknowledging that we belong to Him.

 

“set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 2 Corinthians 1:22 NIV

In fact, you and I not only belong to the Lord but we “are temples of the Holy Spirit” whom we have received from God! Do the blessings abound or what? God not only redeemed us but “set his seal of ownership on us” putting his Spirit in “our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” How can we not, then, honor God with our bodies since they belong to Him? This means we have no right to be idle with, or wasteful of, what belongs to Him… which is our time, talents, and treasures. Our bodies should be put to use glorifying God using all that He has given us—something that should be our biggest goal when choosing both our vocations and our hobbies.

 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

And, as new creations in Christ, you can be sure that our acts of honor and worship (and that’s what every pursuit of ours ultimately is) should not be done half-heartedly but with our whole hearts since to give God anything less than our best is a sin. Spurgeon said it this way, “Your body was a willing horse when it was in the service of the devil, let it not be a sluggish hack now that it draws the chariot of Christ.”

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters," Colossians 3:23 NIV

So, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart my friend, as working for the Lord, and not for human masters. Choose pursuits that honor God and use all that He has given you in service back to Him. Can you just imagine how many people would be inspired to seek the Lord if every believer did that?  

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that we are not our own so that we would make the best use of our time, talents, and treasures… working to produce fruit that will have eternal value. Lord, help us to see that everything we do is to be done to honor You and to inspire the lost to seek You. Show us areas in our life God that fail to live up to that standard and help us to work hard so that we would be able to look at ourselves in the mirror at the end of each day and smile… knowing that our day was spent in service to you. Help us to understand that winning in life means living a life that has eternal value. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 
Happy Running!