Being a Blessing & Being Blessed

Chapters twenty-nine and thirty of Genesis list the birth order of twelve of Jacob’s thirteen children. Leah gave birth to six boys and one girl. Leah's maidservant Zilpah gave birth to two more sons while Rachel's maidservant Bilhah also had two sons. Rachel had one son she named Joseph.

The jealousy Rachel had for Leah ended with the birth of Joseph. Later Rachel would die immediately after giving birth to Benjamin. Twenty years had passed since Jacob came to live with his uncle. Now it was time to return home and make peace with his brother Esau. He knew that making amends for his deceitful dealings with his brother was a necessity.

Jacob was a source of blessing to his father-in-law by giving him thirteen grandchildren and by increasing his wealth many times over. Of course, the father-in-law wanted Jacob to stay with him because he was such a blessing. The lesson to learn from Jacob’s experience is that as you serve and bless others, God will bless you.

Work Choices: Are You Satisfied? - Part 3

Some people hate their work and feel sick just thinking about it. Others find meaning and purpose doing any type of work. For them, wasting time is out of the question. However don't confuse relaxation with idleness, for leisure is required for healthy living. Ecclesiastes 10:18 reminds us that laziness produces trouble. "If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the roof leaks."

If you despise your work, trouble and hardship may show its face unless you adjust your attitude. You can choose to change by allowing yourself to develop a positive attitude toward your work. You can refuse to be negative by choosing to see your work as God's provision for you and your family. Ask yourself, "How can I be helpful to those I work with each day?"

Pay attention to your co-workers. Determine to be a role model of the love and compassion God has shown you through Christ Jesus. He endured the Cross to save you and give you a life worth living. Would you begin demonstrating this attitude and see what God will do with it? 

Re-creating Job Satisfaction - Part 1

If you were honest, how would you gauge your attitude toward the work that you do each day? What has influenced you in forming this attitude? A large percentage of the work force consider changing employment to find more fulfillment and job satisfaction. Do you think work is one of the most important dimensions of life, but would rather not be doing it?

The uncertainty of work and the changing attitudes and values placed on work create anxiety and stress for all concerned. What helps determine the importance of work and whether it's meaningful is decided by the influence you believe it has on others and if you believe you're making a positive contribution to the lives of others.

God put in everyone's heart a desire to be creative and to feel blessed in doing so. When you share your wisdom and knowledge, it actually reduces stress and anxiety. Proverbs 29:9 is an encouragement. "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares what he has with others." Will you let this be seen in your attitude and actions?

Securing Contentment Through Generosity - Part 3

Most individuals are innately a bit self-centered. While it's normal to take care of yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually, most people retain a healthy concern for others. God generously gives us a measure of love and wisdom, which become the hallmark for making life joyful and peaceful. The way in which these attributes get expressed depends on our individual choices.

In the parable of the sower, seeds fall on four different types of soil. These soils represent a person's availability to receive the message from God's word. How much joy and peace we experience depends on the depth God's word is allowed to penetrate our heart and soul. Seeds fail to produce when the soil is shallow or when it's polluted and stifles the plants.

The seeds God sows in you are meant to produce love for others and wisdom for living. This takes place when we become vulnerable to God's purpose and plan for our days upon the earth. Let love and wisdom be the soil that covers your skills and abilities so these will generate the bountiful harvest to which Jesus refers in his parable.  

Securing Contentment Through Generosity - Part 2

A young man in his mid-thirties left an extremely lucrative and successful business to take a position in another company that appeared more challenging. He had made enough money to give him a cushion for several months. Two years after leaving his former employment, he's back in town looking for something else. He is still looking for contentment.

By mid-life, most everyone begins to realize some dreams are not going to become reality. It may be that some people are so inflexible that dreams wither and die from lack of hope or like plants with little or no roots. In Jesus' parable of the four soils a farmer sowed his seeds in his field. Some seeds fell among thorns, which choked the tender young plants.

We must continually evaluate what we want to achieve with the gifts and talents God has entrusted to us. Failure to share them will suffocate you like thorns that choke plants. Listen to Proverbs 11:25. "A generous man prospers; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." As you share with others, you discover God's purpose for your life.  

Work: A Gift from God - Part 2

Most people go to college to qualify for a career that provides great benefits. Those who graduate usually achieve their objective. Should money be the major reason for working? Most everyone would say, "I work to make a living, to provide for my family." To be able to work, to express and exercise your full range of talents is indeed a privilege and a blessing from God.

Creative work is God's gift of love to you. However when the gift of work is used primarily for self-gain, saturation begins to dulls your sense of appreciation for what's been achieved. Saturation is indicative of the need to redefine what's important. Using the gift of work for the betterment others and the Kingdom of God avoids self-absorption and stagnation.

Accepting work as God's gift is a step toward making essential changes. Work that benefits others produces joyful feelings of accomplishment. It pleases God, as Hebrews 6:10 explains. "He will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you help his people and continue to help them." This is indeed a godly choice.  

Work: A Gift from God - Part 1

The wonder of the human species is that we're perpetually in transition, even if changes exist unnoticed. This may be difficult to accept for those who appreciate constancy. God created us for transitions even though change can be disruptive. For those who have reached mid-life, disruptions may be a frequent occurrence whether at work, in the family, or in personal lives.

Turmoil is a time to make needed changes that were previously overlooked. What would you say personally defines you at this stage of your life? What are your major concerns? Jesus asked a related question in Matthew 6:25, "Is not life more important than food for the body, more important than clothes?" How could this question be re-framed for today?

Change could include redefining what you want to pass on to others who observe you, listen to what you say, or use you as a model for their lives. Jesus gave us this guideline: "Seek first God's Kingdom and his righteousness and all these other things will be given to you." This might be a difficult choice, but in reality there could be no better decision.  

Productivity vs. Boredom: Sowing and Reaping - Part 2

When people hit mid-life, that period of life say from thirty-five to fifty, daily routines tend to dominate one's waking hours. Perhaps some relief comes by going to church, seeing friends there, and engaging in Bible study and worship with these friends. Even these gratifying choices may lose their luster and be relegated to just another routine.

I agree that marriage, parenting, and work require routines, but God created us for change. He intends for us to push out the boundaries of our knowledge as well as our wisdom. When you cease to test these boundaries, you're in danger of being vulnerable to stagnation or self-absorption, which is indicative of potential isolation and loneliness.

Asking God for insight on how to modify your routines is asking for change. Contributing to the next generation's wisdom for living in an insecure world can be your motive. Proverbs 11:24 offers hope and a warning: "One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds and comes to poverty." Choosing to be a blessing to others pleases God.