Work Choices: Are You Satisfied? - Part 1

So many people detest their work and yearn for an opportunity to make changes. Others shift the emphasis from work to leisure because work fails to  provide satisfaction. Some individuals in their mid-life years seek change by taking dangerous risks because of disappointment and burn-out with their work.

In Luke 12:16-21 Jesus conveys a story about a farmer who became wealthy, but because of a misguided attitude toward work and leisure, he failed to reap the harvest of his labor. Work and leisure fail to bring satisfaction and meaning when God is excluded from our choices. God's desire is to be included so we can feel blessed and enriched by him.

Permit yourself to see work as God's gift and as an avenue for expressing your love to Christ Jesus. He not only saves us from our sins and but saves us from negative attitudes that ruin our joy and happiness. Ecclesiastes 2:26 is instructive. "To the one who pleases God, he gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness." Seek to please God with all your heart.  

Treasure Hunting - Part 1

As I was having lunch, it was easy to hear the conversation next to me because the tables were close together. One man asked another, "What really matters to you?" He was challenging this person to face whatever had pushed him into becoming so self-absorbed that he was immune to what was eternal. Did the man care for anything other than himself?

Self-deception evolves into self-absorption, which is the ultimate in self-betrayal, because it leads to impoverishment of the self and soul. To betray oneself is to become so obsessed with laying up treasures here on earth, there is no time or energy to care for your own soul or the souls of others who love and care for you.

Productive change means altering your attitude about what's important. Jesus questions each of us. "What reward is there in winning the world only to lose your soul?" A better way is to turn from self-absorption and begin laying up treasures in heaven, which means to care for the souls of others. Jesus helps you reach this objective as it becomes your commitment.  

Uncertainty to Assurance: Giving and Gaining - Part 1

The account of the rich ruler in Luke 18 is important for all people regardless of wealth, power, or position. Possessions were not enough to provide lasting fulfillment. This man was seeking assurance that success and wealth could not generate. He realized that success was not enough to sustain indefinitely a sense of joy and peace.  

          This individual was standing at a crossroad in need of change. He looked to Jesus for direction. When Jesus told him to give away all he possessed to the poor and follow him, he became very sad because that was a choice he refused to make. He failed to understand that all his talents and gifts, his wealth and power came from God.

          Your hope for eternal life and immortality comes from what you can give away, primarily giving your life to Christ Jesus, then following him. God intended for you to give to the next generation and to others your knowledge and wisdom, your love and faith that were God's gifts to you. Jesus said this was laying up treasures and wealth in heaven.  

Choosing a New Perspective - Part 3

Losing perspective on the purpose and direction of one's life often happens during what is known as mid-life. The majority of individuals have skills that will sustain them throughout adulthood to insure productivity until retirement, but there are phases of life when the future may seem uncertain. This uncertainty and doubt may create anxiety or even depression.

Moving into mid-life sometimes means experiencing an identity crisis often associated with the loss of youthful looks and energy. Healthy change may mean obtaining a new perspective on what to do with the skills, knowledge, and wisdom - both learned and given by God's grace and kindness. Most everyone realizes that hoarding these treasures is unrewarding and unfulfilling.

Luke 18:18 relates a story about a man of position and prestige who came to Jesus concerned about his immortality and asked how to be assured of eternal life. The choice Jesus gave him was to give away what is transient and follow him. He would then have peace and assurance. Jesus does not ask us to do what is impossible, but what promises abundant life.