BIBLE PASSAGE:
God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows
to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the
one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will
reap a harvest if we do not give up…let us do good to all people,
especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
(Galatians 6:7-10)
MEDITATION:
How do you feel about serving others? Do you look forward to helping
others, or do you expect them to help you? Are you a ‘giver’ or ‘taker’?
Are you a ‘producer’ or a ‘consumer’? When it comes to serving others,
no one can make you serve them well. Why? Because great service is a
choice.
When you awake each morning, your choices can impact your entire day.
If you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you’ll rarely
disappoint yourself. As followers of Jesus, instead of complaining, we
should look for ways to differentiate ourselves from others. How can
we do that? One way is by being a caring, unselfish, good servant.
Every day we have an opportunity to choose between being a ‘duck’
or an ‘eagle’. Ducks walk around quacking (complaining?), but eagles
soar above the crowd. Which one seems more exciting to you? Eagles
are reaching new heights, but ducks are content with ‘status quo’.
Our attitudes can set us on the course of a bad day, a good day,
or a great day. Which one will we choose?
Would you prefer to go through the day looking for everything that is
wrong, or would you rather discover ways to raise the spirits of others?
God’s Word says, that if we do not get tired of doing good, then we will
reap a harvest of eternal life!
The scriptures tell us to focus on doing good to all people, and to not
overlook other believers. If another believer is actively serving the
Lord, what can you do to brighten their day, and encourage them
to continue with their faithful service?
Are we inwardly, or outwardly focused. If we remain inwardly
focused, then we are stuck in a rut of ‘me first’. But if we are
outwardly focused, then we are mimicking the characteristics
of Jesus, aren’t we? Although the plate of Jesus was filled with
fulfilling God’s Will, He still took the time to think about others.
Focusing on doing good is an asset even in the workplace. When
we have a good attitude, we will take pride in doing a good job
and we will look for opportunities to help others, even if we don’t
particularly like the demands of our job.
As an example:
There was a cab driver who made sure his taxi was clean and
polished to a bright shine. He was always smartly dressed in
a white shirt and black tie and wore freshly pressed slacks.
Whenever he picked up a passenger,
He would hand them a card that said,
“I’m Wally, your driver. While I’m loading your bags in
the trunk I’d like for you to read my mission statement.”
His Mission Statement:
To get my customers to their destination in the quickest,
safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.
As he slid behind the wheel, He would say,
“Would you like a cup of coffee? I have
a thermos of regular and one of decaf.”
He also had a cooler with soft drinks available for the passengers.
If the passenger wanted to read, he had The Wall Street Journal,
Time, Sports Illustrated, and USA Today available.
For the passenger’s listening pleasure,
he would hand them a laminated card that read,
“These are the stations I get and the music
they play, if you’d like to listen to the radio.”
How did his ‘sowing choice’ affect his workdays? Not only did
he look forward to making others smile and have a pleasant
day, but he doubled his income the first year and quadrupled
it the next year.
He didn’t always provide this type of service to his customers.
He used to be just like all the other cabbies. His cab was dirty,
he was unfriendly and his passengers were unhappy.
What a difference it made in him and his passengers when he
decided to make a different choice. He changed from being a
‘duck’ to becoming an ‘eagle’. He differentiated himself from
others and he reaped the rewards for his efforts. When word
got out about the service he offered, more customers started
requesting him over the other cabbies.
Whatever we sow determines the harvest we will reap. If a farmer sows
cotton, then he can’t expect to harvest corn. If we sow to please our sinful
nature, then we cannot expect eternal life (that’s what God’s Word says).
But if we sow to please the Spirit, then we can avoid reaping destruction.
When the scriptures say, “God cannot be mocked”, we are assured
that His Word is true. We WILL reap what we sow; we can depend
on it because God has said that is what will happen.
ACTION:
Are you more concerned with pleasing yourself than encouraging others?
Think about this:
When you choose to encourage others, you will find that you
will also please yourself. Why? Because you will feel better
about yourself when you are helping and encouraging others.
How about your own choices: what are you sowing? Are you sowing
to reap a good harvest, or a bad one? Review the benefits of sowing
good, and the hazards of sowing bad. If your harvest is not what you
want it to be, then decide to start sow differently. Lastly, think about
what you are sowing; are you sowing to please yourself, or to please
the Spirit?
What legacy will we leave as a follower of Jesus?
“One generation shall commend your works
to another, and shall declare your mighty acts”
(Psalm 145:4)
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, if I am not sowing to please the Spirit, then
help me to be more like Jesus in the choices I make. Give me a
new attitude as I awaken each day. Teach me to be less selfish
and to look for ways to encourage and lift the spirits of others.
Instill in me a desire for a new attitude that will point others
to Jesus, and not to myself. I look forward to soaring like an
eagle as You sanctify me to become a little more like Jesus!”
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