I Hate Working
I sat twirling in an office chair, “So…” I stopped the chair and faced my friend, “What do you want to do when you grow up?”
“I’m going to retire when I’m 30, I hate working.”
“Oh come on,” I prompted, “but what are you going to do… like in the next 15 years?”
“Oh, nothing, review video games or something. Something that I don’t have to work at.”
I couldn’t believe my ears, I was sure he was kidding. That was the answer one of my friends gave me a couple years ago in regards to my question about his life plans. Needless to say, a little discussion ensued about how that was lazy and entirely unmanly, and how I couldn’t imagine anybody wanting to have such a lifestyle.
I know we’re all looking at eachother and shaking our heads like wise sages right now. “That’s so crazy! I mean, who would want to live like that?! (And what kind of girl would want to marry a guy like that?)” Crazy indeed. And of course we keep shaking our heads, slowly, back and forth, back and forth. We are sooooo much wiser.
Relative Success
But do we realize that this attitude is entirely natural to humans? Is it possible that my friend just had an overdose of it at an early age? Is it possible that we’re only better by a degree and not anywhere near what we ought to be? We settle back comfortably, and we work hard, and we’re sure we don’t have an attitude like that. We’re happy being a cut above somebody who wants to get fat, retire at 30, and get fatter. We’re better and we pride ourselves with that knowledge. It helps our self-worth to be better than somebody else.
But what are we gauging our success by? We feel the adrenaline rush as we pass all the cars, we smile as we think of what people will say. “WOW, that guy is fast.” But all that fun feeling of success crashes on us when we realize we were only passing parked cars. We were doing so much better than the rest of them, but were we doing our best?
Your Best: Wasted
Maybe we were, maybe our pedal was to the metal. Maybe we reached the glorious speed that very few ever reach. Or maybe, in real life, we reached the glorious heights of success, the medals, the honors, maybe we became the President of the United States. Maybe we did. Maybe we climbed Mount Everest. And then we reached the highest point. We were the example of success. But for what purpose?
Regardless of how high you climb, how far you go, how much you achieve, you can waste every bit of it. Your work ethic would be an example, you would be quoted, you would be honored. But, it could all be wasted. What makes the difference?
For what Purpose?
One of my favorite books in the Bible is Ecclesiastes. And yet it is one of the most discomforting books in the Bible. Everything good, everything right, everything we dream about, it is all vanity. Everything we can possibly do or (not do) in this life is listed off as vanity, vanity, and by the end of the book I’m frustrated. “What are we supposed to do then?! If that’s all vanity… why, that’s life! Life isn’t vain!”
But wait. Solomon isn’t saying that our life has to be vanity. In fact, life is far from vain. And He knows it, but there’s one key, one defining factor that makes the difference. In fact, we don’t hear about it until the last verse. And then, all he says is, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear [revere, honor, worship, glorify, etc.] God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecc 12:13 ESV
Is there something so magic in those words? Something that turns life from vanity to a worthwhile effort? There is. It’s where we focus our goals. If we’re living for anything other than God’s glory, if we’re living for any other reason than for His honor, if our goals are set on anything lower than His best… it’s all vanity.
Your Best for God’s Best
My friend seemed to have realized that. I think he read Ecclesiastes and missed the last verse. Maybe his attitude was, “Life is all vanity, so why should I do anything anyways!” But we’re much wiser, we don’t think like that. Or do we? When we think, “I’m good enough, at least I’m better than [name].” or, “Oh come on, why do you have to think I should be perfect?! I’m better than most people, and you still complain that I do things wrong.” We’re actually saying the same thing. We’re complacent creatures, we’re too willing to stay the way we are. But that’s dead wrong. The way we are is not the best we can be. God wants us to step up higher. He calls us to do things better. He doesn’t call us to a life of ease and comfort. He calls us to a life of daring obedience! He wants us to give every bit we have. He wants us to give Him the best.
So many people don’t realize that when we gave our hearts, that meant we gave God everything. It’s incredible that we will catch ourselves thinking, “I gave God my heart, He doesn’t want my energy too does He? God doesn’t want something like that, why, it’s only such a little bit compared to what He has!” Actually, God does want it. Even if it’s only a little bit. Even if you’re confined to a wheelchair, if you’re physically unable to do many things normal people can’t. God wants everything, for after all… God gave us His best. We forget, that God didn’t just love us, He lived out His love. He proved it at the cross when He gave up His only Son to die for me…
When He gave me the Best He had.
Something to discuss:
- How can we be sure that in living for the glory and honor of God we do not begin focusing on our own works?
- How can we stay humble when we are doing ‘great’ things.
- How can we realize that our best starts right where we are, at home, at work, etc. and not necessarily at the top of Mt. Everest?
Have more questions? Comment with them!
Hi David,
I have read your articles a couple of times before now and I must say that I’m impressed. I think it’s sad that teens/young adults waste all of their time and effort on video games, indecisiveness, and being cool with their friends instead of using that valuable time to work on growing up and serving the Lord. However, as you pointed out, I can’t really say that I don’t compare myself to the easy examples around me just to ease my mind that I’m “good” and not have to rise to a higher standard. So, you’ve given me something to think about for a while and improve
on. : )
In reply to your first two questions, If we’re truly living whole-heartedly for the Lord then it wouldn’t really be our works at all, since all good and great things come from Him. We’re just tools. Nothing can be done without Him. Our very breath is there because he allows it to be there. So to stay humble, simply think of what you would be without Him. You wouldn’t.
Thank you for that encouragement. I admit that I often struggle with thinking that “I may not be perfect but I’m way better than most people.” It is such an easy trap to fall into. I find it heartbreaking that we can so easily become proud and led astray from the humble example Christ set for us. Thanks for bringing it once again to my attention. I will have to pray that God will grant us as Christians humble hearts.
What a challenge…I know too often I’m failing to give my best to God…or to even care that I do. And to think He gave it ALL for me. Wow…what am I thinking. Thanks for the great post!
“God is love” Such a small phrase but what HUGE HUGE meaning!! When I realize the greatness of his love I can’t help but love back. To give him my all (though it’s not always easy). I believe that for us to better serve him we need to search out his love….ask for greater understanding just as Solomon asked for wisdom…...and then as God unfolds greater and greater understanding of his love towards us we find that we can’t help but do our best for him.
I think I’ve read this post 3 times today I (being human of course) could really identify with it. At tech I’m around so many kids who really don’t have much more than fiddling with video games as their future goals. “Yeah, I’m so much better than them, right?” Uh no. For one thing, this post pointed out to me once again my ever prideful self. I loved the example of the parked cars.
I struggle a lot with wanting to have a life just as meaningful as anybody else’s by accomplishing just as much as they do- especially when it comes to rebelutionary standards and achievements.
In reality, this is just me being prideful by focusing on what I can or can’t do, instead of focusing on Christ. So how do we keep our focus on Christ instead of self? Really diving into God’s Word consistently is one of the main keys to keeping focus. Renewing our minds and hearts daily with His Truth certainly keeps us humble! God’s really been working on me in this area. 
Thanks for the great post, David!
Living humbly for the glory of God is a challenge, and I think a key to doing this successfully is to distance ourselves from comparisons with other people and look only at the amazing example of Jesus Christ. It is a struggle, but Jesus is our strength. Comparisons with other people only encourage pride or discouragement.
[...] The Best You Have I sat twirling in an office chair. [...]
Isn’t it funny that we really DO think we are so much wiser than other people? It’s also funny we will be shaking our heads at those kinds of people who are lazy and don’t want to do anything when if we look at ourselves we’ll see we aren’t doing anything with our life either.
[...] Recently I wrote the article, “The Best You Have”, and I covered the topic of our efforts, our energy, and how the relates in God’s plan for success. You may ask me now, “How does giving God the best that I have change my life if all that matters is our walk with God?” I’m pretty sure that question was on somebody’s mind, because it was on mine, but there’s a simple answer. It is God’s will that we give him our best and our all, therefore, in my life this translates directly to a matter of obedience. Friend, if you’re not giving God everything, you’re missing out on so much. If you are, you’re missing out on nothing. When God has our life to work with, our best devoted to His glory, He can do awesome things. Friends, that’s success. [...]