It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
There’s a scripture I never understood as a child:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. – Colossians 3:23-24 NIV
I always thought, “What is so bad about working for a human boss? At least a human boss pays.” In my mind, work for the Lord meant volunteering at church on Sunday.🤭
Then, as I grew older and experienced my first terrible boss, I understood that this scripture was about how we don’t work for human approval or reward, but that we do everything, always with complete conviction, out of love for God, even in our regular jobs.
It's never a bad idea to check your motives for doing something. When reading the story of David and Goliath, it becomes painfully clear that David’s motives are not entirely pure.
He overhears the soldiers talking about a reward, and he starts asking around. Twice, he asks others, “What will be done for the man who kills the Philistine?” They told him, “The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.” (1 Samuel 17:25-30 NIV).
Maybe it was the dollar signs in David’s eyes or perhaps the prospect of marrying a princess, but it is safe to say that David was clearly obsessed and, at least in part, motivated by this great reward.
What never ceases to amaze me is that God uses people, even in spite of their obvious flaws.
Yes, David’s weaknesses catch up with him later in life; we’ll get into that tomorrow. But at this point, despite his immaturity, God uses David’s courage and bravery in what is possibly the greatest battle recorded in the Bible.
Don’t ever disqualify yourself to be used by God because you feel you’re “not there yet” or because there are still areas in your life you need to work on.
