Obedience vs. Convenience

Work. Responsibilities. Labor. Repetitive. Exhaustion. Entitlement. Convenience. Laziness. Conviction. Commitments… Rinse & Repeat.

On the drive home this morning, God had me reflecting on my desire for convenience and this thing called work. What my work looks like in my life (especially during tax season). My family’s life (how my work can sometimes take me away from them). My friends’ lives (their work often looks so much different than mine). And how I want to be an image bearer of the King to reflect His beauty in my work.

When I got to my computer, I wrote down the first words that came to mind during this reflection. As I’m looking over these words again, I can see the influence of culture coloring my thoughts; however, this culture is not what I want to be representing in my day-to-day routine.

I want to represent the One who knit me together, intentional with His design of me, who knew from the beginning that I would have work commitments in this stage of my life that would sometimes seem to conflict, and compete for my attention.

A good friend recently recommended another great podcast to fill my drivetime with godly truth and encouragement. One of the moms I was listening to said something that I loved.

“Diligence makes room for rest.” (Risen Motherhood podcast)

This concept is often what motivates me to keep pushing through the hard stuff during the day, to get my accounting and writing and housework done well, so that by the end of the day, I can rest…

with my knitting, of course!!

This is also why taking a sabbath is so meaningful to me. God modeled for us in His creation that rest is necessary. It’s a blessing, not a waste of time. Looking forward to that day of rest at the end of my week fuels my determination to get the hard work done faithfully during the week. (You can read more on the topic from one of our pastors at Grace Fellowship Church in his book – Enjoying God’s Gift of Sabbath)

Without the appropriate perspective of work, though, it’s too easy to let the world’s view creep into our line of sight. We can be tempted to feel entitled to slack off after a long day at the office, or when our spouse gets home from work after we’ve been wrangling the kids all day. “I’ve worked so hard, I deserve a break.”

Yes, working hard is tiring.

It feels draining and exhausting, and sometimes even meaningless. Whether your work is sitting at a computer crunching numbers, swinging a hammer and pouring cement, homeschooling your kids, fitness coaching, writing weekly sermons, running your home… it can all feel repetitive and burdensome at times.

And sometimes it just feels more convenient to skip it, and not care. (That’s why my vegetable gardens were basically neglected all last year!)

The thing is, when we opt for convenience and allow ourselves to be lazy, it becomes an obedience issue. God created work in His perfect design for humanity, and we are called to be obedient to His will for our lives, which includes work.

Before sin entered the world in The Fall, when mankind was still living in perfect paradise the way God created the world to be, Adam worked the land and cared for the animals.

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Genesis 2:15 ESV

Even before humans were working, God himself worked to create the world.

“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”
Genesis 2:2-3 ESV

So if work, commitments, and responsibilities are God’s design for our lives, doesn’t it make sense that He would supply the resources we need, including energy, endurance and strength to be able accomplish those jobs?

I believe there is a certain fulfillment that God provides when we are working to represent Him. There is beauty in every kind of work, because we are His image bearers doing the work which displays God’s beautiful design.

But remember, His full design includes the rest at the end of the work. When we are living in line with His model from creation, enjoying the rest and renewal at the end of the labor and work, laziness for the sake of convenience isn’t really a temptation anymore.

We don’t need an excuse to be lazy, because God gave us the gift of rest in His original plan for our wellbeing.

In the long run, the hard work pays off. The reward is sharing in God’s beauty with a renewed, fulfilled spirit as a result of obedience.

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