Getting Back In Sync

Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord  watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

for he gives to his beloved sleep.

As I reflected on this psalm today, I was once again impressed with how much it has to say to us about a proper attitude of work.

Unless the Lord… It all starts here: a fundamental acknowledgment that God is in control, that He is the initiator, that He is active and that He is the Owner/Master/Foreman of the project.

It's builders labor... It seems to me that our tendency is to error on one side or the other of the "work" word. Either we "overdo" work and become workaholics, which is a not so subtle way of saying that we really don’t trust God’s ability to be the Owner/Master/Foreman. Or, we work too little, adopting another incomplete view of God that He really doesn’t need or want us involved in his Kingdom-building project. In either case, it is easy for us (for me) to cross the line to where our attitude and actions regarding work can become sin.

Eating the bread of anxious toil. . . Having bread to eat means that there has been a result of our work. It hasn’t been for nothing. But, the price paid for that bread is an anxiety-filled heart and maybe an ulcer or two for the stomach. It’s interesting that God will let us work our heads off if we so choose. But His gift of peace, and the sleep that accompanies it, will only be the result of working in sync with Him.

So what will it take for me to get back in sync with my Owner/Master/Creator?  I’ve got to reflect some more on that this week! How about you?

Jon