We’ve had a struggle in our house lately. Well…maybe 2 struggles…okay who am I kidding, we have lots of struggles in our house! I suppose I am specifically speaking about 2 that the Lord has really been convicting me about of late. First up, busyness. Bleh! The message Sunday at church was so convicting to both Mr. OverKill and myself. While there was much said in the message, in a nutshell, our takeaway was “Who is Jesus? and How does that effect my life?” Mr. OverKill and I are thoughtfully praying about what changes need to be made in our lives to eliminate busyness for the sake of being busy and focus on busyness serving the Lord.
The second thing is we are struggling with is attitude. I have a couple of kids who are struggling with a bad attitude regarding their school work and other responsibilities. As I’ve been praying about this struggle over the last week, the Lord showed me this morning that my poor kiddos are simply following mom’s example. Because we have been so busy, I live in a constant state of “I need to be doing something” and because I have so little down time, I have started having a less than stellar attitude about my responsibilities. Granted, there may be some things I need to remove from my schedule, but that is no cause for me to have a bad attitude and rebel against the mission the Lord has given me. Ouch! Did I really just right that? My stinky attitude about laundry comes from a place of rebellion against God. I have forgotten that famous passage in Colossians that says, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.”
I’m pretty sure by now, you all know that I am a big fan of the New King James Translation of the Bible. But I do find it helpful to read through parallel translations. I like to see the different word choices, which usually are synonyms of one another, and how they shed a different light on certain passages.
This case was no exception, check out Colossians 3:23 in differing translations:
And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, – NKJV
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,- NIV
Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.-NLT
In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people.-NCV
Whatever you do, do it readily, as to the Lord and not to men;-BBE
Whatever you do, do it from the heart for the Lord and not for people.-CEB
Whatever work you do, put yourself into it, as those who are serving not merely other people, but the Lord.-CJB
Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men,-CSB
Enthusiastically?!?!
Have mercy!
Enthusiastic – feeling or showing strong excitement about something : filled with or marked by enthusiasm
Enthusiasm- strong excitement about something : a strong feeling of active interest in something that you like or enjoy
Active interest?!?! In laundry, dirty dishes, and grading papers….
Oh my word.
I guess it’s time to practice the saying, “Fake it till you make it.” I really do this. I plaster a smile on my face and choose my attitude by constantly putting away the negative thoughts that come and by choosing to be thankful….for food on dirty dishes, and stains on abundant clothing, and the freedom to education my children at home. It may sound a bit PollyAnna-ish but it trains the focus of my mind to think on “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
To help me, and my kiddos get out of our stinking thinking rut, and as a reminder of what our attitude should be, I made these…
As usual, if this printable is something that will help you out, feel free to download and/or print one for yourself. Just click on the image above.
How are you doing with your attitude towards unpleasant tasks? Are you struggling with a root of rebellion against the Lords mission for you? How are you dealing with it?