Family Matters

Family Matters: From the Heart

By Amy Gentry

 

“… do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work.” Colossians 3:22-25 The Message

“…Don’t just do the minimum… Do your best… Work from the Heart…”

As parents, we want our children to work hard in school and at home on their chores, but what is their motivation?  The Message version of Colossians 3:23 says they should work from the heart.  For who?  For God.  We can scold and ground them but ultimately our children have to choose for themselves to work hard, choose to do their best, and choose to put their heart into their work. 

We should look at working hard as an opportunity:

The opportunity to serve the Lord through working hard.

ASHTON KUTCHER: “I believe that opportunity looks a lot like hard work. I've never had a job in my life that I was better than. I was always just lucky to have a job. And every job I had was a steppingstone to my next job, and I never quit my job until I had my next job.  And so opportunities look a lot like work.”