Sports Spectrum Daily Devotional: Thursday, August 8, 2019

“I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.” — Ecclesiastes 3:12

Turning Work Into Worship

Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr isn’t afraid to talk about his faith. Anybody who’s followed Carr’s football career, both in college and the NFL, knows he is one of the most outspoken athletes regarding the Gospel-driven life and using your talents for an “audience of One.” On his Twitter bio, Carr simply says, “What they call work, I call worship.” And this truth is the power behind how he lives life. It is a model that many athletes, as well as people in other forms of employment, would do well to emulate. 

In today’s society, work is often seen as an end in itself. And its purpose is understood as being for material gain and financial security. You go to college to get a degree to get yourself a good job so you can make good money and retire happy. That’s how most people view labor.

Jesus laid out a different way to find fulfillment in your work: Turn your work into worship. The Scriptures are filled with verses describing Christ’s approach to work and all of them center around doing it as a form of worship, as giving the gift of your abilities back to the Creator who placed them within you.

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

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” — Colossians 3:17

Even the author of Ecclesiastes points out that the whole point of labor on this earth is that one should enjoy the fruits of his labor, all of which are the gift of God (Ecclesiastes 3:12). 

Contrary to the world’s way of thinking, the truth is that we don’t own our gifts and abilities anyway. They are, first and foremost, God’s to begin with. He loans them to us to be used for His glory and the advancement of His kingdom. He never intended worship to be confined to a church building or chapel service. He wants us to make every moment of our short lives one of worship and thanksgiving to God, however humble our labor may be. 

Today, as you go to the gym to train, as you enter your office to coach, as you step onto the field of play, wherever you go, remember this: Your work is a form of worship to Christ. You reflect Him by the way you train, teach, lead and compete — win or lose.

So while others chase the meaningless-ness of work as an end to itself, you go and chase Jesus Christ. And what the rest of the world calls work, you go and call it worship, doing all for the glory of the One you know and serve. 

— Katherine Singer

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