Biblical Attitudes, VI

Ecclesiastes 10:¹⁰ “But wisdom will make any job easier. It is very hard to cut with a dull knife. But if you sharpen the knife, the job is easier.” (ERV).

Biblical attitudes for work metamorphosis are, Work Enthusiastically Wherever You Are Right Now, Understand Who You Are Really Working For, Concentrate On Building CHARACTER, Care About The People You Work With, Exceed What Is Expected Of You, And Expand Your Skills With Continual Learning. Ecclesiastes 10:¹⁰ “If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success.” (NIV). The moment you stop learning, you stop growing. That is why people think they need to play politics, pull people down, gossip about people, and undermine people just to get ahead. It is because they are not developing. When you see someone who is developing, he is unstoppable because he is sharp, efficient, and delivers. You need to work on yourself while you are working on your job.

Even if you are out of a job, the truth is you need to work on yourself more than you are looking for a new job. I see people who do not have a job and they are waking up by two o’clock in the afternoon. They watch Netflix till five o’clock in the morning. How can someone who is trusting God for a job be watching Netflix till five o’clock in the morning? And then get out of bed by noon and claim to have distributed his or her resumé and is waiting to be called. If you are in between jobs, you should spend more time developing yourself than looking for a job. Yes, you should look for a job, but you should spend more time developing yourself. So that when the opportunity comes, you are ready. “…if you sharpen the knife, the job is easier.”

The truth is every time you hear a sermon, a teaching, or encounter God’s Word, you are developing yourself and sharpening your axe. When you read a book, you are sharpening your axe. It is so easy these days because there are loads and loads of quality content online. I know there is a lot of junk also, but there is a lot of quality material online, and a lot of them are free. So, you have no excuse. When you attend that training, you are sharpening your axe. If you want to get ahead you have to fill your head with fresh learnings. Sharpen your axe!

If you want your work to be blessed by God, You Must Dedicate Your Work to Be Used For God’s Purposes. Proverbs 16:³ “Commit your work to the Lord, then it will succeed.” (LB). Dedicate your work to God. Most of the time, we have dedicated our lives, our children, our cars, and even our refrigerator to the Lord. But have you dedicated your work to God’s purposes?

Prayer: Father, I dedicate my work to You today and I ask that You open my eyes to see and seize opportunities to sharpen and expand my skills, in Jesus Name. Amen!