Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
June 4, 2012

“Work for More than Just Rewards—But out of Love”
“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler…” – Proverbs 6:6, 7

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put into practice.” – Philippians 4:9

When I think of Solomon, one of the things that stand out to me is the quality he placed into whatever he did. When he built God’s Temple—it was at that time the most magnificent building of its kind anywhere. He did not settle for okay or adequate, but chose to create something to reflect how he felt about His God—and it was elaborate…fabulous…and worthy to be called, God’s House! The passage of Scripture reminds me of just this thought—the ant works and gives his best and it is certainly not for his own rewards but for the betterment of others. It is, in my opinion, the call to excellence!,br /> Here is another call to excellence. Paul had just said (verse 8), “…Whatever is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” This was not a call to mediocrity. It was not a call to be average. This was a call to excellence. Paul was not addressing the “what” of our calling, but the “how.” He was saying, “Whatever you choose to do, do it right!
When you read the Old Testament, you don’t get the sense that God really needed a temple. He was doing just fine with tents. In fact, there was a time when God just traveled with the people in full view as a pillar of fire. That was cool! No matter how incredible a temple is, people might look at it and say, “Maybe God is in there.” But when you see a pillar of fire, whoa! If I had a pillar of fire behind me and said, “Believe in God,” you’d probably say, “Okay, that’s cool.” But the people wanted to build a temple. So God said, “Okay, but if you’re going to build it, you’re going to use the best materials in the world—you’re going to make sure it’s the most awe-inspiring building anywhere. And it’s going to cost you!” It was not because God needed a temple. But he made them do something that was extraordinary.
Striving for excellence is not always easy, and in fact it can be downright frustrating! Often a frustrating part of any job is dealing with complications and unforeseen circumstances. For example, a policeman in Dallas was working undercover at a high school, trying to bust a drug-ring. In the process of doing his job, he showed up late for class one day. The teacher sent him to the assistant principle's office, who gave him a choice: detention or licks with a paddle. Since the detention hall would interfere with a scheduled drug buy, the policeman had no choice but to take the whipping.
Some things just cannot be written into a job description. If you were to describe the "ideal" Christian life, what would it look like? Would it include times of pain, heartache and hindrances? God always drives us towards excellence. He created us to be free and creative. But he does have a built-in standard. He wants us to do “whatever” with excellence! If you are working making coffee at Starbucks, God wants you to be the best coffee-maker there. If your job is saying, “Welcome to Wal-Mart,” he expects you to be personable and sincere. If you are a cabinet maker, home maker, teacher, volunteer, retiree—whatever occupies your time and energy—God wants you to do it right. He wants you to be the best that you can be.
Pastor J. T. Carnell