Give and Take

Unfortunately, spending time and energy on something means you won't have as much for something else. This means we have to make choices. If I read or go for a run in the morning instead of getting right to work, I will pay for it in the afternoon by being rushed and probably a little angry. If I work first in the morning, I often end up working all day anyway and don't have time for some other good thing. This usually makes me feel defeated, like I can't win or get it right.

The trick, not that I've mastered it or even begun to practice, is to give loving attention to the task at hand no matter what it is. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men," says Colossians 3:23. Many translations say to do it "heartily." I like this idea. It sort of says, not that work makes up for time with God or can take the place of it, but that you can turn anything into a God-glorifying activity. Almost anything. This is what I would like to work on, and lately really need to.