The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. (Matthew 9:37)
When I was younger, my family used to have a keychain. I don’t know where it came from, and I don’t know what the keys on this keychain opened. But I remember it for two reasons. One, it was made out of some sort of spongy, foamy substance that I got great satisfaction out of squeezing over and over like some misshapen stress ball. Secondly, it had words on it that I found curious. To be exact, it said “The worst day fishing beats the best day working.” For one, I found that interesting because no one in my family fishes, so I sort of doubted that held any real truth in our house. But I started wondering, if I replaced fishing with an activity I liked, would it be true?
Now that I’m older, I see similar sentiments commonly expressed on social media. You’ve probably seen them too. A picture of a tropical paradise with the caption “Share if you wish you were here right now.” Posts lamenting the fact that they were not written from Hawaii, or Disneyland, or Paris. A post where your friend claimed their bed as their best friend. Sorry former BFF. You got beaten out by an inanimate object. Try again next time.
Now don’t misunderstand me here. I’m not here to lecture you for taking it easy now and then. Rest is good, and we need it. God rested on the seventh day, not because He needed it, but to set an example for us. He laid it out pretty clearly in Exodus 34, when He said, “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest.” We’re designed to rest. To take breaks.
The problem, though, is that our rest has a purpose. We’re supposed to rest for awhile, so that we can be refreshed and strengthened when we go back to work. But we’ve made relaxation the end goal that we strive toward. As one 80’s band observed, “Everybody’s working for the weekend.” We work, but only so we can go on that vacation, or relax in that bigger house, or retire earlier and avoid working at all. And while none of these things are necessarily bad, isn’t there more to life than only investing in our own comfort? The real problem is, when you’re not doing anything, you can’t make a difference in the world.
I look at the world today, and I see a world in need of a lot of work. Poverty is everywhere. Much of the world’s population doesn’t have enough to eat. Human trafficking is still rampant. People don’t have homes to stay in. And billions don’t have the hope of Jesus in their lives.
These are huge problems, and none of us has the power to change them alone. But if we change our mentality, and stop “Workin’ for the weekend,” if we all found a starting point and started working to end these problems, what would happen?
Believe me when I say I need to hear this as much as anyone. I’m selfish with my time. I spend too much time playing video games and just hanging out at home. Which is why I’m so excited about the World Race. This is a starting point where I can move away from advancing my own comfort and selfish wants and work some overtime toward advancing the Kingdom of God. But the cool thing is, you don’t have to leave the country to find your own starting point. In fact, it’s probably closer than you think. Volunteer at church, help a food pantry, give financially to help others. There are endless possibilities, but not a lot of people taking advantage of them. So let’s get to work. Together.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. (Colossians 3:23)
