Cleaning Toilets

Meditation
Colossians 3:23,24—Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord.  You serve the Lord Christ.
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I had an interesting conversation with a retired Marine Master Sergeant.  Mike leads the men’s retreats for his church.  Periodically he is called by men who ask him if they can be involved with the men’s leadership team.  Mike will then invite the inquiring person to join him on Saturday morning to help him as he helps the janitor clean toilets.  Not surprisingly, his offer is declined whereby Mike informs the applicant that his services on the leadership team are not needed.   I think the Apostle Paul would like Mike’s selection technique.    

Recently I was visiting one of my units in New York. As I was exiting the restroom I noticed the trash can was overflowing with paper towels.  Instead of someone dumping the garbage, soldiers just threw their excess paper on the floor.  (This building was shared by multiple units and on this day the place was crowded). So I called the sergeant escorting me and asked him where the dumpster was so I could dump the trash.  He was embarrassed and said not to worry, he would get someone to take care of it. But I assured him I didn’t want him to get anyone else because it was now my responsibility to dump the trash. You can learn a lot about organizations from their rest rooms and mentor accordingly.  

Whether it be cleaning toilets or taking out the trash, the task can be enjoyable if our motivation is to serve the Lord. Conversely, if we are not willing to do either because it is beneath our pay grade or considered too unpleasant, then perhaps that says something about our pride and priority.    Consider Paul.  He was an elite apostle, gifted by God, given visions no one else was privy to, and arguably one of the most important leaders in the early church. Yet, he considered it a privilege to make tents to earn money so that he was not a burden on others.  Paul worked for God.  Therefore, instead of becoming power-driven, title-enamored, or pleasure-focused, he was able to remain Christ-centered.    
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Whatever you do, do it with enthusiasm—from the soul! Are you a homemaker?  Make your home Jesus-honoring.  Are you a student?  Learn with gusto.  Beware of obsessing on people-pleasing.  Don’t work hard when the boss is watching but slack off when no one notices or you lose the privilege of honoring God who sees everything.  If you do the little things well you’ll find it easier to do the big things well.   The Lord sees the heart so be hearty and act with the passion that pleases your Father and leads to eternal dividends.
 
Inspiration
Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment “as to the Lord”.—C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory
 
©2012 Daniel York  ARR. Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)