I came across this scene on a hot summer day once and do you know what popped into my head?  Wow, looks like a lot of work!

Good old-fashioned hard work has been considered a great virtue for as long as people have been tracking virtues, and I quite agree.  I remember reading years ago a book on executive management that made a very interesting observation about hard work in saying that the greatest time-waster of all is diligently working at something that doesn’t need to be done. While I’m certain that the work represented by this photo doesn’t fall into that category, it is something worth thinking about…

Is all of our work something that we really need to do?  How many times have people told me that they have too much to do and they can’t find a way to have time for prayer?  How many times I’ve been told by someone that they have so much work to do that they couldn’t possibly help out in the Lord’s work.  How often people come up with something the church needs to do, but they don’t have time to do anything themselves…

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Phil. 2:12-13

I wonder… how many people have just enough time to do the things they want to do?  I wonder, is all of this endless work really necessary; are people trying to avoid something?

I completely understand the demands of everyday modern life and its hectic nature, but I find that I have all the time I need for prayer and service when I make time for them. Hard work is a very good thing, and I am all for working hard, but in the process, we must have the priority system that puts the things of God first.

In my own experience, I’ve found that when I intentionally put God first, everything seems to run more smoothly, and important things get done. Yet when I don’t intentionally put God first, very little seems to go right.

Is it just me?