Work (Diligence): Approaching my assigned work with steady, earnest and energetic effort to
complete it with excellence.
Proverbs 14:23 says, “In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.”
In ancient Egypt, a 7th century B.C. papyrus was found to contain the teaching, “That which you
hate to be done to you, do not do to another.” Ancient Indian teaching instructs, “One should
never do something to others that one would regard as an injury to ones own self.” Similarly,
the ancient Greeks taught various forms of this from Isocrates, “Do not do to others that which
angers you when they do it to you.”
These all sound quite similar to Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, when He said,
“whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the
Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
But, did you notice anything different between Jesus’ words and the others? While the Egyptian, Indian, and Greek teaching sound similar, they all require us to simply not do bad things to others. Jesus requires us to do good. Christianity requires doing. We are called to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
James asks, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says
to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the
body, what good is that?’” (2:15-16). But you may ask, “Doesn’t all of this refer to doing good works? What does it have to do with my job or my school work?” Good question. The Bible applies this same instruction to diligence (deeds, not just words) in our daily work.
In the parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28-32), Jesus speaks of one son who refuses to
work in his father’s vineyard, but changes his mind, and goes to work. The second son promises
his father that he will work, but does not go. “Which of the two did the will of the father?”
Jesus asks. “The first.”
Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,”
connecting our daily work as being done “for the Lord.” So, whether in our jobs, household chores, studying, or schoolwork, let us do it all “for the Lord,” remembering that our diligence there is a reflection of our obedience to the Lord.
Brian Phillips Ed.D
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