Many men today can relate somewhat to that story. Hard economic times and a changing workplace have cost large numbers of men both prestige and earning power. Some have been forced to take entry-level jobs outside their chosen fields. And the temptation, when life delivers a sudden demotion like that, is to work halfheartedly, bogging down in bitterness and self-pity.

Consecrating Our Work

We sometimes forget the hard, tedious work done by some of the Bible’s greatest heroes. Paul was a bivocational minister, earning his keep as a preacher by being a tentmaker, the equivalent to today’s leather worker. Before God could fully use Moses, He let him tend sheep in the desert for forty years. Even Jesus Himself spent more of His earthly years sanding and shaping wood than He did teaching and healing.

The job itself, whether heralded or humble, is not what’s most important. It’s our love relationship with God. The attitude we bring to our work reflects what we believe about Him and the degree of our love for Him. He is worthy of receiving our best.

Bottom Line

We may feel we’ve been handed a job that’s beneath us. But when we consecrate our work to God, doing it wholeheartedly, He can bear fruit through us.