Working For God and Working For God's Favor: Which Should You Aim For?
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." | Colossians 3:23
In this lifetime there will be no joy greater than the joy of living a life for the glory and pleasure of God. God's glory and honor results to our greatest satisfaction in life. When we live to honor God, we live fulfilled lives and when we don't, we will battle with emptiness all of our days.
That's why Jesus said that when we seek first God's Kingdom and righteousness that all things would come to us (Matthew 6:33). If you take a close look and examine your life today, do you work for God's glory and honor? If not, could it be possible that your greatest frustrations today are linked to your decision to live for the glory of something other than God?
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The Bible tells us that we were created by God as masterpieces meant to do good works through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:10). Good works has been something embedded into our fate since the beginning. God called Adam to be fruitful and multiply. He called Abraham to be a blessing, not just to his family but to all nations. He instructed the disciples to seek service, not glory.
But the big question we must ask ourselves is why we must work for God and for others. Sometimes we operate on a logic that tells us that we are commanded to work for God so that He can bless us. We might think that without good works, God will not bless us.
But is that really the case? Matthew 5:45 tells us, "For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." What Jesus is saying here is that God blesses all with grace whether we deserve it or not. If that weren't the case then we'd all be dead now. If God operated on works, we'd be seeing more poor and starving unbelievers and more rich followers of Christ.
But we all know that's not the case. That's because God blesses us regardless of our deeds. He gives us all the chance to live life whether it be short or long. He gives us all the ability to produce wealth.
We aren't called to work for God's favor because His favor is already freely given. We are called instead to work for God. There's a major difference. To work for God's favor operates on the assumption that God's favor hasn't come yet. But to work for God operates on the truth that we are already favored.
This way, work now becomes a reaction of worship instead of a means to earn grace. And as far as God's principles are concerned, we work to worship - not to earn. We do ministry, pursue careers, grow in relationships, serve others and serve God not because we're trying to milk God of provision. He freely gives to those who freely ask according to His will. And the most natural response to a God who gives freely is to live for Him and His purposes.
We cannot earn God's favor (and we don't have to) but we can surely worship Him by living our lives for Him for all He has done for us.
