Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado

Author:Max Lucado
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Inc.
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

11

TAKE YOUR JOB

AND LOVE IT

My heart took delight in all my work.

Ecclesiastes 2:10 NIV

Contrast two workers.

The first one slices the air with his hand, making points, instructing the crowd. He is a teacher and, from the look of things, a compelling one. He stands on a beach, rendering the slanted seashore an amphitheater. As he talks, his audience increases; as the audience grows, his platform shrinks. The instructor steps back and back until the next step will take him into the water. That’s when he spots another worker.

A fisherman. Not animated, but frustrated. He spent all night fishing, but caught nothing. All night! Double-digit hours’ worth of casting, splashing, and pulling the net. But he caught nothing. Unlike the teacher, the fisher-man has nothing to show for his work. He draws no crowds; he doesn’t even draw fish. Just nets.

Two workers. One pumped up. One worn-out. The first, fruitful. The second, futile. To which do you relate?

If you empathize with the fisherman, you walk a crowded path. Consider these sobering statistics:

One-third of Americans say, “I hate my job.”

Two-thirds of your fellow citizens labor in the wrong career.

Others find employment success, but no satisfaction.1

Most suicides occur on Sunday nights.

Most heart attacks occur on Monday mornings.2

Many people dread their work! Countless commuters begrudge the 83,000 hours their jobs take from their lives. If you’re one of them, what can you do?

Change careers? Perhaps. Find one that better fits your design. But until you change, how do you survive? You still have bills to pay and obligations to meet. The problem might be less the occupation and more the outlook toward it. Before you change professions, try this: change your attitude toward your profession.

Before you change

professions . . .

change your

attitude toward

your profession.

Jesus’s word for frustrated workers can be found in the fifth chapter of Luke’s gospel, where we encounter the teacher and the frustrated fisherman. You’ve likely guessed their names—Jesus and Peter. Random pockets of people populate the Galilean seacoast today. But in the days of Christ, it swarmed, an ant bed of activity. Peter, Andrew, James, and John made their living catching and selling fish. Like other fishermen, they worked the night shift, when cool water brought the game to the surface. And, like other fishermen, they knew the drudgery of a fishless night.

While Jesus preached, they cleaned nets. And as the crowd grew, Christ had an idea.

He noticed two boats tied up. The fishermen had just left them and were out scrubbing their nets. He climbed into the boat that was [Peter’s] and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Sitting there, using the boat for a pulpit, he taught the crowd. (vv. 2–3 MSG)

Jesus claimed Peter’s boat. He didn’t request the use of it. Christ didn’t fill out an application or ask permission; he simply boarded the boat and began to preach.

He can do that, you know. All boats belong to Christ. Your boat is where you spend your day, make your living, and to a large degree live your life.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.