Work is hard. Suck it up!

Work is hard! Suck it up., a photo by Mervin Chiang on Flickr.

Work has been indeed piling up. Stress levels are surging... My line of work is not so much hard labour but more a psychological one. Constantly worrying about things. Keeping on top of tasks. Plan strategies. Plan plans. Second guess what I could have done better. Stress over lack of results. Deal with people's emotions, hidden agendas, politics... you get the picture. Many call this "daily grind". I laugh it off by semi-joking that Adam made work hard and Cain made work fruitless... Selfishly, I blame them. I blame them bringing forth God's judgement on us so now we have to toil...

"By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Gen 3:19, ESV

"When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." Gen 4:12, ESV

I guess society teaches us that if you are not happy, do something about it. If you don't like your job, move on. Complain about it. Make a change. Take a stand. But lately, more and more, I am feeling that to do comply with this self-love attitude might be a pride and self-centeredness thing to do. Sure we shouldn't be a door mat and have people step all over us, but I have since learnt that no one promised that work will be easy. In fact, quite the opposite. If I look hard enough, 90% of the feelings stem from fear and selfish pride. Through my stresses and turmoil these few weeks, I am beginning to get how Christian freedom, the undercurrent of joy and ultimate peace from God hangs together. Its strange how God works through my stress!...

Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. - Col 3:22-14, ESV

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. - Phil 1:21, ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. - Eph 2:10

The above 3 verses among other many verses added together drives my attitude at work (and life) now. In action, thought and prayer... Especially when it gets tough and stressful like today...

1. Am I stressed, angry or worried at work due to my pride? 
2. Am I "obeying in everything those who are my earthly masters"?
3. Do I honour God when I act or speak up against or in defence of myself or the situation? ("To live IS Christ", "with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord")
4. Remind myself. My boss is Christ (serving the Lord Christ) and not my earthly masters.
5. I am secured in Heaven. Life is temporal (to die is gain).
6. God is sovereign. He prepared good works for me that I can walk in them. He is ultimately in control and when bad things happen, there is a reason that is beyond my current understanding.

This is what freedom means: to enjoy the peace in Christ and to busk in the joy found in a future more important that whats before me right now. Despite the waves of emotion and daily toil, the undercurrents of peace and joy still flows. That is what I ultimately meditate on and cling onto at the end of a hard days work.