Job Satisfaction
Do you pay attention to your own work?
Verse of the Day
‘Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.’
Today’s Devotional
We read this verse a few days ago as one of the symptoms of pride being comparison. Today we are going to look at this same verse through a different lens.
What things do you pay close attention to? The stock market? Your favorite sports team? Your family members? How well (or not) other people are behaving?
If I am being really (uncomfortably) honest, I pay close attention to my own desires and to how I think other people feel about me and perceive me. I also pay close attention to my spiritual condition. It’s pretty obvious to me when I have not been spending enough time with God and serving His children.
Today’s verse tells me that I need to pay attention to my own work. Do you do that? Do you pay attention to your own work ethic? Your discipline in doing a thorough job, no matter who is watching? Your timeliness versus procrastination? Your attention to detail? Your willingness to pitch in with things that might not even be your job?
Until I read this verse a few weeks ago and it really sunk in, I did not pay attention to my own work. My desire to do a good job was rooted in wanting others to see me, admire me, praise me, and think well of me. Very little of my work ethic came from simply wanting to do a good job.
And then God started whispering something to me. You see, I was in a place of wanting praise from others. I felt like I NEEDED praise. It’s actually sad and embarrassing to admit. I would say things to myself like, “I’m proud of (fill in the blank) and I need (whomever) to be proud of me too.”
And then I started studying pride.
What God has whispered to my heart is this: “Doing the right thing, or doing a good job feels good. And that’s enough. You don’t need to be proud of yourself, because pride is dangerous. You don’t need others to be proud of you. You can learn to be satisfied with doing a good job and it feeling good. The good feeling you get from doing good work is a gift. It is satisfaction from a job well done. And that is enough.”
As a result, I have tried to remove “I’m proud of myself” from my speech and thinking. I have replaced it with “that feels good.” This is not an easy transition to make. But Scripture does not lie. So if I am willing to pay attention to my work and enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done, then I am pointing in the direction of humility. Continuing to do this well keep me from pride and comparing myself to others.
Feeling satisfied in a job well done sounds like a great thing. Paying attention to my own work sounds like a small price to pay and a great way to become a humble worker in the Kingdom. Because the ultimate goal is to hear the Father say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How much do you currently pay attention to your own work?
If you did pay attention, what would you discover?
How can you pay closer attention to your own work today?
How does being satisfied in a job well done feel to you? Is it enough?
How would a good personal work ethic affect your humility?