My father taught me how to work hard. Hard work was one of his highest values. Since most of his work was outside, in construction, the summers were always his busiest times. In the winter, he’d make artificial fireplaces and sell them from home. Montgomery Ward’s department store liked the fireplaces and started selling them for him. But I can still remember customers coming over to the house to see and buy them, and Dad and I loading them on his truck to deliver them with three feet of snow on the ground. In the summer, he was up with the sun and often would not come home until it went down. He was always proud of his work and would often take some off the price if the customers would let him sign his work. Since his work was in concrete, it was fairly permanent. The Longhorn bar in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, is often one of those jobs I refer to. It’s been 70 years since he did that job, and it still stands today. On the North side of the bar, It says, “Duro Stone 1954 – Charlie Larsen.”
Paul teaches us that all the work we do should be done in such a way that we, too, would be anxious to sign it. There is no work menial or insignificant in God’s eyes. Everything we do has value when it’s done with the right motive. It’s a noble and honorable effort when we contribute to society and the world at large to make it a better place to live in any possible way. The contributions we make, whether in cleanliness, creativity, production, organization, motivation, education, or every kind of service imaginable, all contribute to the welfare of society.
The believer knows that even the most meager contribution in the world in which we live will be rewarded by the Lord himself in eternity. Addressing servants, Paul exhorts them to work hard “not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart.” Paul goes on, “Whatever we do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.” Colossian 3:24 just comes out and says it. Paul concludes, “You are serving Christ…” Richard Baxter once said, “Remember your ultimate purpose, and when you set yourself to your day’s work or approach any activity in the world, let HOLINESS TO THE LORD be written upon your hearts in all that you do.”