Got my first bacon, tomato, swiss cheese
on toasted sourdough bread last night.
There is just something about home grown
tomatoes, much more flavor – of course they aren’t being transported by trucks
for thousands of miles, sitting in warehouses until they can be shipped to the
stores – those tomatoes have to be grown to go through all of that and,
unfortunately, sacrifice the great tomato taste in the process.
The only thing that poor Carla has
difficulty in growing is zucchini! She got an infestation of bugs a
couple of years ago and she is going to war with them as they suck the juices
from the plants.
Other than that, though, thus far she is
getting good results and we are enjoying the ‘fruits of her labor.’
The heat of the day makes us try and
orient activity around it.
Thankfully our air conditioner is working
fine – Deed replaced the over head fan in the living room and that has also
helped keep the temperatures down in the house.
Since I don’t have any real skills in
working around the house it is nice that we have a couple of daughters and a
son-in-love that can do it for us.
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Galatians
6:14 KJV “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto
the world.”
Who among us doesn’t like pats on the
back?
We like to have people tell us that we are good, our work is excellent, we are a great guy (or gal), they are encouraged by our work, lots of compliments and we enjoy them.
We like to have people tell us that we are good, our work is excellent, we are a great guy (or gal), they are encouraged by our work, lots of compliments and we enjoy them.
But, many of these are hollow, or
appeasement.
In one of my many trips to the hospital a
nurse was doing a very routine/mundane job, one a first week nurse could do,
the doctor came in and praised her work, overly so.
I couldn’t help myself, I started
laughing, as did the nurse and some of the other staff. The doctor left
in a huff (probably not a good thing for me.) The nurse smiled and said,
“We’ll take any compliments that come our way.”
To me it didn’t sound genuine – it could have been, but it just struck me as odd and funny. It was the kind of thing you might say to a child, or someone who was doing it for the first time, but I thought it was overboard for a professional who obviously had years of experience.
To me it didn’t sound genuine – it could have been, but it just struck me as odd and funny. It was the kind of thing you might say to a child, or someone who was doing it for the first time, but I thought it was overboard for a professional who obviously had years of experience.
A lot of the pats on the back we receive
are just as interesting. Are they genuine, or just to make us feel good,
or make them think they are motivating us.
I believe in giving people compliments
and try to do it often, however, I also know they must be honest or I am just
mouthing the words.
My feelings have always been that when we
are trained to do a job, we do it. We shouldn’t need pats on the back for
ordinary tasks.
If there were extraordinary
circumstances, or a far better result than we anticipated then those pats are
warranted.
We can appreciate the work of those who
do things for us, or our fellow employees, the clerk that goes out of their way
to help us, the doctor or nurse that not only assists us but does some extra
things while doing so; good reasons for giving them more than just a thank you.
AND it doesn’t hurt to tell management
about how well you were treated.
That word, thank you, can be said
automatically, or a lift in the voice can make it sound like you mean it – and
should.
As a manager it was always good to hear
from the citizens that our employee(s) did a good job – and how they did
it. The complaint to complement ratio is always higher, it seems in
almost any profession.
So, don’t be afraid to show appreciation
to someone, to praise or congratulate them. As a matter of fact, go out
of your way to do that.
However, as for us, Christians, we are to
be doing the very best job we can, we shouldn’t have to have pats on the back
to do that. Doing so, in part, shows our dedication to our Lord and is an
effective testimony to those that are watching us because we are Christians.
If we sluff off our work, do it haphazardly,
do shoddy work, or spend time complaining about one thing or another it doesn’t
paint a very good picture to the sinner watching us.
A good day’s work for a day’s pay should
be foremost in our minds when we are working; and even if not paid, should
apply to our volunteer efforts.
Colossians
3:23 KJV “ And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not
unto men;”
The same is true in our work for
God. We should be doing it out of love and devotion to Him by helping
others – whether it be as a volunteer in the church or some other organization.
It is hard though, a quick pat on the
back and genuine thank you can help our desire to continue full on in our
ministry. But, we shouldn’t expect grandiose praise nor work just to
receive that kind of praise.
In this world, where the everyone expects
us to play up ourselves, promote ourselves, make everyone aware of our
‘skills,’ etc. it is good to remember that God has a different
standard.
We should not be doing things to obtain
praises from man, but to serve our God in whatever task He has appointed
us.
Boasting of our accomplishments as if we
did it all by ourselves without the help of others – particularly the talents
and skills that God gave us is letting Him down.
We don’t have to stand on a soap box, but
we don’t need to ‘eat it up’ either.
Somehow, when we do have to promote our
abilities at our job – to make a living, many self-employed people have to do
some of that, but it should be done with humility – as hard as that may be to
do.
We just need to ask God for wisdom in
doing that; how to write the resume’, how to answer the questions from
potential bosses without sounding arrogant or self-righteous or when we apply
for promotions within our companies.
It is a fine line, but it has to be done
as we realize whatever we are doing is for the Lord, and whatever skills we
have are directly from Him.
2
Corinthians 10:12
KJV “ For we dare not
make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend
themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing
themselves among themselves, are not wise.”
May we be wise and focus on God, not on
what others may or may not be doing. Opening our hearts to Him, not to
the words or glorification from man.
Later, Art (-: