Daily Lift – December 23, 2017 – Saturday Edition


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It happens virtually every morning of the world; it happens so much it’s even earned itself a name: rush hour. And, what goes out usually comes back in. Therefore, the afternoon equivalent of what happens in the morning is also called rush hour. It consists, for the most part, of folks trying to get to work. I’m a part of that same daily routine. However, I’m not rushing. It’s just that there are so many of us out there doing the same thing it seems like a rush.

Really, that’s the way it should be; not the apparent rush, but the fact that so many are going to work. It’s a strong economic sign for the masses to have work, and it’s also a good spiritual sign. You see, at the third chapter of Second Thessalonians, Paul noted at verse ten that a person should be gainfully employed or occupied, else he had no right to eat. Not only so, but when man sinned by the partaking of the forbidden fruit back in the Garden of Eden, it seems he just had too much idle time on his hands.

Therefore, the Lord decreed that man would henceforth work for a living; and so it is. While it becomes clear that gainful occupation is Divinely ordained, man has often tended to let his work rule his life rather than the other way around; or even worse, he has tended to make his occupation his god, rather than to make God his god. Jesus addressed that matter at Matthew six, in the midst of His famous Sermon on the Mount. He admonished us that to be overly concerned about physical things and worried to an unwarranted degree about material provisions was tantamount to un-spiritual attitudes.

Jesus promised those seeking first the kingdom that all the needs of life would be provided. No such promise is given to those who make the physical and material their number one priority. Many have made their occupation(s) to be the one single most influential and unalterable influence and guideline of their lives. Others have wisely chosen to seek first the kingdom, and require all other affairs of lire to fit that pattern, rather than the other way around, and for them the Lord has kept His promise to provide all need. (Should we have expected otherwise?) On the other hand, those whose lives are governed primarily by occupation rather than spiritual calling may feel they’ve done materially well for the choice. However, they may have be surprised to find that those seeking first the kingdom are really the more abundantly blessed.


Written and performed by: David Hayes Prophater