"Toil the Soil" - 2

 "What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?" (Ecclesiastes 1:3 KJV)

  "Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. In the blink of eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like and eagle." (Proverbs 23:4-5 NLT)

  Having been in business for many years, I think I might have learned a few things about what it takes to be somewhat successful at what you work towards, in whatever it is that you might be working for, no matter what type of work you might be doing. One thing is for sure, if you are doing it for self, you are not going to love it, as much as you will doing it for others! 

 That is just my two cents, which is probably not worth much at all! However, no matter what it is that you do, even if it might be something that you hate doing, if you turn it over to the Lord, making it His work and then treat yourself as if you are working for Him; then even the stuff that doesn't turn out as you had hoped, it all good, because you are just the servant! 

 Things I wish I had lived out a little more consistently! Instead, what do we do? As soon as things start rolling smoothly and the money is abundantly coming in, we say, "Okay, Lord, I think I can handle this now. Thanks for the help!" Everything belongs to the Lord! Let me try that again: Nothing you have is yours, not even your sin, because He died for that sin, just as much as He did for your soul! 

 In the spiritual aspect of what we might be looking at, there is something that needs to be said about our ability to understand where we are in our relationship with God. If we are in the right relationship with God, then we are free from the worry of things of this world, such as food and clothes and the place to lay our head; those things are lesser and lesser of a thing, the closer we walk with the Lord.

 Taking it from basic things to things a little more practical or meaningful, such as the things we like, the things we hold onto, and the things that hold onto us; we tend to be unconcerned, typically speaking, as they do not appear to be life changing, so they shouldn't be a big deal to the Lord; or so we think. But, here is the thing about sin, no matter how minor it might appear, it has a life of its own! 

 Take a good look at the verse: "What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?" Do you see anything that is there that might be contrary to anything that I just said? Both the word "labour" and "taketh" are very similar words; yet the word "labour," which is a noun, is suggesting these are things, such as, trouble, mischief, sorrow, pain, wickedness; the list goes on, but I think you get the just. While the other word, "taketh," is the verb, being an action word to all of those things that mean "Labour," but that are put into action, making them ours to deal with! 

 He wants all of you, including that stuff: trouble, mischief, sorrow, pain, wickedness; it really doesn't matter what you are dealing with, it is not about you and your issues; there is no profit towards the eternal life by anything that you can do or not do; He had done it ALL! If you want to take on any issue, problem, or accomplishment, what do you profit in that? You cannot take anything with you when you leave; but you surely can store some treasure away in heaven. 

 Even if we just put some minor sin away, pretending that it is no longer going to be a threat; even that will be a thing that is held onto, waiting for just the right time, and it will bite you when you least expect! When Jesus wants all of you, it means All, as does the other things in which we say, all means All! You can't have it both ways! If you believe in the promises of God towards your good, then you also must believe in the fact that He wants your All, they both go hand in hand. 

 You cannot take anything unto yourself, not your life, your soul, or even your sin! It all belongs to Him because He purchased ALL... 

"Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don't be concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval." They replied, "We want to perform God's works, too. What should we do?" Jesus told them, "This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent."" (John 6:26-29 NLT)