The Grace Street Blog

“But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15

This last week of work was very rough. If I am being honest, the last few weeks, there has been a battle in my heart and mind.

Integrity means a lot to me and I believe when we are given a responsibility from the Lord, we ought to give it our best in public and private. But I would be lying if I say I hadn’t been considering ways to slack in the private moments of my job. Not out of laziness, but more so exhaustion and the feeling of not seeing fairness across the board.

As a teacher, there are many things that go on behind the scenes in order to teach, engage, and care for each every student that walks through the classroom door. But after months of giving every ounce of effort towards that prep and organization, hearing others not being held accountable for neglecting those responsibilities crushes the spirit. This is not the first time I have witnessed others get away with slacking on work or in school, but it hit a little deeper this time because the lack of preparation from others in similar roles does not just impact themselves, but hundreds of students as well.

Nearly everyday this week, I found myself complaining, getting frustrated, and seeking out ways to bring justice to the situation, until I was heavily convicted yesterday.

After each day, I would try to remind myself that this position is what I prayed for, and I do really love my job. But that wasn’t enough to prevent me from considering how to get away with lowering the bar of my effort.

Yet as I was walking students to their cars yesterday, Colossians 3:23-24 and Galatians 6:9 came to mind and I felt so terrible for how I had been acting.

Colossians 3:23-24 states, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Sometimes when we feel like we are not in the final place the Lord will bring us to, we assume we are just in a waiting stage. And we treat people, jobs, and tasks as if they do not matter in the grand scheme of things. But I do not believe God has only one place for us to reach in life. Every person we encounter, job, career, or experience we have, is an opportunity for us to honor God through the way we steward them.

Galatians 6:9 goes on to say, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Honestly, I have been a part of the start of many good things I never had the chance to then experience the fruit of. So unfortunately, hearing verses like these spark my immediate response of “yeah, right….”

However, when I say I never or rarely experience the fruit of something I got to be a part starting, I mean I wasn’t physically a part of the journey anymore. Yet most times, I still got to hear about the fruit months or years later. And it was at that realization that I was humbled.

Who am I to demand to witness something firsthand that God wants to do? I may have been a vessel in the beginning, but if He called me out of it, it was for a reason. And so, despite whether I ever see the fruit of teaching, being available, and loving these children, it is my duty, as one seeking to be more like Christ, to do my very best. In public and in private.

Joshua is an incredible book in Scripture that shows the heart of God and His faithfulness. But it also reveals the reality of the heavy responsibility we have as followers of the Lord.

The Israelite’s in this time period are witnessing God deliver enemy after enemy into their hands. Not by their might, but by the grace and power of God. Standing in their inheritance, Joshua calls them together to acknowledge the decision they had to make.

I will cite Joshua 24:13-15, but I highly encourage you to read the full statement he received from God that day.

“‘So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from their vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’ [says the Lord]. ‘Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the god’s your ancestors worshipped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the god’s your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the god’s of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’”

Joshua was clear that there needed to be a decision made and it was all or nothing. They could not serve the Lord while even having the remains of their god’s in their land. They were told to throw them away and let all serving be dedicated to God and Him alone.

When we witness the unjust realities of this world, it can be so very tempting to take the seat of enforcing what we think is fair. But it could also turn us from a life that is all-in for Christ, towards one that conforms to the behavior of this world.

Despite how much I care about the kids I teach, it wasn’t enough to leave me content with my responsibilities considering the behaviors of those around me. But as a Christ follower, I am held accountable to work with honesty, integrity, and discipline because my judge is no one but God. And if He calls us to steward things with patience, trust, and intention, then that is what I must live by. Not that it promises justice will come anytime soon. Nor does it mean my job will be any easier. But it will slowly transform my heart to view these tasks as God does; an opportunity to love God through honorable work and love His people through intention and dedication.

My dear friend, may we not submit to the spirit of laziness or deception as an attempt to enforce what we think is “fair”. For the Lord never promised a fair life. Rather, He promised He would be with us through every step of the way in hardships, in joys, and confusion. But having one foot in the trending behavior of the world and the other trying to maintain a God-loving mindset is impossible. So regardless of the efforts of those around you, or the injustice you are enduring, or just the general hardship of being burnt out, may you choose this day to serve the Lord nonetheless.

Thoughts to Consider:

Are you working with the mindset that God sees both your public and private effort?

In what areas of your life are you tempted to lower your standard because things don’t feel fair?

Where is God inviting you to remain steady and obedient, even when you feel weary or discouraged?

Consider whether your faithfulness is being shaped not in the moments that feel fair, but in the ones that require you to choose God anyway.

“But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15