iWork4Him PowerThought

It shouldn't surprise us. Our God, who is a God of order, design, and truth, has a clear answer for our priorities. Our Number 4 priority should be our work. Work is a gift from God, just as our relationships are. Work is necessary to shape our character and pay our bills. Work is designed to have a start and an end every day. Everything unravels when work is a higher priority than our families and God. Marriages struggle, kids struggle, and we become strangers with God. When Work is put in its proper place, it is a blessing that causes flourishing for us, our coworkers, bosses, employees, customers, and vendors. Avodah is the Hebrew word for Work and Worship. That is what God intended- for our work to be worship at the same time. Keep it in check, and life will be good.

It shouldn't surprise us. Our God, who is a God of order, design, and truth, has a clear answer for our priorities. Our Number 3 priority should be our relationship with our kids. I know that not everyone listening has kids but listen for your friends. When our kids run our priorities list instead of being in 3rd place, the whole family is a mess, especially you. Our lives are not supposed to revolve around our kids. Our kids should clearly be in place behind God and our spouse. When this is done properly, our kids will understand three important things, God is important, marriage is critical, and the world is not all about them. Do your kids a favor today and tell them their priority in your life. Today is a great day to start showing them the truth.

It shouldn't surprise us. Our God, who is a God of order, design, and truth, has a clear answer for our priorities. Our Number 2 priority should be your relationship with your spouse if you are married. Everything else but God should be prioritized behind your spouse. So often, this gets really messed up. We put work first, and everything else just ends up in a mess. When we get married, we are marrying our best friend—someone we want to spend our lives with – all of our lives. When we neglect time with our spouse and our priorities get out of wack, our marriage and everyone around us suffers. Do you know what usually pushes your spouse's relationship out of order? Your kids. We will talk about them tomorrow. Want to keep your marriage intact and flourishing? Prioritize your spouse over kids and work, and under God.

It shouldn't surprise us. Our God, who is a God of order, design, and truth, has a clear answer for our priorities. Our Number one priority should be our relationship with Him. Our quiet time, our calendars, our checkbooks and our screen time reflect this. When God doesn't take first place in our lives, we always seem to be hurried and harried, never getting enough done. When our daily schedule reflects God as our number one priority, with first place in our day, things fall into place, time moves productively, and things just work. When God is number one, your work will reflect your relationship with Him, and others will be attracted. Who's number one in your life? What's it going to take to put God back on top? You will benefit the most if you get this done.

What's the purpose of business? God designed business to be a blessing to your community. What does that look like? It means that the service you provide is always done with excellence. It means your product is safe and does exactly what you say it will do. Your community is everybody you serve. But the community also means the area around where your business resides. Being a blessing to your community can look like investing in your city's infrastructure and in ministries that touch the lives of people there. Being a blessing to your community means much more than just writing a check. It means unleashing your employees in the community as volunteers on a regular basis. If you asked the local civic officials if your business was a blessing to the community, what would they say?

What's the purpose of business? God designed business to be a blessing to the employees of the business. What's that look like? It means paying your people well, treating your people nicely, providing a safe work environment, and listening to them. There are so many things you can do to be a blessing to your employees, but number one is they need to be loved… Have you ever asked your employees how you're doing? Have you ever asked them if they feel blessed to work for you as a business owner? If you haven't, maybe today is the day you start asking those tough questions. If your business isn't being a blessing to your employees, then they're likely not being a blessing to your customers, and eventually, your business will run out of steam and close its doors. Jesus said love your neighbor. Start doing that with your employees today.

What's the purpose of business? God designed business to be a blessing to the vendors that supply your business. What does that look like? It means ordering your supplies well in advance. It means being respectful on the phone when you're making your orders. It means paying your bills on time. It means telling others about the quality of service you receive from the vendors. If your business is blessing your vendors, then they will be a blessing to your business, because you're one of their customers. If your vendors aren't happy with how you treat them, then there's something wrong with your business. As Jesus followers, how we treat others really matters. It's one of the two things Jesus said was most important than anything else. Love God and love people. How are you treating your vendors today?

What's the purpose of business? God designed business to be a blessing to the customers of the business. That may sound oversimplified, but if your customers aren't feeling blessed by your product or service, then you won't have a business for very long. What does it look like to be a blessing to your customers? It means that the product that you provide is well-built, long-lasting, and meets the needs of the customers. It means that the service you provide is done with excellence, on time, and exactly what you told the customer you would do. Do you ever survey your customers to see if they're satisfied? To see if you're a blessing to them? There really is no point in being in business if your business isn't a blessing to your customers. Ask them today how you're doing.

What's the purpose of business? God designed business to be a blessing to the business owner and his/her family. What does that look like? A paycheck, or is it more? Of course, a business needs to provide an income to the owner, but it must also help his/her marriage and family to flourish. If your business is robbing your family of your time, then it's not a blessing. If your business isn't providing consistent income, maybe your business model needs a little work. God designed business to be a blessing, to have purpose in meeting the needs of those the business serves. But first and foremost, if the business isn't a blessing to the business owner and their family, something has to change. Is your business a blessing to your family?

I have never worked a manufacturing line. But I know this. If people don't do their jobs at the manufacturing plants, then many items we count on wouldn't be made. If you feel like you're just a manufacturing worker and want to quit your job to go into full-time ministry. Don't! That's a disaster. Your job is so critical to the lives of thousands of people, perhaps millions. God has gifted you uniquely to be able to build things, fix things, and package things. Without manufacturing, we'd still be in the dark ages. Every day as a worker in a manufacturing environment, you have the unique ability to touch the lives of everyone around you and impact the lives of people you'll never meet. Please stay at your job and keep making a difference. Imagine a world where everybody in a manufacturing environment quit their job to work at a church. That's not a world I want to live in.