Your Work Matters. Do IT!

Hey, this is Tim Pratt Jr. I want to welcome you to the podcast Student of Life. I pray that you hear something that will add value, shape, develop, and cultivate your faith in order to be the person that God desires you to be, as well as the application to see it through. Enjoy. What's up everybody? So this is episode 3 of season 3, Student of Life, and in this one I want to call it Your Works— Your Work Matters. Do it. So listen, before we jump into it, I want to get into, uh, owe you an apology. In the first 15 seconds of the second episode, Lack of Contentment, the previous one, uh, it caused some rain in the first 15 seconds. That shouldn't have happened. With even in the light editing I do, that should have been picked up, you know. Although I strive for rare and just being transparent, those things should not have slipped through. And so going forward, I'm gonna make sure I work diligently that that doesn't happen anymore. Uh, so that being said, like, I, um, I apologize. No excuses. It shouldn't have happened. Uh, now let's jump into it. Had to get that out of the way to make sure we're in order. And so our foundational text today will actually be— it was actually a supporting verse in the last passage of scripture. And this is how you get into the dynamics of basically, you know, how you can't say that you become so familiar with scripture, because that's how we miss things, uh, because God's word is spirit. And so it can speak to us in so many different aspects of our life, you know, if we, if we just be sensitive to it and plug in and just meditate on it day and night as we're supposed to. And it really helps with the renewal of our mind, you know, especially being in this world. And so this one, like I said, is Colossians 3:23.. And it says that— it reads that whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not human masters. Work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord. And whatever we do, not our bosses, not our managers, not our leaders, none of that. I'm a senior technical project manager, and I get to, you know, manage teams, manage a direct team, and work with a lot of— oversee a lot of, you know, people indirectly. You know, being responsible for the project. And I'm not there, you know, I say I lead people, you manage processes and procedures and things like that, but I'm not— they have a personal life, but I can inspire them, you know. I, I try my best to lead them, but I lead them from the perspective of knowing that I'm following Christ. So even as I follow my leaders or bosses or managers within the context of my work or day-to-day or the things I'm in I'm still following Christ first. I'm doing it as I'm doing it for the Lord. It's not easy. It is not easy. I'll be lying because you have some that you'd be like, man, no. And then you have some like, man, I really like— wow, you know, they're godsend. Like, it makes doing this— I'm doing it for the Lord or working for the Lord— it makes it a lot easier than some others or others I've had in my past. Uh, and stuff. And so that being said, I don't want to sugarcoat, I don't want to make it seem like, oh, like that's easy. It's because it can be easier said than done, but it's scripture at the end of the day. And I don't believe that in this passage, uh, that is wrong with isolating this verse, because we have to, like I said, be very careful with doing that. And that's something I might get into, as I've mentioned you know, because a lot of times, like I say, we take things out of context. And so just keep in mind, like I said, you can use that word masters interchangeable because different times, different times it wasn't from the standpoint of oppression like we remember. So I just want to really make sure we're clear on that. Um, so that being said, do you really understand that your work matters? And if you really do are you doing it? Or if you're not, why not? Because when you understand that this concept, whether you work at a coffee shop, janitorial, whether you lead a Fortune 500 company, small business, any service-based, selling a product, whatever, it matters. And It's basically looking at it almost, or just truthfully, as an opportunity to serve the Lord. Teaching, whatever it is— kind of getting a little bit ahead, but I got to be obedient. Oftentimes we feel like if we're not the pastor or in a ministry context, especially spiritual and people of faith, we act like it doesn't matter. But I believe that the Lord took in consideration— God being all-knowing He know that— he knew that he was gonna spend a lot of time at work. And honestly, if you look at it, I mean, especially in today's time, people are spending and working almost 50, 55 hours a week. You don't even spend that much time with your spouse, your kids, just, you know, straight up nowadays. And it matters to God. Now, I'm not saying that that's an order. I don't want to get into it because that's come down to your convictions and what your agreements are and arrangements with your family. But truthfully, even if it was around 30, 35, 40, it would still be just every day more than what you probably, you know, spend with your family when you take into consideration sleep and all of that, just those active hours, you know, versus those active hours at work. So God doesn't just care about what you do outside of the office, he cares about what you do right there in the office. Or in the building that you, you know, choose to serve, or the, the, the, you know, you get what I'm saying, like the, the franchise, the local franchise, or the local business. He cares. It's not just like, oh, they're not in the local church. No, he really cares. That's why I believe this verse saying whatever you do, work at it with all your heart. Now some people say, you know, you get into things that go against what God, you know what I'm saying, meaning that like certain things like, or professions that are frowned upon. Uh, like I said, once again, I don't agree with some of those, you know, like, uh, pimping, you know, stripping, just straight up. I mean, I, you know, not judgmental, but I understand you get into dynamics of people have to feed their family and things, but Like I say, that's your personal convictions. I believe that you have to be very careful if you— because I've seen people, you might be laughing, you might find it funny, you might not, but I've seen people take this verse out of context in that standpoint and say, well, whatever you do, do it all your heart. But at the same time, you got to keep in mind that, you know, things that encourage sin, I don't believe in my heart that God's intent was to say, you know, those type of things. Do it with all your heart. Stealing— you got people that literally steal and run black, you know what I'm saying? Really? No. So you have to be very careful there. But in the proper context, man, we are, you know, we are things that don't go against the will of God. We are to do that with all our hearts. We're working for the Lord. One thing that I'm learning is that we don't— I'm trying to see how to say this because I want this to really be— a lot of times we can't do things with excellence. That's what I believe this verse is saying. We can't do things with excellence because we don't like repetition. And I read one time that the repetition is the mother of skill, meaning that that's what produces it. You know, when a mother— when a man and a woman come together and that seed and that woman gives birth to that child, that's what it's saying repetition does. Repetition helps give— like, repetition is with the mother. It helps give birth to your skill. So it's like doing it over and over and over and over. So you're cultivating, you're nurturing that skill. It's the time before the actual work. So for example, like, I don't consider myself a, like, author, you know. Uh, I do want to write a book, uh, and I believe that the right time is going to come. But you know, I blog, I try to write out content for podcasts, and vlogs and things like that, and as well as help go back and forth with some other people and collaborating with them. But sometimes I get stale and sometimes I get in the funk, you know. And so I— and then I just try to jump right into it. That's kind of honestly, just for full transparency, what I would do sometimes with these episodes with podcasting. But what I've learned is like, if you think about a faucet that hasn't been used in a while, you know, old, whatever older house, older pipes and stuff, or whatever, and you turn it on, you know, now it comes out with this discolored water, rusty, but just keep on steady, whatever, full stream. It's like, you know, it has like the thumping sound, like clumpy, and then it just starts to like run smooth. And then when you go back, it might do it a little bit, but then, you know, it, it does what it do. But after So long, boom, you should go to it, turn on, it flows beautifully, you know. And we gotta apply that same concept to our life. So if you're just sitting there and you're not doing anything, you're taking all this knowledge in, you're doing all this stuff, but you're not doing nothing with it, you're going to be rusty. So because it just, it hasn't been used in a while. So Yeah, a lot of the first drafts and first edits and first tweaks, it's, it's probably gonna suck, just like people can say about mine, you know, when I go back and reflect. But one thing I see is growth through feedback, through not taking it personal, you know. Some things that I don't agree with because a lack of context, but it's not always meant for me to try to provide context. It's just to say, okay, you know, sometimes I am led— well, you have to understand this dynamic. Because even in feedback, you know, you have to be careful, but you will know the truth because oftentimes we are our biggest critic and stuff. And like, one of the things that you've probably seen is like, I wrestle with speed up and slowing down, but I'm like aggressively working on that skill set and stuff to become a better, you know, more effective communicator, especially doing solo podcasting. And today we're You know, it— I do feel like it's a— I mean, you can build a better platform with collaborating, and I'm getting there, but it's just I'm using this to share my convictions and what I believe God is telling me. And so, but when that time comes, boom, I'll, you know, probably have to learn how to really interview people. But the art and the skill behind, you know, words and things like that It is, it's just, it's been sharpening, if that makes sense. And so once again, reputation, reputation is the mother of skill. It's the time before the work. So you have to do the things that people don't see, and this is what leads to doing things with excellence, like I say, you know, and with doing it with all our heart. Because you won't just look at, you know what I'm saying, the person, it's like, wow, they're up on stage, they're so magnificent, and they gave a 30-minute talk, but maybe 10, 15 hours of preparation, if not 20, went into that, you know, from the first time they wrote the title down or whatever, bulletin points and things. And just, you know, of course, as time go on, I believe it becomes more organic, but at the same time, they still have, you know, that process that they go through. The hours might shorten, but the process, for the most part, I believe stays the same. And so you have to understand that when you fully come into the terms of your work matters, or whatever you do, you have to do it. You truly have to do it as if you're doing it for the Lord, because that's what's going to help excel you. That's a principle. That's, that's just a principle. A lot of us aren't succeeding is because I believe that we get caught up on the human master like I say, we're interchanging it, we're with the leader, boss, or that just that person that we're working with or whatever, we get caught up on them. But if we just see the Lord, you know, I mean, imagine serving coffee and you're doing this if you're doing it for the Lord, not really worried about your bosses and stuff. And even if you're just handing that person that cup, but you handing them that cup with a smile and encouragement, and how they, you know, might say, wow, you know, what if that person would have been suicidal that day or going through whatever? Or you teaching and you taking your time, you know, think about over time repetition, just over and over and over doing it, and how consistent— consistency will start to compound. You can go back to season 1 and check out that episode from what I really mean by that, but how consistency will just start to compound over and over and over because of your intent because you're being obedient to scripture. And so just don't neglect, neglect that. Don't neglect the day-to-day, the mundane things that are just really boring. I sometimes, sometimes I love researching, getting in like just brainstorming and just meditating on scripture and just like, Lord, flow through me. And then there's other times I hate it. I mean, I'm just like, wow, man, you know, this is And but it's like my— like I told you, my father-in-law, Father in Love, dedication and consecration, dedication and consecration. Not that it's a ritual or just a routine habit, but that you, as my dad say, could become one with it. That is a way of life that, you know, basically you cannot give away what you don't have. And so a lot of times we can't be great because we're not basically putting in the necessary work and being connected to what we need to be connected to. And for me, it's first God, you know. But it's like, if I'm trying to be a great designer, I need to be plugged in, you know, with design feeds and other designers and material, staying sharp and things like that. Not just expecting to walk in because I want to be one and think I'm, you know, oh wow, going to be this magnificent designer. And so like I said, we can look to Paul, you know, even when he was talking, you know, writing in 2 Thessalonians, I believe it's around, uh, chapter 3. But, um, they were just waiting around, like it was just people like, you know, we're just sitting there because they was waiting on the return of Jesus and stuff, or waiting on Jesus, and they basically decided not to work. And Paul, like, he was being clear in that passage of scripture. Like I said, I have to go back and really research it out, but I know he was basically— he wasn't in agreement with that when he was, when he was writing to them. He wasn't. He's like, no, it's still work to do. We have to get out here, man, and go. And even when you look into that in today's modern culture, uh, I think it is a lot better than it was maybe, you know, 10 years ago. Uh, if not 15 years ago, but, and more. But at the same time, you know, you still have a lot of people of faith that, yes, I understand our riches in kingdom and all of that type of stuff, if we truly live in it, are in heaven. But that still doesn't negate that God wanted us to work the ground. I mean, go back to Genesis, you know, Old Testament. He gave Adam work. First, even before he gave him Eve. And so that's because your work matters. It's important to God. So if you're not a pastor, man, or you don't lead in the local church or a big ministry, or, you know, you don't have a big business or entrepreneur, you don't have the big podcast platform or whatever, Hey, it still matters because what does the scripture say? And whatever you do, work it with all your heart as you're working for the Lord. That's why it matters. So if nobody else know your name, if nobody else shouts you out or, you know, whatever, trust me, is God pleased? Because if not careful— and I don't want to get too deep because it's going to translate into a whole nother episode But what's the point of doing it not as you're doing it for the Lord, but for everybody else? But you're doing it with the intent just to be seen and recognized, but it's really not with all your heart. But God tells you, I'm not pleased with that. But hundreds, tens, millions of people are pleased with you. But God isn't. What are you gonna do? That's really just something to think about, and it's actually hitting me now as I'm speaking, you know, through, through this, just through this content. Like, think about that, man. So keep in mind, like I said, I know we've said it a lot on this episode, and I'm really slowing down here because It's, it's cutting me too. It's hitting me. But your work matters. What you do, whatever you do, as long as it's not contradicted to the word of God, it matters. Do it. Hey, so I want to thank you for taking the time to listen to this content today. If it has impacted you in any kind of way, I I wanna encourage you to share it on your social media feed with family and friends. And if you desire to connect with me on a more deeper level, go to www.timothyprattjr.org where you'll get more information on how to do that. With that being said, continue to have a blessed day, and Lord's will, I'll see you next time.