Shove This Job...I'll Take It

Plain talk in the Bible:
We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.” (2 Thessalonians 3:11-12)
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry. (Proverbs 19:15)
The sluggard’s craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work. (Proverbs 21:25)
“He who has been stealing must steal no longer but must work , doing something useful with his hands”. (Ephesians 5:28)
See your job…
I. View It As a Blessing  
Genesis 2:2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground…
Genesis 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it… 
Genesis2:19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.

Genesis 3:17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ’You must not eat of it,’ "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
It’s not only a blessing to have a job – it’s a blessing to have the health to be able to work.
II. View Your Job As A Bridge
(1) It is a bridge for building a good reputation.
(2) It is a bridge for ministering to the needs of others.
“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people”. (Galatians 6:10)
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. .(Philippians 2:4)
(3) It is a bridge for introducing the reality of Jesus Christ.
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:5-6)
Here is how Peter describes our bridge building methodology. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Peter 3:15-16)
III. View Your Job As A Building Project 
 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”(Colossians 3:23-24).
1. “Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him” (Ecclesiastes 5:18-19).