A Prescription For Life And Work

INTRO.- Have you been to the doctor lately?

ILL.- After a doctor checked a patient over, he asked, “Have you been living a normal life?” “Yes, doctor.” “Well, you’ll have to cut it out for awhile.” Normal in America is not necessarily good.

ILL.- A certain lady visited her doctor nearly every week with a new complaint even though she was in good health. One particular week she said that she was growing hard of hearing. She said, “It’s so bad that I can’t hear myself cough.”

The doctor nodded patiently and wrote out a prescription. She asked, “Will this improve my hearing?” “No,” replied the doctor, “BUT IT WILL HELP YOU TO COUGH LOUDER.”

Pills, pills and more pills. Is that how you feel about the prescriptions that your doctor gives you?

The real world is that our health is declining. In fact, I don’t know of many who are on the upswing of things unless it’s an Olympic athlete. Most of us are heading downhill. It’s just a fact of life. Aging is a part of life.

ILL.- I was shocked one time a little over four years ago when I emailed a picture of mother in the nursing home and me to a longtime preacher friend. Mother’s hair was all messed up and she was blind in one eye. I sent the email to show my brother a picture of mother. He wrote back, “Well, look at that old man!”

The real world is also the working world. That’s where we spend a good part of our time. Don’t you just love to go to work every day?

ILL.- Elaine worked for 28 years for the state of IL at the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center. And she found her working world to be quite tough. It was often dog-eat-dog, every man and woman for themselves and many people didn’t mind stabbing someone else in the back. It was far from a Christian atmosphere. There were some nice people and some Christian people, but for the most part, it was tough.

And it’s pretty much this way everywhere. Rare is the working world a pleasant place to be every day. If you have a job like that, a workplace like that then you’d better spend a lot of time praising the Lord for it!

Because of the world in which we live, I figure that we all could use some help to make our lives better.

PROP.- The best prescription is offered to us is from the Great Physician in His Word. Here is the prescription that I have discovered is not too hard to take but is very helpful in life. In fact, it will help in any area or arena of life. 1- Work heartily 2- See Good 3- Be helpful 4- Laugh long

I. WORK HEARTILY

ILL.- An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun in one hand and a bucket of buffalo manure in the other. He says to the waiter, "Me want coffee.” The waiter says, "Sure chief, coming right up". He gets the Indian a tall mug of coffee, and the Indian drinks it down in one gulp, picks up the bucket of manure, throws it into the air, blasts it with the shotgun, then just walks out.

The next morning the Indian returns. He has his shotgun in one hand and a bucket of buffalo manure in the other. He walks up to the counter and says to the waiter, "Me want coffee".

The waiter says "Whoa, Tonto. We’re still cleaning up your mess from the last time you were here. What was that all about, anyway?"

The Indian smiles and proudly says, "Me in training for upper management. Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull, and disappear for the rest of the day." Not all managers or bosses are that way or are that bad. But the person you work for can make a difference in your work and life.

ILL.- My first job was in the grocery business. The manager of that Foodtown grocery store in Webb City, MO, was Paul Nichols. He was a very pleasant looking man in his 30’s. He was married and had several small, cute children. Not only was he pleasant looking but he also had a very pleasant personality. He was good to work for. He told you what to do, but also showed you how to do it. And he allowed you to make mistakes. Of course, only so many mistakes. But he was a gracious man. That’s how I remember him.

Col. 3:22-24 “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”