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.”
The boss or manager for whom you work can make a difference in your work. We ALL work for the Lord no matter what we do in life. Many people are quick to point out to me that I work for the Lord who is the best boss in the world.
But so do you. When you are a Christian you’re greatest loyalty is not to your company but to your Christ!
ILL.- Jimmy was a committed Christian who worked after school in a grocery store. One day a customer said to Jimmy AFTER making a purchase of fruit, “Throw a few extra pieces into my sack.” Jimmy replied, “Oh, I can’t do that. The boss wouldn’t approve.” The man said, “But the boss isn’t in.” Jimmy said, “Oh yes, he’s in. He’s always in. I’m a Christian.”
II. SEE GOOD
ILL.- Once a rabbi decided to test the honesty of his disciples, so he called them together and posed a question. “What would you do if you were walking along and found a purse full of money lying in the road?” he asked.
“I’d return it to its owner,” said one disciple. “His answer comes so quickly, I must wonder if he really means it,” the rabbi thought.
“I’d keep the money if nobody saw me find it,” said another.
“He has a frank tongue, but a wicked heart,” the rabbi told himself.
“Well, Rabbi,” said a third disciple, “to be honest, I believe I’d be tempted to keep it. So I would pray to God that He give me the strength to resist such temptation and do the right thing.” “Aha!” thought the rabbi. “Here is the man I would trust.”
There is evil in the world today. Almost everywhere you look there is evil. And it seems that most of the news on TV and in the papers is about evil or bad things that are taking place.
There is much evil in people, but there is also good in people and this is what we must look for in order to live better in this world. Accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. This doesn’t mean, however, that we must be blind to evil.
ILL.- Theodore Roosevelt once said, “The times are evil; that is, there is much that is evil in them. It would be to our shame and discredit if we failed to recognized that evil; if we wrapped ourselves in a foolish optimism and failed to war with heart and strength against the evil. It would be equally to our discredit if we declined to strive for good because we feared the strength of evil. There is much evil. There is much good, too.”
Eph. 5:15-17 “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
If we are going to be very careful how we live and do the Lord’s will then we must be alert to the evil that is in our world. BE DISCERNING. Stack everything up against the Word of God AND YOU WILL RECOGNIZE EVIL FOR WHAT IT IS!
However, we must not go around as witch hunters, trying to hunt down and curse every person whom we consider to be evil. Everybody has a dark side, but we must somehow look for the good in people and build on that good. Otherwise, how can you ever get along in this world?
Some people who are just plain evil should be avoided (I’ve seen a few in my time), but we need to befriend all others. In other to do that we must see the good and the positive in their lives.
Phil. 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
We must look for truth, nobility, rightness, purity, loveliness, etc. in people’s lives and thank God for it, commend them for it and try to build on it. It will make a difference in our own lives and work.
III. BE HELPFUL
Gal. 6:9-10 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
Never be in such in a hurry to get your work done that you can’t stop and help a fellow worker. However, there may be a couple of exceptions. What’s your motive for helping another?
ILL.- While working as a stock clerk at that Foodtown grocery store in Webb City, MO, there was one particular stocker who was very fast. That is, he was a very fast stocker. He could put that merchandise on the shelves very quickly. Faster than me and I was not slow. After stocking the merchandise that was on his cart he would come by my aisle and offer to help me. And I would let him but I think he had an ulterior motive. IT MADE HIM LOOK GOOD TO THE MANAGER. I am not sure that he was just being helpful. I felt like he was trying to promote himself.
I think it pays to help one another in our work, whatever it is, but what is our motive? Are we doing this for their good or our good?
ILL.- Preacher John Wesley said:
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the time you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
The whole purpose of helping others and doing good to others is to bless them! We should be in the blessing business! But at the same time, as we bless them we will bless ourselves. Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap!
IV. LAUGH LONG
Proverbs 15:30 “A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.”
Proverbs 17:22 “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
A sense of humor can help no matter where you are or what you are doing. And it can really help at work. Laugh long or develop a sense of humor in life. What am I talking about?
ILL.- I remember the manager of Safeway calling to the employees in the back room one day, “Come here, guys, I have a story to tell you.” And he proceeded to tell a funny joke, which was not all that funny and one reason was because it was somewhat shady. That’s not the kind of laughter that blesses people.
ILL.- I remember many years ago preacher Wayne Smith was teaching a class at the Ozark Christian College preaching convention. I don’t even remember the class, but I remember something he said that has stuck with me for many years. He said, “Are you fun to live with?”
What a question! The idea is that if you are not fun to live with then something is wrong and you certainly won’t bless others!
This doesn’t mean that you’re going to be in prime shape every day or in an excellent mood every day but overall, if you’re not a pleasant person, peaceable, easy to get along with, easily joked with or teased, then something is wrong! People with sour dispositions don’t bless others!
How do we get joy into our souls? Stop looking within and without and start looking up! When we are self-centered or worldly-centered we will never be the joyful, pleasant people that God wants.
ILL.- Someone said, “The first steps toward happiness are the church steps.” In other words, seek the Lord. He alone can put joy into our lives or change us into joy-filled people.
ILL.- J. M. Barrie said, “Those who bring sunshine (joy) into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”
CONCLUSION-----------------------
ILL.- An old Scottish woman went from home to home across the countryside selling thread, buttons, and shoestrings. Whenever she came to an unmarked crossroad, she would toss a stick into the air and go in the direction the stick pointed when it landed.
One day, however, she was seen tossing the stick up several times. "Why do you toss the stick more than once?" someone asked. "Because," replied the woman, "it keeps pointing to the left, and I want to take the road on the right."
Many times we are no different when it comes to what we do in life. What it boils down to is that we often do what we want to do regardless of what others might think or say.
Self is our ruler, but self also often gets us into trouble. Self is what got Jonah into a whale of a lot of trouble.
Instead of doing the Lord’s will, which was clearly revealed to him, he went the opposite direction. And it took some pain and much prayer to come to his senses.
Brothers and sisters, the best prescription for our lives is always the Lord’s will. The safest and surest way in life is to seek the Lord’s will, whether it’s a matter of work, marriage, education or whatever. HAVE THINE OWN WAY, LORD. Thou art the potter. I am the clay.
