The Work Field

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.

– Mother Teresa

For most of us, the easiest way to create a happy life is by simply living according to how we want everything to be. There are way too many obstacles life and we simply want to choose the shortcuts. I have a couple of friends who are nearing their 30s and I can feel the pressure they have. They have this constant fear of the future, and so they choose the temporary happiness to get away with the so-called boredom of everyday life. They feel like they are in a cycle without purpose. They are working everyday, but with no sense of drive; nothing to look forward to. And yet they feel entitled.

Plotting out our priorities is probably the most difficult thing to do, most especially if we know by heart that our priorities are not in accordance with the Lord. I have my fair share of stories to tell about how my priorities have changed, and probably it’s about time to share this list to my dear friends.

Ephesians 5: 15-16 says, “Therefore be very careful how you live—not as unwise but as wise, taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

Looking into the term wise from this verse, we can agree how Psalm 111: 10 sets the tone of the aforesaid verse, “To obey the Lord is the fundamental principle for wise living; all who carry out his precepts acquire good moral insight. He will receive praise forever.”

Here’s a list of how to make the most of your time and see from this perspective how a life according to the Will of God can change your ideas about work, love and priorities.

1. Remember your mission

Let every decision stem from your mission. Let your mission be Christ. Do not fall to the pits of deceptions and lies in this ever-changing world. If you choose Him, you will have a backbone and a goal.

I listen to stories of my friends saying that sometimes they wake up every morning feeling demotivated and deprived. I realize that it’s because of not choosing to plan and stick to their mission centered on the Lord.

It should be our mission to also touch the lives of our friends and family who doesn’t know the Lord. I know that I have a lot of gaps to fill in order to fully execute my mission with Christ, but I also believe that by starting now, my small steps will eventually lead me to my destination. I know that my friends and family’s faith is my mission in this world.

Here’s a verse, which can guide us through our mission.

Matthew 5: 13

You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people.

Salt is a kind of spice, which gives flavor to our food. We are like salt, and in order to be maximized as a flavor to the walk of Christ, we should know our mission and purpose.

2. Be excellent

Having a sense of purpose and mission will get us through being excellent. As long as we know where we are going, we could accomplish any task at hand.

Scholars say that we, the generation who was born in the 1980s and above are the millennials. I must admit that I am definitely a millennial. Somehow, the fact that it defines me makes me feel outlined by society as someone ungrateful, easily bored and less energetic with the greater things. We’d rather want it the easier way. But looking deeply into it, I have my Lord to praise and a society to change. I don’t want to be defined in terms of what my generation tells me to be. I want to think that the concept of the millennial generation is a deception to distract me.

I believe that in order to be excellent, we have to be focused.

I love what Proverbs 22: 29 is saying about excellence, “Do you see a person skilled in his work? He will take his position before kings; he will not take his position before obscure people.”

And also 1 Timothy 4: 12, “Let no one look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in your speech, conduct, love, faithfulness, and purity.”

3. Communicate right

Communication is definitely a very essential tool in our life. We need dialogue in order to understand people, meanings and events. Conflicts arise because of miscommunication, and so we need to be careful with the messages we’re sending, whether interpersonal or online.