It's Not My Job

My daughter started her first job last week.   I don't believe it was by coincidence that God led me to read the book of Ezra the same week.  In the book, the Israelites are given permission to rebuild the temple.  The work took many hands to complete, but the people were excited to get the job done.  What does this have to do with my daughter and her new job?  Well, there were some nuggets of truth in that book that I believe she, and all of us too, can apply to the work that God has given us to do.

The first nugget is:  Pitch in wherever you can.  It's easy for me to look at a job, identify my responsibilities, and carry them out.  It's also easy to identify others' responsibilities and point the finger at those who may not be doing them.  I know that the words, "That's not my job," have crossed my lips more than once over the years.  But in Ezra 5:2 the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, jump right in to help with the temple rebuild.  I'm sure that they could have easily said, "That's not my job," and no one would've questioned it.  That's not what they did.  They saw an opportunity to help out and rolled up their sleeves to do some dirty work.  Incidentally, that four word phrase always seems to show up when there is "dirty work" to be done.  I'm finding myself evaluating how often I am willing to "pitch in" when I see trash that needs to go out, dishes that need to be done, grass that needs to be mowed, bathrooms that need to be cleaned, and the list goes on.  My husband is so good at this.  He's the one you see picking up trash in the parking lot on the way into church.  I think I could stand to be a little more like him and to "roll up my sleeves" a little more often, regardless of whether or not it's "my job."

Tune in tomorrow for nugget number 2!