THE FAX OF LIFE
 A Weekly Service To The Community From Vineville Baptist Church
 
 SUCCEEDING AT WORK
 By Rick Warren

 Work dominates our lives.  If you are a typical American, you'll spend about 150,000 hours, or 40% of the waking hours of your life, at work.  You'll spend more time working, thinking about work, and commuting to work than you do eating, relaxing, and vacationing combined.

 Since work comprises such a major component of your life, God wants you to succeed in it.  In fact, he's ready to help you out.  In the Bible God offers this guarantee:

 "Commit your work to the Lord, then it will succeed." (Prov. 16:3 LB)

 What does it mean to "commit your work to the Lord"? How do you do it?
    There are four specific steps:

 1. SEEK GOD'S DIRECTION.  Ask Him to guide you everyday - in your planning ... your organizing ... your decision making... your implementing ... and in relating to everyone you come in contact with.  "The Lord is pleased when good people pray" (Prov. 15:8 GN)

 2. SHARPEN YOUR SKILLS.  Be the best you can be for God's glory.  Never stop learning.  Look for ways to cultivate the talents He's given you. "If your ax is dull, and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success."
(Eccl. 10:10) 

 3. STAY POSITIVE IN YOUR ATTITUDE.  Refuse to be infected by the worrying, the complaining, or the laziness of others.  Remember, enthusiasm comes from the Greek words  ("en theos") that mean "to be in God."  "In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people."  (Col. 3:23 NCV)

 4. TITHE ON YOUR PROFITS.  If you're serious about committing your work to God so He can bless it, then God expects you to demonstrate your commitment by tithing your income. "Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income, and he will fill your barns... to overflow"  (Prov. 3:9-10 LB)

These are the conditions that guarantee God's blessing on your work. The choice is yours.