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Colin Smith: Love is the great motivation for all of our work. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands. Why? So that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, and we're continuing a message we began last time called Work. And Colin, many of us work with mixed motives, and it's interesting that you said that the great biblical motive for work is love. And if we don't feel like that is what is driving us, if that's not our motive, how do we work towards that?

Colin Smith: Yeah, well Steve, you're absolutely right to speak about there being different motives. There are multiple motives, not just one. But love is the supreme motive in every sphere of life, and that includes our work. And so someone's listening today and you're saying, "I don't love my work." Yes, but you do love the Lord, and it's the Lord that has given you this particular work to do at this particular time. And so to do it well is actually an expression of your love for the Lord Jesus Christ, who has given you this work.

Now I find that that elevates work. It helps me if I've got to do something that I really don't want to do, to say, "Well, you know, I'm not doing this just because I'm employed and I have these responsibilities. I'm offering this to the Lord, and I'm going to do it to the best of my ability because it's what he's given me to do at this particular time." So I find that to be immensely helpful, and I hope that the message today is really going to be encouraging in this very important area of life. You have work, and God has given you work to do. Let's pursue doing that work as an act of love and an expression of worship to the Lord who has given this work to us.

Steve Hiller: We're going to look at this more from the book of Proverbs. A number of different places in Proverbs we'll be today, so hope you'll grab a Bible, have it handy, and be ready to jump around the book with us. Let's continue the message. Here's Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: The motive of a hard-working person. And here I want to look at Proverbs chapter 24 and verse 30, where we read, "I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was overgrown with thorns, the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down."

Now picture a wise man and he's out on a beautiful afternoon taking a walk in the countryside. And the path that he's walking on takes him by the edge of little properties, one little farm after another. He looks over the land and he sees at the end of the land a little house where the family that works that land is. And then he moves on past the next farm. It's a beautiful, beautiful walk. And as he goes along this path, he sees a field of ripening corn. And as he looks across the field to the little house at the end where the family who are working this field live, he thinks, "Oh, there's going to be a great harvest for this family. They're going to be richly, wonderfully blessed this year."

And then as he continues on the path, he walks past a vineyard, and he sees these great clusters of grapes hanging from the branches. Looks down at the house at the end of that property and says, "Oh, there's going to be a great harvest for this family this year. They're going to be so richly blessed." And he keeps walking along this little path, and then he then he sees this land and it's an orchard. I had to get that bit in, it's an orchard. And he thinks, "Oh, how blessed are the family that live here and are deeply rooted in this soil."

And then he comes to another property that looks very, very different. The field is overgrown with thorns, the ground is covered with nettles, and the stone wall around the field is broken down. God has given to the person who lives here a field, but this man has not used what he was given. And the tragedy of the neglected field is not just that the sluggard has failed to provide for himself; it is that this man, unlike all his neighbors, is unable to contribute to the needs of others.

Look at chapter 21 and verse 25 that draws this out. "The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back." So you see the contrast that's being made here is a contrast between the sluggard and the righteous. And here's the difference: the righteous has a good harvest, and so he has enough for himself and for his family, and he has enough for others as well. And so he's able to give and he does not hold back.

But the sluggard who does not plow, he has nothing to give. So think about this. God gave the sluggard a field. God gave him something that would produce. It would produce all that he needed for himself and a whole lot more besides, more that he could give to others. But here's the problem: the sluggard did not use what God had given to him, did not use his God-given gift. And because he did not use that which God gave to him, the field became overgrown and the wall was broken down.

Now right here in Proverbs, and particularly in the contrast between the sluggard and the righteous, there is the seed of a principle that is drawn out and made quite clear and explicit in the New Testament, and it's this: that love is the great motivation for all of our work. You see it in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 28: "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands. Why? So that he may have something to share with anyone in need."

In other words, the motive for using the gifts that God has given to us is not simply so that I will have what I need; it is so that I can contribute to the needs of others. So that in the exercise of whatever God has given to each one of us, we are able to minister to the needs of others. Love is the great motive for all of our work, and of course that begins with our love for God. So Colossians chapter 3 and verse 23: "Whatever you do"—so we're talking here about whatever your paid work is, whatever work you have been given to do that is not paid, whatever you have been called by God to do in your life, whatever the work that he has given you to do—"work at it with all your heart. Why? As working for the Lord, not for men."

You see, that's why you become a very productive person, even when you're not being closely supervised, because while the eye of some boss may not be on you, the eye of the Lord is, and you're doing it for him and for his glory. And that's why you always offer your best. These words from Colossians chapter 3 and verse 23 are above the door of my study at home, and I normally go into the study with great joy. What a privilege. But like everyone else, there are always days when one struggles. And on days when I'm struggling, I sometimes just touch that text above the door on my way in, because it's a reminder to me: "I'm doing it for you, Lord. I don't feel like doing this today, but I want to offer what I'm doing to you as worship."

And you will find that, whatever your work is, you will find that principle immensely helpful: that the motive for it is first your own love for the Lord. Whatever your work is, offer it to him as worship. "I'm writing this essay, Lord, for you. I'm serving this customer, Lord, for your glory. Let me do it in a way, therefore, that imparts blessing to them." There may be times when your work is hard and dull and boring. There may be times, of course, when you would rather be doing something else. But you will be helped and you will be lifted as every day you go to your work, whatever that may be: "Lord, help me to offer what I do to you today as worship, and let me bring blessing to others as I do it."

That's the principle: that love, that is love for God and love for others, is the great motive for pursuing all that God has called you to do, whatever that is. Now I was helped in preparing this week by going back to a book I read a while ago by Rebecca DeYoung, who teaches at Calvin College. She has written a book on the seven deadly sins, and she describes sloth, which is what we're talking about here today, as resistance to the demands of love. I wonder if you have ever thought about that. Laziness is resistance to the demands of love.

She describes what can easily happen in a marriage. So a husband and a wife get into some argument, and then they retreat to different parts of the house. And it's easier to stay at a miserable distance—him watching the television in one room and her reading a book in the other. It's easier to stay at a miserable distance than to do the hard work of saying sorry, forgiving, and reconciling. Rebecca DeYoung says, "Do they want the relationship? Yes, they do. Do they want to do what it takes to be in the relationship? Well, maybe tomorrow. For now, at least, each spouse wants the night off to wallow in his or her own selfish loneliness."

Brothers, sisters, it is easy to get lazy in love. To let a relationship drift because you're taking it for granted, because you can't be bothered to face what is wrong or to make the effort to try and put it right. And it is a great sin to let love die because you're too lazy to do the hard work to put it right.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, and a message called Work. Now we're going to pause here, but we'll get back to the message in just a moment. This message is part of a larger series entitled Wisdom for Life, where we're taking a look at a number of the themes in Proverbs. And if you've missed any of the broadcasts in our series, you can come and listen online. Our website is openthebible.org. There you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. Again, that's at openthebible.org.

Open the Bible is listener-supported. It's your financial generosity that allows us to bring you Pastor Colin's teaching, whether you listen on the radio, online, through the app, or however you've connected with this ministry. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to send you a copy of Pastor Colin's new 30-day devotional book called Growing in Hope. And Colin, what's one thing that you'd like people to take away from this book?

Colin Smith: Well, it would be very practical, because every Christian knows what it is to go through dark times when we feel discouraged, we're down, we don't know how to move forward. And when these times come in your life, you need to know how to handle your own soul, how to encourage and strengthen yourself. David, of course, speaks about this. He knew what this was like. In Psalm 42, he speaks to himself. He says, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you in turmoil within me?" And then he says, "Hope in God."

So I hope what people will take away from this is that they'll be helped and encouraged in being able to speak to their own soul in the way that David did in Psalm 42, and to find hope in God, because there is hope in God for every circumstance of life, and it comes to us in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Steve Hiller: Well, we'd love to send you a copy of this brand-new 30-day devotional from Pastor Colin called Growing in Hope. It's our thank you for your financial support this month. You can give online at openthebible.org or when you call 1-877-OPEN-365. Again, that's openthebible.org or call 1-877-673-6365. Let's get back to the message. Again, here's Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: It is a great sin to let love die because you are too lazy to do the hard work to put it right. So, brothers and sisters, we're coming around the Lord's table today. Let's look at our lives honestly as we prepare to come. Ask yourself, "Am I getting lazy in love? Am I resisting love's demands? Am I neglecting to care for what God has entrusted to me?"

Repentance is like plowing. It's hard work, but in due time, it will yield a harvest. Now someone may be thinking immediately, "Oh, you don't know my situation. There's no point. Nothing I do will ever make any difference." And I just want you to hear the word of God that says this in Galatians 6:9: "Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Don't give up.

It is a great sin to let love die because you are too lazy to do the hard work that it takes to keep it alive. And it would be a tragic loss to miss eternal life because you're too lazy to do what it takes to find it. Let me encourage you with these scriptures: "Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. Strive to enter through the narrow door. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you, for everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

Don't be a lazy Christian. Trusting God isn't easy, not for any of us. Praying is hard work. Persevering can sometimes be exhausting. But if you will not plow, how will you have a harvest? So the profile of an unproductive person, the motive of a hard-working person—it all comes out of loving God enough to do the hard things and loving others enough to do the hard things.

And then lastly, the joy of a Christ-like person. Did you notice, by the way, that Jesus is the precise opposite of everything we said about the sluggard? He began early, 12 years old, in the temple: "Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business?" You want to be like Christ? Stop procrastinating. Is there something that God has prompted you to do and you've been putting it off, telling yourself there's plenty of time?

Oh, C.S. Lewis makes this point wonderfully: that the devil has so many ways of ruining souls, but his most effective is to make people think that there is plenty of time. And the scripture goes exactly the opposite direction. It says, "Today, today, right now, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart." Now is the time for repentance. Now is the time to do that which you know must be done. Now is the time for obedient following after the call of the Lord Jesus Christ and his claim upon your life.

Second, Jesus stayed focused. The sluggard is so easily distracted, but Jesus says, "We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work." There's an urgency about every day of the life of Jesus. And he will never be distracted. He sets his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem, the Gospels say. He set his face like a flint to do the hardest thing that was ever done in the history of the world.

So when you are discouraged, do not be distracted from doing the will of the Father, no matter how costly it may be. That's the joy of a Christ-like person. Your Savior stayed focused, and for that reason he completed his work. He's uniquely able to say, John 17 and verse 4, "Father, I have glorified you on earth and accomplished the work that you gave me to do." What was that work? He came into the world to seek and to save the lost, and he's done it.

Everything that is needed to bring anyone of us here this morning from where we are right now, whatever our circumstances, whatever our state, everything that is needed to bring us from where we are right now into the glory of eternal joy in the presence of the Lord Jesus—everything that is needed for that was accomplished by our Lord Jesus Christ in his death and in his resurrection. And that is why on the cross he cries out in a loud voice in triumph, "It is finished."

And then he enters his rest. And today he is seated at the right hand of the Father where he is ready right now and able to save all who will look to him in repentance and in faith. The opposite of everything that we see in the sluggard. Don't you want to be like Jesus? God has prepared work for everyone of us here this morning to do. Ephesians 2:10: he's prepared works, good works in advance for all of us to do. There's a whole path of good that you can do this week that God already knows and it's for you to discover it and do it.

Start early, stay focused, and persevere to the end so that you will be able to say with Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith." And then, by God's grace, you too will enter into his rest.

Steve Hiller: What a great way to wrap up this message: taking a look at the joy of a Christ-like person. And if you know Christ as your Savior, I hope that you've experienced that joy and that today's message has been an encouragement to you. But if you don't know Jesus as your Savior, well then that joy that Pastor Colin has been talking about would not be yours. But maybe you'd like to know Jesus and to begin that relationship with him today and experience that joy and freedom and forgiveness that only he can offer.

Well, I want to invite you to come to Jesus today. If you've got questions about beginning that relationship with him, I hope you'll contact us here at Open the Bible. Talk with one of our staff members. Our toll-free number is 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365. And we'd have no greater joy than introducing you to Jesus. Well, Colin, it's Friday and the weekend's coming.

Colin Smith: Yeah, and I want to encourage you to get to church on Sunday. Find a church where the Bible is opened and where Jesus is the center of attention. And if you live in the Chicago area and you don't have a church home, I'd love for you to join us at The Orchard. There are six locations in the northwest suburbs. For more information, go to theorchard.church. That's theorchard.church.

Steve Hiller: Well, thank you, Colin, and thanks for listening. I'm Steve Hiller, and I hope you'll join us next time. This program is a listener-supported production of Open the Bible.

Colin Smith: At Open the Bible, we're grateful for like-minded organizations committed to sharing the Gospel around the world. And to that end, I'd like to commend the work of Global Fingerprints. You know, in the book of James, God calls us to help orphans in their distress. That's a clear command, but it's not always clear how we should obey it. And this is where Global Fingerprints comes in.

Through Global Fingerprints, you can sponsor a vulnerable child to help meet their physical needs and ensure they hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to commend Global Fingerprints to you. They're focused on equipping the local church to care for children, and where there is no church, they help to plant one. If you'd like to help a vulnerable child, you can find more information on Global Fingerprints at our website, openthebible.org/gf. That's openthebible.org/gf.