GOD’S GIFT, ENJOY THE GOOD OF ALL YOUR LABOR
Ecclesiastes 3:13, Amplified Bible
And also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor —- it is the gift of God.
Ecclesiastes 3:12,13, The Bible, James Moffatt Translation
For men, I find, there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they are alive; it is indeed God’s very gift to man, that he should eat and drink and be happy as he toils.
Do you see in the above verse what I see? I am seeing this with different eyes today, like I have never read it before. Every person is to eat and drink (in other words, enjoy God’s provision for our hunger and thirst) and enjoy good—-it is God’s GIFT! It is God’s PRESENT to us, His Beloved Ones! What we receive from our labor, our work here on this earth is the gift of God for us to enjoy life while we are here. GIFT! Look at that word. GIFT! Do you see it? We don’t need to complain and gripe about how hard our job is or how hard our assignment is. We will enjoy good from it because it is God’s GIFT! The One Whom you are actually serving is the Lord and not man. Rejoice in the Lord. It is He Who has put you there. Enjoy where you are on the way to where He has destined you. Enjoy God’s GIFT!
We are to enjoy the good of our labor. I looked up that word “good” and here is the meaning from the original Hebrew word: As a noun it means good, a good or good thing, man or woman. As an adverb it means beautiful, favor, bountiful, cheerful, graciously, joyful, kindly, merry, loving, pleasant, precious, prosperity, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well (favored). That gives me cause for rejoicing. What a coincidence that the Lord should give us this teaching in the month of December, the month of gift-giving. God is the original gift-giver. We cannot out give Him! What a delight to serve Him!
Colossians 3:23, 24, Amplified Bible
Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men, knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward. [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah).
Everything that we do in this life while we are here on this earth is to be done as unto the Lord. It is not to be done for boasting or recognition or acceptance. We do what we do with excellence for the Lord and not for men. It is not to please men but to please God. Oh, yes, when we please God, our work will please men because it will be done without gripping or complaining and with the excellence that only God can give us.
We are to have singleness of motive to do our work as a service unto the Lord. It is not to be done with eye service only when man is watching us but consistently excellent all the time, rendering our service to God and not to man. Whatever good we do, God will reward us (Ephesians 6:5-8).
We are to enjoy the fruit of our labor. That reward is a gift of God. He is the One Who rewards us. Those rewards of God will translate into human reward and promotion by man.
Serving God, whether it is in our workplace, at home, at church or anywhere else, gives us not only earthly rewards but eternal benefits.