All Your Might

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Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NIV)"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom."

What It Is Speaking to Me

If you haven't read Ecclesiastes before, you can read this verse and miss the embedded irony that is intentionally woven throughout the whole book until the last chapter. That's a devotional for another time. The point of this devotional is tucked inside the apparent doom and gloom at the end of this verse: whatever you find yourself doing, do it with all your might.

The writer says work with all your might because death is coming and nothing will matter which actually frames the work we are doing right now as precious and irreplaceable. Working hard is not as fashionable as it used to be. There are myriad reasons for that, with blame to fall on employers and employees alike. I don't need to elucidate these issues here, because ultimately they don't matter. This verse doesn't qualify whether we work hard based on the quality of our employer or the type of work.

• Some people work hard because they love the work.

• Some people work hard because they don't want to let their coworkers down.

• Some people work hard because they want to be noticed or promoted.

• Some people work hard because a lot is at stake (first responders, doctors & nurses, etc.)

And some people work hard because they are hard workers. It is who they are. That is the kind of person who personifies this verse. To be clear, the first reasons listed aren't bad or wrong. We can work hard for all those reasons and be a hard worker, because that is what God has called us to be. But the foundational reason should be that it is part of our identity. Life is full of work that doesn't fall into the above categories — work that is completely unglamorous, receives no recognition, seemingly affects no one's life, and otherwise appears to leave no impact. We may find that our character shines brightest in those moments. And the Lord is watching.

What Is It Saying to You?

What makes you work hard?

What makes you not want to?

Are the reasons for both legitimate?

What Are We Going to Do About It?

Commit to not "half-doing" anything today (e.g. folding laundry, writing an email, sweeping a floor, running a meeting, etc.)