October 12, 2016
It would be interesting to know how many people consider their daily routine a rich experience. For those whose assignment is nearly identical day after day, the routine could become monotonous and even boring. It reminds me of dogs pulling a sled. The lead dog has a rich view of the scenery, while the rest of them just have a routine view of the back legs of the dog ahead. That could become a boring job if those dogs lost perspective in their assignment.
A story is told of two men doing the same job – carrying bricks to the people building a large structure – who were asked to describe their work. One man said, “I am carrying bricks to the bricklayers.” The other replied, “I am building a castle.” Our perspective changes when we can see beyond the immediate.
Earlier this year, Carol and I traveled through the wide-open country of Wyoming. As we enjoyed the amazing freeway system at the posted 80 miles per hour, we remembered decades back when we tried to maintain 55 miles per hour on a two-lane road. And we were grateful for the many men and women who did routine jobs day after year to give us this gift. I wonder if they worked with a “building a castle” attitude.
Our culture focuses on the famous and phenomenal. I hope that every human has a few of those spectacular moments during their lifetime. Examples include Salvation – knowing the security of being in God’s family forever; marriage – a wedding celebration that was even more special than we anticipated; the birth of a child; or the offer of a dream job. These are rapidly passing events with lifelong memories. While enjoying those big events, we must give most of our time and energy to the day-by-day routines of life priorities. It is with a long-term outlook that we can decide to make potentially routine experiences become rich “castle- building” enjoyments.
First Corinthians 10:31 helps our attitude shift from routine to rich: “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Our routine of today will become a rich memory of joy-filled accomplishment as we maintain this outlook.
Pastor Bill Ehmann