The first thing God did when He made Adam was put him to work. That’s because work gives us a sense of purpose, meaning, and dignity. ‘God put the man in the garden…to…work it.’ So Adam was a gardener. But whether you count cash in a bank, trade futures on the Stock Exchange, flip burgers in a beach-side stand, whip up pasta specials at a five-star restaurant, fell giant timber in the forest or split and deliver firewood, coach a team, pastor a congregation, publish best-selling books, deliver newspapers in the early morning hours, star in your own television show, farm a large acreage, mow and edge neighbourhood lawns, go out on the road as a salesperson for computers, drive a lorry loaded with machinery, build homes, clean swimming pools, argue cases before a judge, or settle family disputes as a counsellor, always do a good job. A wise man once said: ‘Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence.’ The biblical character Daniel did that. And like cream, he rose to the top in Babylon. ‘Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him’ (Daniel 6:3 KJV). There are no small jobs, only people who perceive them as small and become small in doing them. The Bible says: ‘Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper’ (Proverbs 13:4 NLT). So always do a good job.
