Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
Matthew 2:5
But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business.
Some invitees are simply not interested. They go off to attend to regular matters of business and miss history’s most exciting and decisive moment. Now notice that the work of the field and the work of a business are not evil things. No! They are God-given tasks. But occupations can become pre-occupations. Our work can become our God, the center of our self-esteem, the engine of our self-respect, and the core of our identity. Like the ancient idolaters who made gods of gold or bronze, we too come to worship the work of our hands. The good usurps the place of the best, and we neglect the one relationship that gives final meaning to our labor and our lives.
PRAYER
Gracious God, let us work as divine employees, let us labor as servants in your vineyard. May our work be holy and our worship be genuine. Let us never come to build our identities on our own labor—but rather let us become children whose identity rests in their relation to their Father. Help our occupations not to become pre-occupations. We ask in your name. Amen.
