September 2, 2007

How satisfied are you with your job? There have been many polls on employee job satisfaction conducted over the past few years and they have produced very contradictory results. Some showed that almost 80 percent of employees were satisfied with the jobs. But, the well respected Harris poll reported that 41% of employees hate their jobs. Other polls tended to support Harris-some even indicating that a majority hate their jobs. I am not sure what the reason is for this conflicting data. I kind of wonder if people's love of their job depends on how they are feeling on a particular day and what's been happening at work or even their lives that day.

Nonetheless, whether we like what we do or not, it does seem that many of us have a rather mercenary spirit. Our job satisfaction isn't based so much on what we accomplish, as it is on what we personally get out of it. In one poll, 25% of those interviewed admitted that they "were just showing up for a paycheck." Another poll showed that 63 percent of employees regarded benefits like health insurance as the No. 1 factor in job satisfaction. Wages followed at 61 percent. Work/life issues, such as flexibility, were in third place at 60 percent. And another poll seemed to indicate that people's love of their job is also based on how prestigious they think their occupation is. And then the poll went on to list what the most prestigious occupations were. But when I looked their list I was a little troubled by what I saw. Back in 1982 when I was teacher, only 28% of the people polled thought that teaching was a profession with very much prestige; whereas 42% thought that pastors enjoyed great prestige; today this is reversed: 48% see teaching as a very prestigious profession; but pastors have dropped ten points to only 32%.

So, what is it that makes you satisfied with your job? Or, kids what makes you happy about school; what do you hate about it? Or what about the other things all of us do- what is it about a task that makes it worth doing.

Turn with me please to the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes (p. 1034). The first verse identifies the writer of this book as the son of David, king in Jerusalem-probably the wise King Solomon. Now please turn Ecclesiastes 2: 17 (p. 1036)

So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. ¹⁸I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. ¹⁹And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. ²⁰So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. ²¹For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. ²²What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? ²³All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.

Wise Solomon thought about all the benefits he had received from his work all the money and wealth-he had it all that. But, then he wondered where did it get him in the end? What difference did it make? And he concluded that it didn't make any difference. It was meaningless

Tom Brady, quarterback for the New England Patriots came to a similar conclusion when he was interviewed a year ago by Steve Kroft on CBS's 60 minutes. As some of you already know, who follow the sport more than I do, Brady's one of the best quarterbacks in the game. By age 28, he had already led his team to 3 super bowl victories. From what I read, his stats put him in league with some of the best quarterbacks ever. He has fame and certainly more money that most 28 year olds. Yet, in the interview he said, "Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, 'Hey man, this is what it is. I reached my goal, my dream, my life.' Yet, I think, God, it's got to be more than this. I mean this isn't, this can't be, what it's all cracked up to be."

"What's the answer?" asked Kroft.

Brady"s reply? "I wish I knew; I wish I knew."

Solomon knew the answer. In Ecclesiastes 12:13 he says,

Now all has been heard;

here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

for this is the whole duty of man.

¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment,

including every hidden thing,

whether it is good or evil.

Solomon knew the answer, but his answer was incomplete. In Ecclesiastes 12: 7 he acknowledged that our spirits return to God, but, for all he knew, our bodies merely return to the ground and that was it.

Because the Apostle Paul knew Jesus Christ, he knew the rest of the story. He knew that because Jesus arisen from the dead, our bodies also will be raised.

⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-⁵²in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

And so, not only are our souls eternal, but so are our bodies. And what we do with our bodies matters. And what we've accomplished with our bodies matters. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul says

²If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. ¹⁴If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. ¹⁵If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

So our bodies will be raised and the good things that we have accomplished when we were here will survive with us. Think about that. We've all heard the old statement, "You can't take it with you." Well, there are certain things we can take with us-there are certain things that have value in heaven.

But what are they? Turn with me to Matthew 25 (p. 1540). Here we find three parables that Jesus told. Now, often, we study them as 3 separate parables. And that's fine. But there's a reason why Matthew lumped them all together in one chapter. Let's see what it is. The first parable is the parable of the 10 wise virgins and the 10 foolish virgins. Because the 10 wise virgins bought enough oil, when the bridegroom came their lamps burned bright and they were allowed into the wedding feast. The foolish virgins took no extra oil. They were out trying to buy some when the bridegroom came. And they arrived too late to be admitted to the feast. The point of this parable is found in verse 13,

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day nor the hour." Jesus was warning us to ready for the time when he will come again. We don't when Jesus is coming, but we must ready.

But what does it mean to be ready. That's found in the next parable. That's the parable in which the master entrusts some of his wealth to his servants. One servant is given five talents of money, one two, and the other one. When the master comes back, the one with 5 has earned 5 more and the one with 2 has earned two more and the master blesses them saying,

Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

But the one given only one talent did nothing with it, except hide it in the ground. And master was angry with him, saying

²⁸"‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. ²⁹For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ³⁰And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

And so we see from this parable that being ready means using what the Lord has given us to accomplish something for him.

But, what does that mean? What does the Lord want us to accomplish for him?

That's where the third parable comes in: The parable of the sheep and goats.

³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

⁴⁰"The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

⁴⁴"They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

⁴⁵"He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

⁴⁶"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life

People of God, Jesus is telling us that the things that have most value to him are the things we do for the weakest and poorest and the vulnerable among us-the least of these.

But, if those acts are to truly be something that pleases they must done with the right motive. That's what Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 13. If I speak in the tongues^ of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^ but have not love, I gain nothing.

Acts done out of a real heart of love to help especially those who are poor and vulnerable and needy-those are acts that have real value in heaven.

Now, finally we're ready to look at our text 1 Corinthians 15: 58,

Therefore, dear brothers, [because we know that our bodies will be resurrected and that what we've accomplished-those acts of love-- will last. Stand firm-the Greek word here is related to the Greek word for the foundation of a building-remember Jesus parable about the wise building his house on a rock. Paul follows that up by almost repeating that same thought. Let nothing move you.

Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord. Just what we've been saying-work for things that are not meaningless-work for things that last.

Because you know your labor in the Lord is not in vain-what you do as one who is a member of Christ is not in vain-it will be shown to have value.

Let's take another look at that word "labor." Earlier Paul uses the word "work" or ergon in the Greek. Here he uses another Greek word, "kopos." This word referred to difficult work. In fact, the Greeks used the same word to refer to "trouble or difficulty." One lexicon I consulted said that the word could be also used to refer to "a striking or a beating." This is work we do for the Lord that results in our getting beat up.

What is Paul referring to here? Most Bible scholars believe that Paul wrote this letter 5- 10 years before Nero began his great persecution of the church. While it was true that there may have been some local opposition, Christians were not yet being thrown to lions or burned as torches. The great persecution hadn't yet come, but Paul remembered the words of Jesus,

‘No servant is greater than his master.'^ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.

And Paul had experienced the truth of those words in own life-he had been beaten and stoned and shipwrecked and left for dead. And Paul knew that the Corinthians would also experience such things. And when those things would happen, how would they respond? At the time Paul wrote, the Corinthians were a divided bickering group in which some of people were trying to show up their brothers and sisters-bragging about who they were following or about what spiritual gifts they had. Some thought that because they spoke in tongues they were better Christians. And when Paul saw that he was worried. Would this kind of faith that pass the acid test of persecution and hardship? If these people were working for such petty meaningless things now, what would happen to them when trials would come.

I am certain that most of you here today already knew much of what I have to say. You knew about judgment day and about our bodies being raised. You knew about the parable of the talents and about our works being tested. And I think most of us would say we believe these things. But how much do we believe them? Someday God may put our faith to the test. I hope he doesn't. But what happens if we lose our job, if we or a loved one gets a terrible disease, if our marriage breaks up or we lose our spouse? What would happen if we were to undergo anything like Nero's persecution? Will we stand firm? Will we continue work for eternal rewards? Could it be that what we are working for today might have something to say about our faith then?

The wise man built his house upon a rock. The wise built his house upon a rock. The wise man built his house upon a rock. And the rains came a tumbling down. The rains came down and the floods came up. The rains came down and the floods came up. The rains came down and the floods came up. And the house on the rock stood firm.

Where are you building your house-your future? What gives you satisfaction-something that lasts or something that doesn't? Think about it. AMEN!