Work, work, work, and more work! It’s seems like that’s all we do and it doesn’t matter what type of work you do, if you’re working on-site or you’re remotely working from home, work is work no matter how you slice it.

Work in the noun form is defined as activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result. When you look at it from this perspective, work doesn’t sound half bad. Who doesn’t want to reach their purpose and achieve positive results in life.

Arbitrarily, many people think work is a bad thing because of the fall. They either misinterpret or was erroneously taught that work is a curse that stemmed from Adam and Eve’s fall from grace in the garden. If that’s you, let me set the record straight. Work was a part of God’s plan for man from the beginning and no, God didn’t curse man to work, He cursed the land. Then to Adam God said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; CURSED IS THE GROUND because of you; in toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you shall eat the plants of the field..” (Genesis 3:17-18).

Philanthropist and industrialist Andrew Carnegie said: “The average person puts in 25% of the energy and ability into their work. The world takes off its hat to those who put more than 50%, and stand on its head for those few and far-between souls who devote 100%.”

What if I told you that God expects us to give 110%? Check out what Paul said in Colossians 3:23-24: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

Now do you fully comprehend why I said we should shoot for 110%? No one should blatantly want to give God their second best, right? Well, Cain tried it and hmmm, let’s just say that didn’t turn out so great for him (see Gen 4:5).

Having said that, here are a few things I’d like you to consider before you clock-in to your ‘job’ today: work is done not only to benefit the worker, by others also (Eph 4:28), work is a gift from God for his people to be bless (Ecc 3:12-13), and God equips people for their work (Ex 31:2-11).

Although God’s original design for work was distorted by sin, God will one day restore work without the burdens that sin introduced. However, in the meantime God never said for us to sit back and be idle. Remember the parable of the talents spoken by Jesus in Matthew 25:14-30? God calls the laborers (us) to come forth and work—not lay down and sleep!! Brothers and Sisters, our attitude toward work should mirror that of Jesus: “My food, said Jesus, is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). If you don’t take away anything from the context of this devotional, let this soak in: work is of no value except when God is in it.