And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Colossians 3:23
A prominent American educationalist, William Watson Perkey, came up with the following advice: ‘You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, love like you’ll never be hurt, sing like there’s nobody listening, and live like it’s heaven on earth’. Some people have attributed those words to Mark Twain. But what do they mean? Many of the people around us, and maybe ourselves as well, allow what other people think and say to affect what they do. If I think somebody will mock or ridicule or sneer at me, I will not do a certain thing. We also shy away from projects where we think we might fail. There is some wisdom in Perkey’s advice, but there is also danger, because somebody is always watching and listening. What we need to take more seriously is whether it matters more to us what people around us think of us, or what God thinks of us.
Perkey is right in one area: we should put everything we have into whatever we do, or as our text puts it, do it heartily. We have the same concept in the words of Ecclesiastes 9:10: ‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest’. When I was chatting with a stranger recently, he was delighted to find that I am a writer, and he pulled up on his smartphone a few samples of his writing, to get my opinion. He asked if he should pursue his writing further. I urged him to do so. Not only did I tell him that his writing samples show definite talent, but I urged him not to allow that talent to go to waste. Too many of us allow what others think to prevent us from doing things that we have always longed to do. We have a song to sing, but the song dies unsung when we die. We have words to write but they are buried beneath our epitaph. We have a mountain to climb but it goes unscaled because we never get past the foothills. I firmly believe that you and I each have something that God wants us to do, but we will never do it if we allow ourselves to be affected by what others think. We should be affected only by what God thinks.
I know what you are thinking because I think the same: what if I throw myself wholeheartedly into something and find out later it was a mistake? And that is a good question. If we make sure that our efforts are always within the truths of the Word of God, we have little to worry about. And if we seek the Spirit’s guidance through the Word of God, we will always be directed aright. And if the Lord wants us to do or be something, should we not do it or be it to the best of our abilities and with the greatest exertion of our energies? There are three possible outcomes. One, there is the uneventful and unrewarding life of inactivity. Two, there is the thrilling challenge of achievement in the purpose that God has for me. Three, there is the final response to an exciting pathway that terminates in defeat: at least I tried. I don’t know about you, but outcome three sounds better than outcome one.
What will we do for our Lord? Whatsoever we do, let’s do it heartily. -Jim MacIntosh