Mastering the Mundane
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”—1 Corinthians 10:31
It’s easy to talk about finding Christ in the fantastic and the miraculous, but it’s far more difficult to find Him in the mundane tasks of every day life. We hear about Christ transfigured on the mountain, walking on water, stilling the storm, blessing the bread and fish, and raising the dead. But where is God when we are changing diapers? How am I to glorify God by sitting at my workstation? Where is Christ when I do my laundry? What about when I eat breakfast? Riding on the train? Driving my car? Watching a television show? Cooking dinner? The questions go on and on, but according to Paul in our passage for today, we can do everything to the glory of God. This means everything can be done for God’s glory. We are to look at everything we do in life as a means of glorifying God. Pursuing Christ doesn’t always mean that we are up at 5 am with our nose in the Word on our knees in prayer. We do need to be in the Word and in prayer, to be sure, not only in isolation, but making it intertwine with our daily routine. We must endeavor to use the everyday tasks and see them as a means for glorifying God. Whether that is eating or drinking, working, love-making, cooking, cleaning, parenting, cultivating my marriage, or finding contentment in my singleness, it all can and should be done for the glory of God. We can find the Master in the middle of the mundane. How?
Whenever we go about doing our daily tasks, an opportunity to bring God to the forefront is available. We do them to the best of our ability—we do them with skill, integrity, grace, and honor, hoping God will shine through it. But it goes further. If you are working with people (as opposed to a product or working alone), then we may do our duty sacrificially. We practice the truth of “loving our neighbors as our self” and “honoring one another above ourselves” by putting our own desires and comforts aside so that others might be served. And by doing so, we are being Christlike, for Christ Himself put the salvation of others above His own comfort and well-being.
Perhaps an example is needed. How does this work in parenting? Parenting is one of the necessary tasks of life—it can be draining having to constantly put someone else’s needs before your own—taking care of them, changing diapers, constantly being asked question after question, preparing meals, doing laundry, cleaning up messes, and the list goes on and on. But parenting enables the believer to experience true Christlikeness because Christ gave Himself for us. He loved us by giving Himself, by humbling Himself, by taking on our hurts and our pains, so when we give ourselves to another person, especially children, we are placing their needs above our own. We are coming to the end of ourselves and sacrificing ourselves for the sake of another—just as Christ sacrificed Himself on our behalf. Now, allow me to be clear, we do not sacrifice ourselves for another’s salvation, but when we do sacrifice our own needs for another, we are growing in our own sanctification (the process by which we are becoming more like Christ) because we are discovering the divine gift of self-emptying—emptying ourselves in an effort to fill another, to take care of another and this is a way to give God glory. He established the family and He established parenthood. When we parent (which is work by the way), we are participating in the divine task given to us by God. And this task rooted in love allows us to value and serve someone else above ourselves. God receives glory when we parent according to the Word of God because we are fulfilling God’s command to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) and bring up “godly offspring” (Malachi 2:15).
Living life to God’s glory—that is what we are called to do. Whatever your role in any given moment strive to bring God glory. May God give us the grace, strength, and inner fortitude to master the mundane for His glory and our joy both now and forevermore. Amen.
It’s easy to talk about finding Christ in the fantastic and the miraculous, but it’s far more difficult to find Him in the mundane tasks of every day life. We hear about Christ transfigured on the mountain, walking on water, stilling the storm, blessing the bread and fish, and raising the dead. But where is God when we are changing diapers? How am I to glorify God by sitting at my workstation? Where is Christ when I do my laundry? What about when I eat breakfast? Riding on the train? Driving my car? Watching a television show? Cooking dinner? The questions go on and on, but according to Paul in our passage for today, we can do everything to the glory of God. This means everything can be done for God’s glory. We are to look at everything we do in life as a means of glorifying God. Pursuing Christ doesn’t always mean that we are up at 5 am with our nose in the Word on our knees in prayer. We do need to be in the Word and in prayer, to be sure, not only in isolation, but making it intertwine with our daily routine. We must endeavor to use the everyday tasks and see them as a means for glorifying God. Whether that is eating or drinking, working, love-making, cooking, cleaning, parenting, cultivating my marriage, or finding contentment in my singleness, it all can and should be done for the glory of God. We can find the Master in the middle of the mundane. How?
Whenever we go about doing our daily tasks, an opportunity to bring God to the forefront is available. We do them to the best of our ability—we do them with skill, integrity, grace, and honor, hoping God will shine through it. But it goes further. If you are working with people (as opposed to a product or working alone), then we may do our duty sacrificially. We practice the truth of “loving our neighbors as our self” and “honoring one another above ourselves” by putting our own desires and comforts aside so that others might be served. And by doing so, we are being Christlike, for Christ Himself put the salvation of others above His own comfort and well-being.
Perhaps an example is needed. How does this work in parenting? Parenting is one of the necessary tasks of life—it can be draining having to constantly put someone else’s needs before your own—taking care of them, changing diapers, constantly being asked question after question, preparing meals, doing laundry, cleaning up messes, and the list goes on and on. But parenting enables the believer to experience true Christlikeness because Christ gave Himself for us. He loved us by giving Himself, by humbling Himself, by taking on our hurts and our pains, so when we give ourselves to another person, especially children, we are placing their needs above our own. We are coming to the end of ourselves and sacrificing ourselves for the sake of another—just as Christ sacrificed Himself on our behalf. Now, allow me to be clear, we do not sacrifice ourselves for another’s salvation, but when we do sacrifice our own needs for another, we are growing in our own sanctification (the process by which we are becoming more like Christ) because we are discovering the divine gift of self-emptying—emptying ourselves in an effort to fill another, to take care of another and this is a way to give God glory. He established the family and He established parenthood. When we parent (which is work by the way), we are participating in the divine task given to us by God. And this task rooted in love allows us to value and serve someone else above ourselves. God receives glory when we parent according to the Word of God because we are fulfilling God’s command to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) and bring up “godly offspring” (Malachi 2:15).
Living life to God’s glory—that is what we are called to do. Whatever your role in any given moment strive to bring God glory. May God give us the grace, strength, and inner fortitude to master the mundane for His glory and our joy both now and forevermore. Amen.
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