Neh 4:6 | KingComments | STEP | After Nehemiah poured out his heart before God, he and the people continued to build as if there were no opposition. They do not allow themselves to be tempted to talk or complain about things. The people want to work. They don’t work because they have to, because the whip is cracking above them. They put their hearts into it. That works a lot more pleasantly. There’s no need to encourage someone who has his heart set on work. He not only sees the necessity and is therefore convinced of the importance of the work, but also the work itself has its heart, there is love for the work. There are exceptions ( ). There is a kind of people who stand by and comment from the sidelines, but disappear when there is opposition. Some also want to contribute in an easy way, so they avoid effort. They send money – and insist on getting proof of payment in order to be able to use the gift as a tax-deductible item – and in doing so they think they can redeem their service in the kingdom of God. But they do not have a heart to work. Work in and for the church is not regulated by a collective labor agreement. Yet there is a danger that work for the church will increasingly become a ‘job’. The church is becoming a company with a management and a strategy, with objectives and adjustments. There is talk about a product and a market share. Everyone is assigned a task and the hours they have put into it are counted. A reward is expected for performance. Perhaps not so much in the sense of money, but still in the form of appreciation. This attitude is strange to the Lord Jesus. He says: My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working” ( ). His heart is ready to work, every second. He is the example for every Christian. We can only selflessly dedicate ourselves to the other with a heart full of love if we look at Him. Then a workload becomes a work pleasure.

‏ Nehemiah 4:6

A Mind to Work

After Nehemiah poured out his heart before God, he and the people continued to build as if there were no opposition. They do not allow themselves to be tempted to talk or complain about things. The people want to work. They don’t work because they have to, because the whip is cracking above them. They put their hearts into it. That works a lot more pleasantly. There’s no need to encourage someone who has his heart set on work. He not only sees the necessity and is therefore convinced of the importance of the work, but also the work itself has its heart, there is love for the work.

There are exceptions (Neh 3:5). There is a kind of people who stand by and comment from the sidelines, but disappear when there is opposition. Some also want to contribute in an easy way, so they avoid effort. They send money – and insist on getting proof of payment in order to be able to use the gift as a tax-deductible item – and in doing so they think they can redeem their service in the kingdom of God. But they do not have a heart to work.

Work in and for the church is not regulated by a collective labor agreement. Yet there is a danger that work for the church will increasingly become a ‘job’. The church is becoming a company with a management and a strategy, with objectives and adjustments. There is talk about a product and a market share. Everyone is assigned a task and the hours they have put into it are counted. A reward is expected for performance. Perhaps not so much in the sense of money, but still in the form of appreciation.

This attitude is strange to the Lord Jesus. He says: My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working” (Jn 5:17). His heart is ready to work, every second. He is the example for every Christian. We can only selflessly dedicate ourselves to the other with a heart full of love if we look at Him. Then a workload becomes a work pleasure.