Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. -Ephesians 6:7-8 (NIV)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. -Colossians 3:23 (NIV)

When I was a teenager, I didn’t like doing chores. (Who does?) I was to mow half the lawn, and my brother the other half. I went to mow my half…and was back inside in under five minutes. “I mowed my half!” I said with a clever smirk. My brother looked out the window…and saw that I’d mowed the word HALF in the lawn.

Needless to say, I had to go mow the whole lawn that day.

In our work, in our homes, in our driving, in our interactions everywhere, we always have a choice: to go the quick and dirty way, or to do it the right way. Consequences always follow choices. Remember when Abram and Sarai tried to “help” God along by having Abraham lie with his maidservant Hagar (Genesis 16)? From that union came Ishmael and all his line, which to this day rebel against the Jews and Christians. That’s quite a legacy from a choice made around 2000 B.C.!

Aside from the extra work and rework we have to do, or the work someone else might have to do to clean up after our cut corners and shortcuts, it’s God we ultimately do a disservice and dishonor when don’t give our best. He made us in His image, to honor Him in all we do. We’re his ambassadors and emissaries, His physical representatives here on this planet. Let’s show the world what those who serve the Lord can do!