Priceless Christmas - Teach Them to Work "Unto the Lord", Part 1

There is one gift you can give your child that almost guarantees success every area of life.

That's what I'm going to talk about today.

You probably don't want to miss.

Welcome to this Thursday edition Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram serves as our Bible teacher on this international discipleship program continues a series of priceless Christmas by reviewing the last of his priceless gift is the gift of work. Work more like a curse than what the truth is, God created so one of the best gifts we can give our kids or grandkids is to teach them how to turn their work into an offering back to God to be using several scriptures today, so get your Bible, let's join them now for his message.

Teach them to work unto the Lord. Priceless Christmas when you get your kids. That money can't buy.

I've been working very intentionally for the last 20 to 30 years of helping them learn to suffer well gift number one started very early. With all of them to teach them to manage their money biblically. Those three jars giving spending, saving, we have gone to great lengths to help them make wise decisions at times giving them rope and letting make bad decisions and get the consequences at other times when they were mature enough, setting some boundaries where I was the worst person in the whole world what you mean I can't date that person.

What I mean is, you can't take that person know or you can hang out with that person in the midst of it all.

We learn the gift of teaching. That failure is never final that we were made and created to receive and to give grace and were all gonna blow it were all in the on journey and so many of those other lessons tie into this one because this is where you learn just a minute you and those that you're trying to help especially your kids spend and will spend the great majority of all their life and so the priceless gift you want to give your kids is teach them to work unto the Lord, open your notes if you will. I want you to follow along as I have three or four questions I want you to ponder and kind of think about. Think of the implications of these questions. Question number one is for you as a parent or parent to be.

Are you excited about where you work and what you do for living. Or maybe what your study are you excited about it just gender sensitive while I love what I get to do in terms of my vocation yes or no question number two. Do you sense God has made you for the work that you are doing and that he is pleased and you're deeply satisfied with your present location.

That's a loaded question and please hear me. This doesn't mean that every day it's like oh I just love going to work okay but I mean you're deeply satisfied doesn't mean it's coming please don't. It may be very hard some very satisfying great things are hard but it's satisfying you feel like I was made to do this on improving at this I'm good at this. It makes a difference. God is pleased. I feel called to this job. Third question, do you realize that not counting eating and sleeping. Most people will spend about 70% of your life at work is that crazy may take a week one $6060. Now I know everyone does sleep eight hours, but you probably should, or close to it. So 7×856 is gone yada spend at least an hour three times a day or some of you. It's not this long, but then you do other things with it. So let's just give 21 hours a week to eat and then 20 hours a week is just upkeep right where you subtract those basic things you not do anything other than just maintaining your life. It leaves you with about 71 hours left in the entire week and I don't know anybody that works under 5050 over about 71. It's roughly about 70% of your waking hours you can work you can be at a quote job. Your kids are gonna work. Teaching them what work is all about teaching them how to work making sure they don't do a job that simply is just geared toward financial return, instead of doing what they were made to do is critical for parent so I want you to open the notes and as we done each time I want to give you a theology of work with the Bible actually teach about work and I don't give some really practical beginning principles about how to pass on the priceless gift of teaching your children how to work and to the Lord. First of all work is a calling, not a job but the Latin word for work from the early days as vocation and your vocation. We think of that is just your job number, I'm a lawyer or I've I worked in construction or I'm a software engineer I'm a stay-at-home mom and we think that that's my job, but that the Bible was calling the word calling or vocation. It had the idea that God made you with certain gifts. He has designed you to do certain things and so you are called so you can be called to be a plumber you could be called to be a pastor you could be called to work with your hands, you could be called to work with your mind, but God has created you, probably more importantly, he's created your kids with a set of gifts and with the design and a calling on their life.

It's not just career or job it's a vocation and when God looks down from heaven at a pastor or one of your kids.

The pastor that's just his calling and they have a calling. And God doesn't think that pastors are missionaries or full-time Christian workers calling is any more important or any more spiritual than each one of us the danger when we think about jobs in our culture is twofold. One, I hear parents say things like this and please hear me the motives on this one or greater mom. I don't know exactly what to major in. I don't know what to do with my life. Oh it's okay honey I just want you to be happy happy honey this is your seventh year in college that your father and I are paying for.

We really do want you to be happy but you do need to make up your mind.

God's goal is not for your little boy you little girl to be happy. Happy is from the root word for happenings happenings are about circumstances. Circumstances change. God wants your children to have great joy not based on happenings, but if you unconsciously out of good motives want your kid to be happy. They may end up starting a job or getting in a vocation that will not be at all. God designed them to do because some of what God wants us to do is hard and it's difficult and requires preparation for more training and most of us when we face those things is like that doesn't feel happy. We like easy.

We like now the other extreme when it comes to our calling is instead of happy is when we evaluate everything over here on the other end of you may really like that but you never make any money. There you have a vocation, you have a job that really pays and needs to pay really well. I just have a lot of money will live to can have a lot of things like as you can well you asked me questions, but unconsciously got it realize that most of us unconsciously are pushed to have our kids either be happy or make money.

What you need to say is no, no, no, they may make money. They may be happy, but what you want to do is how do I help my child discover their God given calling. He has a vocation for your kids second in our theology of work is it all work is sacred. First Corinthians 1031. Whatever you do when you eat or drink whatever you do, the apostle Paul says you all for the glory of God. There is no sacred and secular in the Bible there is no like I'm reading my Bible and it spiritual now get my car and go to work and it's unspiritual hundred percent of everything is spiritual all the time.

All work is sacred.

You build foundations and sacred you create software sacred you create messages for God it sacred.

It's all sacred because you were designed to do it and God is pleased with work that's done on to him. I probably learned a lot from my parents who had a great work ethic, but early on I I went to school and then there was a bricklayer and when I was in summer school or when I needed a job he would let me do some work with and I was trying to discover my calling and as best I knew I was supposed to be basketball coats on what the school would be best ball coach I major in education that I major in psychology than with the grad school and I traveled around and played a lot of basketball and try to get around great coaches and I was in between coaching jobs and my bricklayer friends has wanted to work with me for a few months and so I mix mud for him and I we did a lot of chimneys and foundations and I'll never forget if you know anything about construction you ladies voters in these big trucks come in. They lay all this stuff and he's the guy with all the skill and on the skinny guy bring them all the blocks all day. I will tell you what is the hardest work I'd ever done in my whole life and we work for about 2 1/2 days, and he had, though he was checking it got the level on it and we were up about three or four high and we were about two thirds around and and Dave on I'll never forget.

I member him looking than he looked again and then he went down to the corner dam paying him that he starts knocking I did what you know is that to happen is that what he said.

What's this much off possible that the code is on my code.

So what you mean. It's your coding. Since I don't do this for them.

I did this for God every foundation, every chimney everything I do is for an audience of one essence of Dave. Let me get this right. Okay, I'm new at this Christian stuff so you're telling me that working to waste two and half days of money. It doesn't really violate code but is just a little bit off and you're going to do it over because you're working for God. I just want to get this clear because you got it okay now I'm like 21 years old and thinking he's nuts.

And here I am 30 years later, and I thought that's how I will do my work. See who you really are is what you do when no one is looking in the way you do it when you know there wouldn't be any consequences. What I found was a man who understood he had a vocation he was in a bricklayer.

He wasn't a Mason.

He was a worker of gifted hands for God and he would do it unto the Lord.

That's what I wanted my kids to learn our work.

Third is to flow from God's unique design and purpose for our lives. Maybe one of the greatest verses in all the Bible.

What follows after the verse about how God has saved us by his grace. For by grace you have been saved through faith and that is not of yourselves, it is a gift of God.

It's not a result of works, lest any man should boast. That's Ephesians 28 and 94. There's a reason for you are his workmanship, literally the Greek word as we get a word poem P OEM proem. You are his craft and you are his workmanship here is masterpiece here is tapestry your his work of art. Your his sculpture, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which he has prepared before hand from the foundations of the earth for you to walk in it. God made your kids with a kind of personality and the way their mind works in a way they process information and and some that are artistic with their hands and others at figure things in their mind and for others it can look at.

They can look at open space and their mind they can see the building. There are others who can solve problems and other soup with almost little training can take an engine apart and other people just the kind of skills where people have a problem and to them.

It's easy they could sit down with this person. This person get it resolved. Your children have a design that's hardwired in their DNA. And God wants them to discover the location so that they work in alignment with what he made him to do and when they do, he gets glory and the joy that's the purpose of life is to discover what you are made to do, see what the world says is you are what you do so, certain jobs have more prestige you are what you do. You are a you fill it in and therefore we give you more money because you are in the Bible flips it completely announces no no no, what you need to do is you are whole in Christ. You were made to do something and when you do that for the glory of God. There's a joy that will well up inside and the satisfaction.

This is like is like a hammer hitting a nail horse like a solve it's made to cut when the right tool is doing the right job. There's alignment, that's what God wants for your kids. That's what he wants for you. I did a pretty significant study had a friend who was at Baylor University doing grad work and he did all this extensive research and he sent me this book all this research about the workplace and all of America just all these different institutions and sent me all the stuff and I'm making a series out of it but it was it's like crazy like 68% or 70% you don't quote me because I'm disorder remembering but it was like this astronomical two thirds of all Americans are dissatisfied and frustrated with her job. They have a TGIF mentality.

Basically they go to work simply to make enough money to keep living the same way that living the other thing the research shows a lot of people going professions to make a certain amount of money because that's what they thought would make them happy will then what happens is they make that certain amount of money that creates a lifestyle now have a lifestyle that requires this much money, but they don't like doing it, but then they feel like I can't get out of it because I really made to do this because they very well do you understand the moral responsibility you have is apparent to help your kids discover here's the question what did God make to do. What did God make to do, not what other people think, not how it reflects on you.

What did God make and to do because work is a calling.

All work is sacred and our work is to flow from God's unique design and purpose.

The Old Testament roots here are Genesis 215. This is before sin you talk to some people. You think that work is sin coming out.

Let's get to heaven so we don't work. This could be a new heaven and a new earth. And guess what, you get to do on it, you get responsibility and you get to work before sin entered God said to Adam were co-creators were co-regents. I want you to develop. I want you to subdue pathology to make beautiful thing you are made in my image.

I want you to use your hand you your mind.

Name the animals. I want you to make beautiful beautiful things I want you to be creative because you made like me. That's God's desire for all of us but you kids need a lot of coaching to get there. The biblical profiles are Adam and the apostle Paul. Here's this beautiful place cultivated make it happen. Go for the apostle Paul, I love this. In acts 2024. You might jot that down. I have this on my desk is very few verses I read every single day, but this is in the center of my desk when I get up every single morning my wife gave this to me in June 21, 2001. This is the apostle Paul. He says my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus and that he gives his job description. The work of telling others the good news about God's wonderful kindness and love. I read that every morning.

My life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus.

What job did you sign you what job has he assigned your kids see when you help them discover that by the way Bill be successful what they're made to do it New Testament commands. Colossians 323 what ever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for men. Whatever you do, if it's a thinking job of its hands job. If the cleanup job the perspective of work that you want your kids to get is that there are no menial task. What ever you do do with all your heart, as a gift unto the Lord out of if you're just joining us, you're listening to living on the Chip Ingram and chips message today. Each them to work unto the Lord is from his series of useless Christmas in this series strip unpacks five key life skills that tend to make or break us and gives us biblical insight and practical steps for passing on these key skills to our kids or grandkids.

Or maybe someone or mentoring in these five messages you learn what God's word says about handling money making wise choices suffering well. Working unto the Lord, and that failure is never final. As a parent or grandparent you want to give your child every advantage in life. This series of priceless Christmas gives you the tools you need to help your child develop godly character in all of these areas. So why not order a set of CDs or download the free MP3s as a gift to yourself and your family for an amazing new year of growth in the Lord for discount details just visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org or give us a call at 1-888-333-6003, a priceless Christmas. Get it today will chip you've got a great application for today but before we get to that. What would you say to a parent or grandparent really wants to do a good job but is struggling for clear thought about what to do next. Great question Dave. You know, I know there's a lot of parenting resources out there, but I think embedded in a lot of the Christian thinking, even in good parenting resources is that we want to make our kids happy and successful. We want them to get great jobs find the right person make a lot of money, and underneath it all is that we want them to be happy and I got news for you. That focus creates entitled children. The five things that we talk about in a priceless Christmas is giving them what money can't buy it's learning to suffer well because we know hard things are coming. It's learning to make wise choices because God is holy is learning to manage your money unto the Lord, so that you recognize that you are steward instead of an owner it's recognizing that grace filled lives that failure is never final. All of our kids, all of her grandkids and just like us, they're going to fail. But do they know who God is. Did they know how like Peter to be restored and realize God can still use your life when you blow it big time. These are the kind of core truths that I think in the heart of your child in the heart of your grandchild will sustain them because here's the deal. God longs for them to be godly and holy and pure and the byproduct will be joyful and happy. But these things are hard to teach and so in each message I give you a theology of suffering or work or money or decision-making and then I give you practical ways about how to teach them and that a game plan to do it. So let me encourage you have you have not yet ordered this series. Do it today. Don't wait. There's only a couple days left and if you wait, you just might forget. Thanks Chip well it's tough to absorb this amount of great teaching only one time through, so getting the series on CDs or downloading the chipping remapped are two ways to hear these messages again and again. And remember, the MP3s are free, so make good on your intentions and take advantage of these resources today. You can order online at http://livingontheedge.org or give us a call at 188833360031 out here.

Strip with a final thought as we wrap up today's program. Let me do a very brief review because I want to make just one point but I think we need to review the content because this view of work although very biblical and about you this. It was foreign to me of what we learned is that work is a calling.

All work is sacred. Every single job under the watchful eye of God done to him is sacred. Number two.

Our work were put on this earth to do something that fulfills God's purposes, and so we need to ask what is our view of work and what message are we sending to our kids and let's just admit it, we tend to have our kids gravitate toward jobs that they'll just make them happy or jobs will though make a lot of money, and all I can tell you is, those are those are blind alleys.

We do not want to send our kids toward areas that just fulfill their own narcissistic views their young and they make decisions about being happy. We certainly don't want to push men pass where all they get is money out of the job and so if that's true let me ask you what you doing to help shape the life of your child toward God's calling what he wants them to do what he made them to do what they're gifted to do and for those of us that are artistic or musical, and others of us that are more athletic. Some of you that are technical and engineering. Are you willing to let your child be God's child and not be a replica of you.

Can we get secure enough in our relationship with Christ that we say you know what what school my kid goes to what their SAT scores are how much money they make is not a reflection on me.

The biggest reflection is that I help my child discover who they are in Christ what God made them to do and then gently guide them through experiences so they could discover that and you affirm it in our next broadcast, I'm going to give you some very, very practical tools about how to help your child discover God's calling on their life. Don't miss your flipping on the edges making a difference in your life and you like others to receive the same blessing we love to have you partner with us, whether it's in prayer or sending a gift you can begin making a difference in the lives of others today thanks to the generosity of a few financial partners every gift we receive in December will be matched dollar for dollar to send the gift call us at 1-888-333-6003. That's 1-888-333-6003, or if you prefer to give online. Our web address is LivingontheEdge.org, let me thank you in advance for your support will join us again tomorrow as Chip wraps up his current series priceless. Until then, this is Dave really say thanks for listening. this Edition of Living on the Edge