(This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s message: Win the Day…Fly the Kite – LISTEN HERE)
What’s the prize?
The motivation for Homan Walsh was to win the $10 prize with his kite. The money didn’t come easily, as he had to retrieve his kite after the string broke and navigate back and forth across the river in the dead of winter (See yesterday’s devotion).
But he didn’t give up. While no one else was watching he was focused on accomplishing the challenge to get his kite across the river.
Are you one that sticks with a task or easily gives up?
Even in today’s money, the prize for getting the kite across the Niagara River was not that much. $10 in 1848 would be about $400 in today’s money. Would you have braved the cold, navigated the river twice, fixed a broken kite and obtained another length of string?
I would hardly seem worth giving up a week of school or a week of work for that reward.
But Homan didn’t give up. He was determined to fly the kite.
Sometimes we can evaluate what we are doing at work, at school, in the home, etc. and determine that what we are doing doesn’t matter. Homan didn’t get recognition from the other kite fliers. No one was necessarily cheering him on. He went about the contest with the resolve to win the prize.
Every day we get to fly the kite, but the question is, what is the prize you are working for?
Sometimes we make the prize the affirmation of our boss. We do a good job at work and work hard as long as someone acknowledges and praises us for our work. Sometimes our motivation is the financial gain. If a bonus is offered, we work hard. If not, our work slips to the minimum required to not get fired. Sometimes our motivation is the athletic win. We practice and play hard when we believe we can win, but if the win seems elusive, our effort dwindles with it. Sometimes our motivation is a hug and affection from the ones we love. Our effort around the house is stellar until no one affirms or acknowledges it.
To be sure, encouragement and appreciation for jobs well done are important, but consider this as a deep down, always constant motivation for what you do today and every day.
Colossians 3:22 22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
It would have been easy as a slave to be resentful of their position in society and the work load that was demanded of them. It would have been easy to be motivated by the approval of the master and unmotivated when the master was gone. The Apostle Paul reframes it not just for the slaves of the first century, but for every Christian. You are working for the Lord…not men. Your prize is not the affirmation of men, it is the inheritance promised from the Lord.
People may never notice. A bonus may never come. You may never get the championship trophy. But you will win prize.
Because each day you are engaging in life for one purpose: to serve the Lord Christ.
Apply: What is on your agenda for today? What changes about your engagement and enthusiasm for that task when you see it as an opportunity to serve the Lord?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for not only giving us life to live, but noticing and in your grace rewarding a life lived for you AMEN.