Sitting in the salon chair for a haircut, I asked the stylist I’d just met, “So what made you get into hair?”
He told me that helping and serving others were two things he had always been passionate about. His wife works in the beauty industry, and through talking with her, he saw that providing excellent haircuts was one way he could make other peoples’ lives better!
As he began working, other stylists walked by and told me this young man was one of their best—that I was lucky to have gotten him that day. As he cut, he talked about the research on new hairstyles and trends he’s been exploring.
He spoke with conviction about the importance of always excelling in one’s craft, and the responsibility to make the most of every opportunity. It was clear he was driven by a higher purpose, and his job performance was positively impacted by it.
Then the discussion turned to using our talents to glorify God, and this fellow’s work ethic made sense. It was straight out of Ephesians 6:7!
“Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people …”
In the recent series on Max Lucado’s one-minute feature, UpWords, he’s offered listeners every day a “Cure for the Common Life”—encouraging us that no life is common if we live it for God. Specifically in the area of work, there are many opportunities and challenges to present our work to God as worship.
On a recent edition of UpWords, Max exhorted:
Are you living in your sweet spot? Doing what you do well—what you’ve always loved to do? That last question trips up a lot of folks. God wouldn’t let me do what I like to do—would He? Yes, He would. “God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). Scripture says, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).
Your Father is too gracious to assign you to a life of misery. See your desires as gifts to heed rather than longings to suppress. What have you always done well and loved to do? Read your life backward. Re-relish your moments of success and satisfaction. In the merger of the two, you will find your uniqueness!
When I do as Max said and “read my life backward”—growing up as a pastor’s kid and majoring in business during college—it’s remarkable to see the way the Lord led me to Ambassador and Christian radio … it just “makes sense!”
What’s your “sweet spot?” Ask your listeners—and refer them to www.maxlucado.com for the archives of these programs. As you know, Max has an extraordinary gift of speaking biblical truth in bite-sized pieces for everyday application. That’s definitely his “sweet spot!”
Thank you for your partnership in sharing these important messages with radio listeners nationwide—it’s a privilege to work alongside you!
