Why Just Polish Stones When You Could Create Jewels
A man walked up to three laborers digging in the ground. As he approached the first man, he asked inquisitively what he was doing, the man looked back with a “you-should-know-this-yourself” attitude and said, “Digging a ditch.”
He walked up to second man and asked the same question. The answer was only slightly better: “I’m earning a living. Just making a living. You know, I’ve got to feed my wife and kids.”
When he asked the third man what he was doing, the man answered with a very positive attitude and with great pride, “Sir, I’m building part of a great irrigation system that will transform this old barren valley into a fertile garden that will produce food for a hungry world!”
We should all be approaching our endeavors with the same attitude as that last man, looking beyond what may seem like meaningless tasks and minor failures today, and see the bigger picture — the ultimate vision — the image of serving others.
You’ll find greater satisfaction in your daily work when you see yourself creating jewels for the crown of God, not just polishing stones, setting long-term goals to keep yourself from becoming frustrated by short-term failures.
Habakkuk 2:3
For the vision is yet for an appointed time ... though it delays, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay.
Setting Your Mark
On a farm, everyone has to pitch in to make things work. Once a lady who was inexperienced at driving a tractor was asked by her husband to drive a tractor across a field pulling a disc. Not sure how to do the job her husband instructed her to pick out an object at the end of the field and drive toward it, that way her path would remain straight.
So she put the tractor in gear and off she went toward the other end of the field. It wasn't long before she noticed her husband running alongside the tractor trying to get her attention. She stopped and asked, "What's wrong?"
Upon looking at him she noticed that her path was rather crooked as opposed to the straight line she needed to drive. Her husband again explained she needed to pick out an object and drive toward it. She said, "I did."
"What are you driving toward?" he asked. She pointed to the object down at the end of the row, which at that point she realized was a bird which had been hopping across the ground.
We have to be careful when we set our mark that we set it on something or someone that is sure and stationary.
The mark set by the world is ever-shifting, but the truths found in Christ are sure and stationary. To keep your life heading in the right direction, make sure you set your mark on Jesus.
"Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).
"Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1, NKJV)
Are You A Hypermiler?
Michelle Basch with WTOP reports:
Cline is a hypermiler, which means he tries to squeeze as many miles as he can out of every gallon of gas during his commute between Calvert County and the District.
The homemade plastic roof extension in back, called a kammback, looks a bit like a cape and is meant to reduce drag.
Cline, originally from Pennsylvania, also installed smaller-than-normal side mirrors for the same reason. And to reduce the weight of the car, he’s taken out the back seats.
Cline overinflates his tires, although that’s something AAA Mid-Atlantic advises against.
“The factory recommends 33 pounds at each corner, and I do 40,” he said.
Cline says the way you drive makes a difference too. For instance, speeding doesn’t help: “The higher you go, the more gas it takes to keep your vehicle at speed. Certain cars like certain ranges of miles per hour,” Cline said.
“My particular car does really well at 60. If I go 65, I start to reduce my miles per gallon, but if I go 55 I’m actually reducing too.”
If there’s a red light ahead, Cline slows down far in advance. “It actually makes more sense to slow down before you approach the light, so that when you get to the light it turns green and you’re already still rolling,” he said.
When you have a clear goal and you’re committed to it, you become very mindful of all the little things that must be done to reach that goal. That describes the Apostle Paul. He was the original hypermiler. No one else traveled so far, or comported themselves so efficiently, or lived with more purpose—all in an effort to reach his goal of spreading the message of grace.
What about you? What is your goal? And what sacrifices have you made to reach it?
“To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).