Reason for Rejoicing

“Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.” (Philippians 2:16, KJV)

When I worked as a plant manager, I came to a place where I took a new view of the employees’ motives. Many managers had the idea that the workers did not want to do a good job. I came to a different conclusion. I felt the employees wanted to go home with a feeling of satisfaction about the work that they had done for the day. It seemed to me that to go home feeling that you did not do a good job would be demoralizing.

As a result of this change of heart, my entire management philosophy changed. Instead of managing people, I realized that my role was to empower them to be successful and to give positive reinforcement to the workers. This changed the entire atmosphere in the plant and the quality and productivity of the operation soared. The point was they wanted to have a feeling that they did a good job and contributed to the success of the operation.

Paul addressed the church at Philippi with a similar thought. At the end of his earthly life, Paul wanted to be able to look back at his ministry and conclude that it made a difference in the kingdom. Of course, he fully understood that what he did for the kingdom was empowered and made successful by the Lord. Yet Paul still had to do the work. Paul wrote that he held fast to the word of life. He ministered faithfully, even amid persecution and an unknown future as he awaited trial for preaching the gospel. With the anticipation of meeting Christ Paul hoped that he would have reason for rejoicing on that day.

We as believers should have the same attitude as Paul. We should realize that our time here on earth is infinitesimal compared to eternity, and that what we do here can have an eternal impact. Thus, we should endeavor to hold fast to the word of life, the gospel and live for the glory of God. Most likely none of us will be used in the exact way that Paul was. However, in our sphere of influence we should still live by the Book and seek to serve the Lord to the best of our ability using the gifts and talents He has given us. In this way we will be storing up treasure in heaven and have reason for rejoicing on that day.