“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might..."

Ecclesiastes 9:10

"With all your might." What a phrase. For many of us, it probably conjures up mental images of powerlifters moving hundreds of pounds, or superheroes performing impossible feats of strength. But what does it actually mean? The word “might” here, would best be defined as “the power, energy, or intensity that someone is capable of.” I love that. “The intensity someone is capable of.” Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all the intensity you are capable of. That’s not a suggestion by the way, it’s a Biblical command, and a challenge. 

While we’re breaking this scripture down, I don’t think it would be fair to focus on “with all your might” without giving due diligence to the first half, too. “Whatever your hand finds to do.” What's interesting here is that it doesn’t say “Whatever you’re passionate about, do it with all your might.” It doesn’t say “Once you’ve found your ONE singular calling in life, work on it with all your might.” No, it says WHATEVER you do. Too often, I believe we are waiting to find some mythical passion, through which nothing will ever feel like work again and we will gleefully apply ourselves to it every day. Maybe that does happen for some people, maybe it will even happen for you! But God’s word didn’t say to wait until you find that to work with all you have. It says whatever is in front of you, do it with all the intensity you are capable of.

What does that mean for us? Well, this might be a hot take, but I think in general, Christians should be known for being the BEST people to hire. The Bible says they will know you by your love, and that’s true, but we should also be known for being FANTASTIC at our jobs. How do I know this? Daniel 6:3 says that Daniel distinguished himself with excellence. In the ERV translation it actually says “Daniel did his work much better than the other officers and rulers. He was very good at his job.” In Colossians 3:23 it says "In all the work you are given, do the best you can. Work as though you are working for the Lord…”  Again, whatever you do, do the best you can. And not only that, do it as if you’re doing it for the Lord.

So when it comes to the things put in front of you, be it your job, your school, your role as a husband, wife, sister, brother, whatever the case may be, can you honestly say you do it with the fervor and intensity of one doing it for the Lord? Do you scrub dishes like the Lord himself was going to eat off of them? Do you make your reports and calls for work as if God was your direct oversight? Do you serve your spouse with the joy and intensity of the love of Jesus? Because the word doesn’t say “As long as it’s easy” or “as long as you feel like it.” It doesn't even say “As long as you like your boss.” There is no allowance for “As long as your spouse hasn’t been insensitive today.” Whatever you do, do with all your might. Why don’t we do some self auditing this week and take inventory, where have we been slacking? Where can we use a bit more intensity? How can we honor God as employees, spouses, and students? Find where you’ve let your excellence and intensity wane, and give it all you’ve got, do it with all your might. There’s no phoning it in in the Kingdom of God. Yes you have eternity to look forward to, but your time living on this earth is limited, don’t live it halfway. 

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