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29: How to Have a Joyful Day at Work · Finding God at Work

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  (Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Hi, I'm Chris.
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  This is Finding God at Work.
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  Just a reminder that Finding God at Work
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  isn't just a podcast.
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  It's also an online course.
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  Check it out at findinggodatwork.org.
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  Our current series is Meaningful Work, Calling, Formation,
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  Service, and Love.
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  Do you have any traditions at your workplace
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  that are just about fun and joy and
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  celebration?
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  I hope so.
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  I love things like this that just sort
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  of like build team spirit in an optional
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  but life-giving way.
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  So a few years ago when I was
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  on staff at a church, we had a
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  tradition in the summers on Friday afternoons of
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  taking a half hour break to play Nine
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  Square in the air because we had a
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  Nine Square set from the church youth group.
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  If you're not familiar, Nine Square is kind
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  of like Foursquare except you set it up
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  with PVC pipes and then instead of doing
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  Foursquare bouncing on the ground, you're putting a
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  ball up in the air.
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  So it's the same concept, but reversed.
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  Anyways, it was great.
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  We'd go down to the giant church lobby,
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  play Nine Square in the air for half
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  an hour, then get back to work.
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  That was so motivating for me.
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  Now it was optional.
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  It wasn't required.
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  If that's not your thing, you didn't have
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  to do it.
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  But it was a chance to blow off
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  steam, to laugh, to use your body.
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  A lot of wins in Nine Square in
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  the air for me.
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  Now currently in my role at the food
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  bank, my team has a tradition of a
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  Friday morning dance party.
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  So Friday morning, 8.45 a.m., we
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  go sometimes to the boardroom if there's not
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  a meeting in there, and we make it
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  a dance hall.
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  And we pretend that we know what we're
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  doing with dancing, moving our bodies to Taylor
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  Swift or whatever the song of the day
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  might be.
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  And it's just a goofy way to start
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  Friday.
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  And again, it's like, oh man, there's a
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  little bit of joy in that.
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  Sometimes we underestimate the importance of just enjoying
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  our work.
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  And I say that having been in the
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  situation where sometimes you have a job that's
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  really hard to enjoy.
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  Sometimes you have a job that feels more
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  like death than life, that feels like it's
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  a form of suffering in itself.
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  We'll circle back to that.
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  But if there's opportunity in your work to
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  just enjoy the work you're doing, that can
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  be really good.
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  And it can be really good, among other
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  things, for your work, for the mission of
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  your workplace.
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  A company, Boston Consulting Group, they did this
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  study a couple years back, released it in
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  2024.
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  And one of their findings was joy at
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  work cuts attrition risk in half.
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  They write, we found that joy has an
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  outsized impact on retention.
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  Employees who enjoy their work are 49%
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  less likely to say they would consider taking
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  a new job than employees who don't enjoy
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  their work.
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  That's an intuitive finding, isn't it?
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  If you're having a good time at work,
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  you're less likely to go looking for something
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  else.
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  And so when we think about our own
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  experience at work, if we are able to
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  help ourselves have a better time at work,
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  that's going to be good for our work
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  and our workplaces.
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  So in as much as we can do
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  a good job while still having a good
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  time, that's actually a good goal.
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  It's good to have the goal of enjoying
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  your work, of being joyful in your work.
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  But in this series, as we've been talking
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  about meaningful work, I kind of want to
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  ask a question related to meaning, and that's
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  how can you enjoy your work?
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  How can you have a joyful day at
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  work?
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  Well, I think there's lots of different good
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  answers to that question, but one that's kind
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  of in line with what we've been talking
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  about in the past few episodes is being
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  really intentional about service.
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  Service leads to joy.
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  Okay, before we dig into the Bible passage,
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  I just kind of want to give an
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  image of the human body.
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  Think about the needs of your body.
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  You need water.
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  You need food.
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  You need sleep.
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  Okay?
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  There are other needs that are less obvious.
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  You need human touch.
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  You need air to breathe.
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  You don't just need food, but you need
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  a nutritional balance or else you start facing
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  consequences long term, right?
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  We have all these needs in our body.
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  Those needs enforce limits on us.
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  We can't function if we just don't sleep.
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  We can't function if we just don't eat.
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  We can't function if we just don't breathe.
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  We have limits.
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  We have needs.
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  And only if those needs are met in
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  the proper way are we able to function.
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  And you can substitute, you know, some bad
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  quality stuff, but only for so long and
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  not without consequence, right?
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  You can breathe smoky air, but that's going
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  to affect your lungs.
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  You can eat junk food, but that's going
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  to affect your body.
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  You can sleep fewer hours, but that's going
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  to affect your brain, right?
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  We kind of know, okay, if I can
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  inhabit my body and get the sleep that
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  I need, eat the food that my body
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  needs, breathe the air that my body needs,
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  that's going to be better for everything.
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  My body will function better.
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  Those limits, those needs actually indicate what's healthy.
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  They actually indicate what good goals are for
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  the care of your body.
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  I want to suggest that the same thing
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  is true of the soul, that the soul
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  has specific needs and that one of those
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  needs is the need to serve.
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  That if you don't serve, you actually are
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  missing out on like an essential nutrient for
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  your soul.
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  Service is good for the soul.
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  You are not going to become the human
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  being that you were meant to be, that
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  you were born to be, if you don't
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  serve.
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  And part of that is because service is
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  a pathway to joy.
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  You're meant to experience joy as a human
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  being.
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  And there are certain kinds of joy that
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  can only be realized by serving other people.
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  Okay, so that kind of image in mind
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  that we're thinking about how we're made as
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  human creatures, what our limits are, and that
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  we actually have a need to serve.
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  I want to look at this passage from
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  Philippians 2.
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  So we spent a lot of times with
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  Philippians 2, I want to go a little
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  bit later in the passage, starting in verse
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  14.
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  So this is after Paul has summarized the
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  example of Jesus as a servant, then he
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  kind of expands on how do we apply
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  that.
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  And he says, do everything without grumbling or
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  arguing, so that you may become blameless and
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  pure, children of God without fault in a
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  warped and crooked generation.
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  Then you will shine among them like stars
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  in the sky, as you hold firmly to
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  the word of life.
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  And then I will be able to boast
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  on the day of Christ that I did
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  not run or labor in vain.
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  But even if I am being poured out
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  like a drink offering on the sacrifice and
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  service coming from your faith, I am glad
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  and rejoice with all of you.
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  So you too should be glad and rejoice
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  with me.
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  Okay, Paul packed a lot in there.
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  The image that I want to focus on
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  is right there at the end, where Paul
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  says, but even if I am being poured
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  out like a drink offering on the sacrifice
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  and service coming from your faith.
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  Well, what is he talking about?
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  Well, he's using an image, in some ways
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  alluding to the Old Testament sacrificial system, that
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  sometimes you could have a drink offering, like
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  you could have a cup filled with a
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  drink and you would pour it out on
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  the altar as a symbol of like, I'm
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  not going to drink that, I'm giving that
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  over to God.
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  Paul says, that's what's happening to him.
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  He is being poured out like a drink
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  offering.
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  Context here, he wrote this letter from prison.
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  And so it seems that he's alluding to
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  some of the sacrifices that he's made in
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  the course of carrying out his apostolic ministry,
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  that he's faced opposition, that he's faced suffering,
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  that he's now imprisoned, that he may one
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  day die.
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  And indeed, as we know from a very
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  early church tradition, that Paul was martyred, that
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  he eventually did give his life for his
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  faith, for Jesus, and for those who he
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  had proclaimed the gospel to, that he was
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  giving his life for them.
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  And so I think Paul probably has an
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  intuition that this may be where his life
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  is headed.
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  He's already suffered a lot.
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  He knows that there are powerful people that
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  oppose him.
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  And so he says, but even if I
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  am being poured out like a drink offering,
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  right?
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  So there's this present tense, right?
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  Like I am being poured out.
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  I'm already suffering.
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  And even if that means the whole thing
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  gets poured out, even if I die, what's
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  his conclusion?
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  He says, I am glad and rejoice with
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  all of you.
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  So you too should be glad and rejoice
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  with me.
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  What?
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  What?
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  We're supposed to be glad if you die,
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  Paul?
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  Like what?
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  No, we're going to be sad if you
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  die, Paul.
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  Okay.
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  Now, obviously there's room in Paul's teaching and
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  in the New Testament in general for grief
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  at loss.
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  And yet mixed in with grief at loss
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  is this kind of babbling brook of joy
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  in light of eternity.
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  Right?
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  Paul is saying, even if I give up
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  my life for you, there's still occasion for
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  joy implicitly because of the hope of resurrection.
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  Because this gospel that we've preached to you
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  is true, that Jesus rose from the dead.
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  And so someday I will rise from the
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  dead.
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  Someday you will rise from the dead.
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  That means that we can rejoice even if
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  we have to sacrifice it all.
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  Even if we're poured out like a drink
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  offering, there's ultimately joy.
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  Okay.
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  So I want to lean into this image.
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  Okay.
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  And then put it kind of alongside that
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  earlier image of like the limits of the
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  body.
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  Right?
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  We think about our body like we need
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  to drink water, we need to breathe air,
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  et cetera.
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  Okay.
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  Those are limits.
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  We think about our soul.
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  Our soul needs to serve.
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  There's certain kinds of joy that we can
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  only experience if we serve.
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  And that's true even when the service is
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  painful, even when the service is sacrificial, even
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  when the service costs us our lives.
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  Okay.
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  So this is kind of the gospel paradox,
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  right?
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  On the one hand, I'm saying if you
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  want joy, you really want joy, you got
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  to serve other people.
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  But this is not just some sort of
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  like wishy-washy therapeutic, like, yeah, volunteer every
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  once in a while and you'll feel better.
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  Right?
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  No, this is saying even to the point
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  of sacrificing your life, there will be a
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  deep joy because of the truth of the
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  gospel.
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  That's what Paul is modeling and encouraging in
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  this passage.
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  He's saying, look, this is how it's supposed
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  to work.
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  And what's the offering being poured out on?
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  He says, even if I'm being poured out
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  like a drink offering on the sacrifice and
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  service coming from your faith.
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  So faith, right?
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  Implicitly faith in Jesus, faith in the good
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  news that Paul proclaimed to the Philippians.
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  This faith in Jesus leads to a life
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  of sacrifice, a life of service.
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  That's what Paul is championing and praying for
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  and celebrating about the Philippians, that they're already
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  living that life of sacrifice, that life of
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  service.
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  And Paul kind of in a meta way
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  is saying, I am a sacrifice being poured
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  out on your sacrifice, right?
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  The life of sacrifice and service that you're
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  living is something that I'm willing to give
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  up my life to make possible because I'm
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  the one who got to proclaim the good
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  news to you.
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  I'm the one who's writing this letter to
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  you.
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  If I'm martyred, so be it because there's
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  joy.
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  There's joy for me.
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  There's joy for you.
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  There's joy for all of us.
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  You hear the dynamism in this passage.
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  Paul really deeply believes that he is going
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  to see Jesus, that he is going to
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  experience the deepest joy that there is, that
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  it is possible for any human being to
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  experience, even if he continues to suffer in
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  prison and ultimately die.
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  Do we really believe that about our faith?
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  Do we really believe that about our faith?
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  We're challenged to believe that about our faith
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  and we're encouraged by the testimony of Paul
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  and the testimony of martyrs throughout the centuries
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  up into the present day, Christians who have
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  given their lives for the sake of Jesus.
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  Their example for us is to be willing
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  to pour out ourselves like that drink offering.
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  So let's, let's bring this back to our
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  everyday lives at work.
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  How do we have a joyful day at
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  work?
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  Again, I don't want to just give kind
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  of a wishy-washy therapeutic, like, oh, you
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  know, see if you can help somebody else
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  today and it'll make you happy, right?
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  You know, Boston Consulting Group says that attrition
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  is 50% cut in half among happy
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  work members.
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  That's true.
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  But for us as disciples of Jesus, there's
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  something deeper we're invited into, and that's sacrificial
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  service, being willing to serve others even when
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  it hurts, not in the context of like
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  abuse, not in the context of being a
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  doormat, right?
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  But willingly, us ourselves embracing sacrifice, even when
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  it hurts, because we have a bigger vision
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  of the reward that's awaiting us.
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  We're willing to give up more because we
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  know we're going to be rewarded for it.
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  We know that there's joy coming and we
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  know that we'll experience that joy even as
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  we go along.
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  So I would invite you, consider in your
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  workplace, is there any way to sacrifice, to
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  serve that might hurt a little bit?
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  It might cost a little bit.
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  And again, it's going to depend on your
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  situation, what that is, but maybe it hurts
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  because it requires humility, or maybe it hurts
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  because it requires courage, like we talked about
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  in earlier episodes.
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  Maybe it hurts because it's foregoing an economic
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  opportunity or an opportunity to burnish your reputation.
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  Maybe it hurts because it means rearranging your
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  schedule to do something a little bit inconvenient
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  or maybe a lot of it inconvenient, because
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  it's the right thing to do.
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  So we're used to figuring out, okay, what's
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  the maximum benefit I can get out of
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  my job for the minimum effort, right?
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  How can I min-max my job experience?
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  And there's wisdom there about efficiencies and things
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  like that.
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  But sometimes the right thing to do just
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  kind of sucks and we just got to
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  keep doing it.
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  And sometimes it feels more like death than
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  life.
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  Sometimes it feels like being poured out like
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  a drink offering.
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  If we embrace it with faith, if we
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  embrace it to love God and to love
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  others, if we embrace it because it's the
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  sacrifice that Jesus is inviting us into, we
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  will know deep, deep joy as we say
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  yes to it.
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  Jesus, help us each to discern what you
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  are asking of us.
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  Show us how to make deep sacrifices, not
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  in unhealthy ways, not in perverse ways, but
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  in courageous and faithful and gentle and humble
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  ways, trusting that you made us for joy
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  and that it will be worth it.
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  Jesus, do your work in us as we
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  do our work with you.
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  Amen.
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  Thanks for listening.
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  Finding God at Work is a production of
• 15:06
  Mission Central, a ministry based in Aurora, Illinois,
• 15:09
  dedicated to forming Christians for mission in everyday
• 15:11
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