“Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.”
Have you ever seen that guy who whistles while he is working? (no, I’m not talking about Snow White’s seven short friends) He just grins, or maybe he hums a song. And it’s not really that he is not working hard, he may actually be dripping with sweat or in the middle of doing back-breaking work. He is just a chipper guy. It’s like he actually enjoys working hard. When he is asked to do a task he does it without any compensation and treats it like it is fun. No matter the job, he has a smile. You could give him a broom and tell him to sweep the gym, or a toilet brush and tell him to clean all the commodes in the building, you could give him a vacuum and tell him to clean the classroom, or to move some tables and chairs and he hops into action with a bit of a smile on his face.
He does not see the task at hand as a task, but rather as an opportunity. He doesn’t focus on the action that is required, but rather sees it as another occasion to have the right attitude. Ironically, the work looks like it is more fun when this guy is doing it. It seems to get done a bit faster and when he is done nobody is depressed or feels awkward. Instead, because of his great spirit, everyone feels a bit more encouraged.
The Psalmist calls all the followers of God to be the same way. It is not good enough to simply call yourself a Christian. If you are called “Christian” you were created by God, according to Ephesians 2:10, to do “good works,” and to do these good works “without murmurings or disputings.”(Philippians 2:14) It is literally a call of God on our lives to work as the Psalmist says “with gladness.”
So how are you doing? When evangelism is mentioned does your heart get excited? When the call to serve others comes up do you grin or grimace? When the challenge to give comes does your heart form a happy song or a funeral dirge? Let the posture of your heart match the desire of God’s, serve the Lord with gladness.
Food For Thought: List three tasks that you could do for the LORD with gladness.
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