Why Is That?

Why are we like that?

What, you think you are any different? You think you are much more sensitive to your surroundings and if you lived near such beauty, you would always make time to enjoy it? I have to argue against you on that one.

Instead, I bet you are living near something just as beautiful now. You just don’t see it that way. Likely, you noticed it at one time, but it has simply become something you take for granted. It no longer grabs your attention, but it is still beautiful to someone who has never seen it before.

New Gets Old Fast

The problem is that we lose excitement quickly. When opportunities come our way for something new and exciting, we are eager to engage. In some cases, this eagerness lasts for weeks or even months, but at one point or another, it fades. The opportunity becomes mundane and no longer interests us.

Now I come to my main point. Your job or business is likely the same way. At one time, you saw the work you do as a magnificent opportunity to get fulfillment and hopefully, serve God in ministry through that job.

Opportunity Excitement Faded

At one time, you got up in the morning with just as much excitement about the opportunity at work as you have had when heading off on vacation. Ideas were floating through your head about how you could minister here or there and how God could use you for eternal impact.

Then time happened. You weren’t thinking about it, but something changed and you no longer see the magnificent opportunity for Christian ministry through your business. Instead, you are beginning to see your job as a mundane obligation.

What went wrong? What did you do to cause this?

We Stopped Working At It!

Well, if you think about it, this same analogy can apply to our marriages, our friendships, and even our relationship with God!

A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.
Proverbs 13:4

We stopped working at it.

We did not stop working at our job, but we stopped working at seeing the opportunity in our job (or marriage, friendship, relationship with God). Rather than regularly praying for God to show us the “new” in our jobs, we focused more on surviving them!

What Is The Solution?

So what is the solution? How do we get back to seeing our jobs as an opportunity to serve God and not an obligation?

There are many ways to do this, but I would suggest a couple of steps that have worked.

Get A New View!

Determine in your heart that tomorrow you are going to walk into your workplace with a new set of eyes. Pray that God would give you a new vision for what you can do and how you can be used at work.

Rather than taking the normal path to your office or workstation, change it up. Come in a little early. Look around as if this is your first time there. Expect to see an opportunity for ministry at every turn. Prepare in advance for what you might see.

Then block out some time and begin to take notes. Act as if it is your first day on the job and you have to decide what needs to be done differently in what areas. Pretend you have just been hired (by God) to come in there and to impact the people around you for eternity.

Look For Impact Opportunity!

Go person by person through your co-workers and see if you can think of ways you can begin to serve them. Think about their struggles and pray for ideas on how you can help.

Begin praying for them individually. Pray for their success and peace in their struggles. Pray for an opportunity to show them God’s love. Pray for God to renew your eyes every day so you can see the needs around you.

Change Will Come!

This may not completely change your vision overnight, but I promise it will change in time. Pretty soon, you will be getting up with energy in the morning.

No longer will you drag yourself out of bed, but will instead get a bounce in your step. You may even be able to give up the coffee…well, maybe that is pushing it!

Have you lost excitement over the opportunity in your job?

When will you commit to changing your view?

Can you enlist someone to keep you accountable to this commitment?

Photo by SergeyNevins / iStock

One of my favorite people in the whole world is Zig Ziglar! If you have ever met him or listened to him, it is likely that you feel the same! First of all, how can you not love his southern drawl?

But even without that, he just knows how to say things in a way that cuts to the heart of it all. The title of this post is a quote of Zig’s, “There is no traffic jam on the second mile!”

What Does The Bible Say?

To get a complete understanding of how this applies to us, let’s take a look at Scripture first. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed his listeners that just doing the minimum required was not enough to be His follower. He gave them several examples of this kind of behavior.

One of these examples referred to a Roman law that required a Jew to carry a Roman soldier’s heavy pack for the distance of a mile. Jesus told his listeners in Matthew 5:41 that they were to carry the pack for a second mile.

Why The Second Mile?

Now why would he ask this? Well the Bible does not specify, but we can infer a likely possibility. Imagine the thoughts of the Roman soldier as he walked alongside the Jew carrying his heavy pack. He and the Jew both know that the obligation is for one mile.

What do you think the soldier’s thoughts would be as he neared the one mile mark and then continued past? When the Jew continued to carry the pack beyond that, don’t you think the soldier would be curious? Do you think he might ask what was going on?

Open Door for Witness and Influence

It is at this point that I believe the Jew would have the opportunity to explain his reasons, starting with Jesus’ teaching and how it had changed his own life. I believe the Roman soldier would then be wide open to hearing more from the Jew simply because he was willing to go the second mile, beyond his obligation.

So how does this apply to leadership? I think it is very applicable! As Christian leaders, I believe it is our goal to gain influence and to use that influence to point others toward Jesus. In his book, How to Run Your Business by THE BOOK, Dave Anderson says the following…

Going the first mile fulfills an obligation. By going the second mile, you earn the right to witness and influence.

Unlike The Majority

If we truly want to influence others by operating a Christian business, then we simply cannot just fulfill our obligations. We cannot do only what is required or necessary. This is expected! Zig’s quote is so powerful because he is saying that the vast majority of people stop at the first mile and skip out on the second mile! We cannot afford to be like the majority.

If we are serious about pointing others to Jesus, then we must open the door to opportunities to speak into the lives of others. This second mile behavior will help us do just that! When we go beyond our obligation in whatever the circumstance, we will get the attention of others. People will ask “Why?” and give us the opportunity to tell them!

Dave Anderson’s Tips

Here are Dave Anderson’s tips on going the second mile:

1. Accept the concept that each day you do less than you can, you become less than you are: personally, and in the eyes of others.
2. Embrace the promise of Galatians 6:9 – “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
3. Realize that you may be one phone call away, one discipline away, or one effort away from your next breakthrough. Make it your goal to be totally used up when you die, leaving this world with no regrets.

So what part of this idea speaks to you?

Do you have any examples of open doors from going the second mile?

What can you do today that would open a door with someone?