Making a Living vs. Making a Difference

I read recently about a clever advertisement. In big, bold letters, it says, "You have 24 hours to live." Then, after getting your attention, the small print at the bottom says, "Today, that is." That's amusing and catchy, but....

Suppose you did know that you had only a short time left on earth. How would you spend it? How would it affect your plans for next week? How would it change your priorities for tomorrow?

These days, as many adults move through their forties and fifties, there seems to be an awakening sense of the brevity of life. They've experienced the emptiness of having spent many years and a lot of energy climbing the traditional ladder of success. Many are realizing that there's a lot more to life than a big house, the best toys or a big paycheck.

As they look back at where they've been and look ahead at their future, many are choosing to change their compass heading. They are choosing to move from success to significance. Christians want to make their lives count for God. They're saying, "I don't want to just make a living. I want to make a difference." Have you ever felt this way? Is that desire to make a difference tugging at your heart right now? If so, then let's think about this together for the next few minutes.

Your first thought may be that in order to make a difference in God's eyes, you have to leave your current job and become a foreign missionary. Some people at the halftime of their life do cut down their work hours - or completely change vocations - in order to invest more time in direct ministry. However, that may or may not be what God wants you to do! Today we'll point out several ways you can make a difference right where you are.

In 1 Corinthians 3, the apostle Paul talks about teaching and encouraging followers of Jesus to walk in a Christ-like manner. He likens that process of teaching and encouraging others to the process of constructing a building. He says that the materials we each contribute to this building can be significant, such as gold, silver, or precious stones. Unfortunately, our work can instead be like wood, hay or straw as far as God is concerned. The first three elements will survive testing even by fire - they will "make a lasting difference." The second three (wood, hay and straw) will not survive such a test, and do not make a difference in the long run.

Clearly, we see in this scripture that (a) God wants us to be involved in the lives of others, and (b) God evaluates the quality of what we do. Since that's true, we need to know how we can "make a difference" in God's eyes. Neither you nor I want to spend the best part of our lives accumulating straw when we could have been accumulating gold, do we?

So, how do we 'go for the gold'? How do we make a difference in God's eyes? Let me suggest that you and I go for the gold, that is, we make an enduring difference to God whenever our action or interaction honors God.

For example, let's look at our work. How can we make a difference there instead of just making a living? Well, think about your perspective. How do you view your work? Do you see it as just a way to earn money, as something to do between weekends? If so, then you may just be making a living. But if you see it as one way to worship God, you honor and please the One who commands in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. That perspective makes a difference in your heart.

Think about attitude. What mind-set do you bring to your work? Do you tend to do only what's required and stop there? If so, then you may just be making a living. But if you do your work enthusiastically, you honor and please the One who says in Colossians 3:23, Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.

Think about relationships. How do you interact at work? In your heart, do you see your associates as tools for your advancement or obstacles to your advancement? If either is true, then you may just be making a living. But if you see them as individuals for whom Jesus Christ gave His life, then you honor and please the One who declares in 1 Corinthians 13, verses 4-6: 4Love . . . is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.

So far, I've talked primarily about making a difference in ourselves. That, of course, is where making a difference needs to begin. We all want to make a difference to others, too, but unfortunately we may not know if we're making a difference to anyone else. Missionaries in foreign cultures know this feeling, and men and women of prayer know this feeling as well.

There are times, though, when God pulls aside the curtain and shows us that others are watching, and our actions make a difference to them. For example, we who are parents eventually discover how closely our children have been watching and mimicking our attitudes, behaviors and values. That is sometimes enriching and other times embarrassing!

However, we can make a difference at almost any age. I vividly recall God's encouragement to me through another person years ago when I was a college student. One day as I walked across campus on my way to class, another student suddenly stopped me.

"You don't know me," he began, "but I remember you from high school!"

"You went to my high school?" I asked. High school seemed a long way back, since by this time I was a junior or senior in college. The guy had good recall-and I hoped very much that his memories of me were good, too!

He soon put my anxious mind at ease. He said, "I was a new student in one of the groups you took on an orientation tour of the school, just before my first semester. You were one of the first kids I met on campus. Since you were a senior and you were a Christian, I watched you during the year. I saw you in various activities at school, and I just want you to know that your example as a Christian in a secular high school was a real testimony to me. Thank you."

Less than a minute from the time he stopped me, he was gone. His brief comments, though, have remained with me for 30 years. How thankful to God I was that this student had caught me in the act of doing something right! How important it is for all of us to remember that we sometimes make a difference even when we think no one is looking.

Colossians 3:17 - whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

© 2007 John Garmo. If you would be interested in using this article, please contact us at Info@MissionToChildren.org.