I expected myself to write something about how working with sheep taught me so much about myself, because the Bible so often likens us to sheep. Don’t get me wrong, it’s true.
But, I feel I need to write about something else. It’s hard to sum up the two months, but I think 2 important things that come to mind is: 1. Speaking life and 2. Working with integrity.
I was reminded of, and shown, the power of speaking life. It’s so natural for us to throw an insult here or a ‘joke’ there, without thinking about the consequences. It’s so hard to, in stead, say something nice and uplifting. That was a big challenge and something I tried to learn during my time in Australia and something that I hope to continue focusing on. I’m also not saying that we should stop joking with each other, because, after all, God did give us a sense of humor and laughter is very important. But we need to draw a line and set boundaries. We need to be sensitive to other people's feelings. Something that might seem trivial to you could be something that touches a deep wounding in someone else, and that could cause tremendous hurt and damage in another person's spirit. We need to be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit - always.
One of my team members and I talked about a very important subject that bothered both of us during the year: working with integrity. When we are out working, what we are doing could be compared, in very practical ways, to things we could be doing for ourselves in our own personal capacity. Let’s take painting for instance: are we truly painting like we would paint our own house or fence? Are we putting in all the effort of proper preparation? Are we putting in all the effort to make sure we paint evenly, don’t mess on the floor or other objects, do we cover every inch? I can ask these questions about all of the work we have been doing this year. It’s something very important to keep in mind and to strive for.
If Jesus was standing next to you, you would surely do it with integrity. The thing is, He is standing next to you every moment of every day. But even if this was not so, your character should speak of a need to do everything we do, no matter how big or small, how important or inconsequential, in such a way that it brings God glory.