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Series: Wisdom for Work from David

Devotional: 5 of 7

In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. (Psalm 10:4)

In 1517, Martin Luther had an “aha” moment that would change the world. He realized that “the merciful God justifies us by faith,” and not by works.

Where was Luther when he had this epiphany? In a grand library? Walking in a beautiful garden perhaps? No. As Luther biographer Eric Metaxas explains, “God had given [Luther] this insight while he was sitting on the toilet.”

I’m not surprised, because even in Luther’s day, the outhouse was a rare place of silence and solitude, free from what C.S. Lewis called “the Kingdom of Noise” that surrounds you and me to this day.

Everywhere we turn we are bombarded by external noise—nonstop emails, texts, information, and entertainment—which leads to a more dangerous internal noise that blocks our ability to think, be creative, and most importantly, listen to the voice of God.

That is what David is primarily concerned with in today’s passage when he says that “the wicked man” has “no room” in “his thoughts…for God.”

If that doesn’t describe most people today, I don’t know what does. “We are always engaged with our thumbs, but rarely engaged with our thoughts,” says pastor Kevin DeYoung. Which means that we are drowning out the One Input we need most. ​​We are inflicting ourselves with what Tim Keller called “the torture of divine absence.”

The solution to this epidemic is simple, but not easy: We must embrace practices that help us dissent from the kingdom of noise.

Let me offer one simple practice you can start implementing today. I call it my 5 Minutes of Nothing rule. Here’s what it means. If I have less than 5 minutes unexpectedly at my disposal, I do absolutely nothing at all. I refuse to fill that crevice of my day with noise.

Here’s what this could look like for you today. When you show up to a Zoom meeting early and you’re waiting for the host to start the meeting, don’t check your email. When you head to the bathroom like Luther, refuse to check your phone. When you drive to the bus stop to pick-up your kids, don’t press play on your favorite podcast (even if it’s my own).

What do I recommend you do instead? Be still. Pray. And make room in your thoughts for God to speak.

Jordan

P.S. My 5 Minutes of Nothing rule is just one idea for how to dissent from the kingdom of noise. Want more ideas? I share eight more in Chapter 3 of Redeeming Your Time!

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Series: Wisdom for Work from David

Devotional: 4 of 7

You [Lord] reward everyone according to what they have done. (Psalm 62:12)

I don’t believe Bucket Lists are evil. But I do believe that Christians of all people should spend less time thinking about Bucket Lists—lists of things you want to do before you die and “kick the bucket”—and a lot more time thinking about Anti-Bucket Lists—catalogs of things you will strive not to do on this side of eternity.

Why? Three reasons.

#1: This life is not our only chance to enjoy the best this world has to offer. As Dr. Randy Alcorn has said, “the ‘bucket list’ mentality…is profoundly unbiblical,” because Scripture makes clear that we will have all eternity to enjoy the earth’s greatest destinations (see Revelation 21:10-21), food (see Isaiah 25:6–8), culture (see Isaiah 60:1-11), jobs (see Isaiah 65:17-23), etc.

#2: God will reward believers differently based on how we steward this life. This is what David alluded to in today’s passage and what the Son of David, Jesus Christ, promised more than 20 times. In Matthew 16:27, for example, Jesus echoed David by saying that “the Son of Man…will reward each person according to what they have done.”

#3: Eternal rewards are almost always tied to sacrifices we make in the present. For example, in Luke 6:22-23, Jesus said that if you sacrifice your reputation at work “because of the Son of Man…great is your reward in heaven.” In Luke 12:33-34 he promised that if you sacrifice “your possessions and give to the poor” you will be rewarded with “treasure in heaven that will never fail.”

For these three reasons, I have spent a lot of time drafting my Anti-Bucket List—things I am intentionally sacrificing in this life so that I can accumulate as many eternal rewards as possible per Jesus’s command.

Let me give you one example from my list to illustrate.

As much as I love my hometown of Tampa, FL, no city fuels my soul more than Washington, D.C. (I know—I’m a crazy person).

So why don’t my wife and I move our family to DC? There are many reasons, but one is that our aging parents and grandparents are within a ten-minute drive of our current home and we feel called to help care for them as they get older.

That’s a sacrifice for me personally (less so for my far less selfish wife). But knowing that I will have all of eternity to explore the greatest city of all time, I am happy to put this dream on my Anti-Bucket List, because I trust in God’s promise that he will reward me “for whatever good [I] do” in this life (Ephesians 6:8).

You too can take David’s words to the bank: The Lord will “reward everyone according to what they have done.” Plan accordingly.

Jordan

P.S. If you want to go deeper on why the concept of rewards makes believers uncomfortable, what rewards Scripture promises, how you can earn them, and what else is on my Anti-Bucket List, check out Chapter 4 of my book, The Sacredness of Secular Work!

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Series: Wisdom for Work from David

Devotional: 3 of 7

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war…David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba”...Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (2 Samuel 11:1-4a)

Many historians believe that this famous scene took place towards the middle of David’s 40-year reign as king of Israel. And today’s passage suggests that David was growing lax on the job.

Samuel says that “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war,” David didn’t. He “remained in Jerusalem.” Then we’re told that “one evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.”

The picture Samuel paints is of David being bored. He couldn’t sleep (perhaps due to a lack of exhaustion from a hard day’s work) and now he appears to be moseying around the palace roof aimlessly.

That’s the context for David’s most notorious sin. Boredom. Slothfulness. A lack of hard work. David is Exhibit A, supporting the old adage that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”

This passage reminds us that one of the reasons Christians should celebrate the gift of work is that God often uses it to keep us from sinning. How should we respond to that truth?

For those of us who frequently complain about being “too busy,” (hand raised) I think we should respond by giving thanks to God. Is it wrong to lament about the “thorns and thistles” that make our work “painful” (see Genesis 3)? Absolutely not! But if you’re feeling swamped at work today, David’s story should compel you to also praise God for using even painful things like overwhelm for your sanctification and his glory.

But maybe you don’t resonate with feeling “too busy.” Maybe you, like David, have started to coast through life. Or maybe you dream about spending your final years on cruise ships, beaches, and golf courses. With all due respect, there is no biblical support whatsoever for this version of “retirement.”

Now, could God be calling you to trade the work you do for pay as a marketer, therapist, or general contractor for unpaid work as a mentor, tutor, or guardian ad litem? Absolutely! But to quit being productive altogether in the work of the Lord is a recipe for disaster and unfaithfulness as David so vividly demonstrates.

May we be people who accurately reflect the image of God who “is always at his work to this very day” (John 5:17) and join the Apostle Paul in saying, “If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me” (Philippians 1:22).