I see him out there time and time again. He’s got his broom, garbage can and a dustpan. He sweeps, bends, empties the pan into the can. Then he moves a little down the way and does it again.
It shouldn’t bother me, but he’s out there all the time…probably several times each week…maybe even every day…
He’s sweeping his driveway.
His driveway!
He’s going to drive his car over it tomorrow and make it dirty again! How many people are going to inspect how much dirt is on his driveway? Is he going to eat supper off of it later?
He gets every clipping of grass, every granule of dirt, every spec of dust off of his driveway and he spends hours at doing it just about every day.
It’s a free country and if that is how he wants to spend the hours of his precious life, I won’t stop him and I’ll try not to be judgmental, but still, it makes me a little sad.
Over time I’ve come to find a lesson in watching this repeated ritual. It’s made me question my own life and how I am living. What am I doing in my life that is really just the equivalent of sweeping the driveway? How do I fritter away the hours and days the Lord has given me in things that really in the big scheme of things don’t matter at all? Or…more importantly…can I see the connection between my small, daily activities and the greater purpose for my existence?
Jesus connected something as small as giving a child a drink of water to a greater purpose in Matthew 10:42! Can I see the connection between the tiniest things I do and the great reason for why I’m here? If I can’t…really, I’m just sweeping my driveway over and over…right?
If I go to work and punch a time-card just to put food on the table or just because I “have” to to survive–I’m missing the point! If I clean the house and mow the lawn just because its expected of me or because it’s what I think I have to do–I’m missing the point! If I write a fiction book and create a story with words just because it makes me happy or because I want to–I’m missing the point! Every little thing I do has purpose if I stop to see the connection to what’s greater. If I am doing it all for me, or for other people to notice or for the praise of other people…I’m missing the point.
I can do all those things either with a self-centered mindset or with a true recognition that all of them are and ought to be ways of glorifying and serving the God who saved me from my self-centered, sin-ruined existence and earned and gave me heaven as a free gift. If I see no connection between what I’m doing and glorifying that Savior-God, then I probably shouldn’t be doing it.
If I’m doing tasks for God they naturally take on a whole new meaning and purpose. If I go to work and punch a time card…for God…I’m going to work with my eyes open to the opportunities to be God’s hands and feet in the world. If I do household chores…for God…I’m doing them with a different attitude. If I go on vacation…for God…I’ll appreciate the wondrous beauty of his creation all the more and look for opportunities to thank him for the moments of rest. The list could go on and on.
And no matter what I do every day I’m going to be doing it around and with other people. Every interaction that I have with other people is an opportunity to let my light shine and touch someone with the kindness of my heavenly Father or the message of my Savior’s undeserved love…whether they are members of my family, neighbors, friends or complete strangers!
So my goal this week is to actually think about WHY I’m doing the things I do and to see the “big picture” and how each little thing is really a way to serve and honor my God. I have no doubt that God will be opening my eyes and my heart this week as I put this into practice. I think, the first thing that will change is not what I’m doing, but the attitude with which I do it…
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Very nice message, Adam. Thanks for sharing.