DON'T BE A MUDSLINGER

"The slinger surrounded and attacked it." 2 Kings 3:25

In the Old Testament times, 'slingers' were people who defeated others by slinging stones, blocking their wells by throwing mud and rocks into them - wells of water that were essential to their survival. Today, mudslingers are people who make malicious attacks against others. Now chances are that you may have encountered some 'mudslingers' yourself, and even suffered at their hands. What should you do? Avoid them because they're dangerous. You can't mud wrestle with a pig without getting dirty. Not only will the pig win - he will enjoy the fight! And if you yourself have become a slinger, here is a portion of Scripture you would do well to read and keep in mind: "Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." Isaiah 58:9-11.

Now there is a benefit package worth working for! So, guard your thoughts because they become your words. Guard your words because they become your actions. Guard your actions because they become your character. And guard your character because it determines the level of God's blessing in your life. So, here is the word: don't be a mudslinger.

SHEPHERD YOUR PEOPLE

 

Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands (Micah 7:14). You and I are called to be shepherds in the workplace. Your "staff" (vocation) represents your calling to your work life ministry. Moses’ staff represented his calling as a shepherd. God’s first words to Moses were: "Remove your shoes. For this is Holy ground." God came to Moses during his workday. His work became holy because God’s presence was there. God used Moses’ staff to perform miracles and deliver the people of Israel from bondage. (Ex. 4:17). He is still issuing this same call today to you and I in the workplace. For most of us, this is where our inheritance lies. As we minister through our work life call, our inheritance will come as a result of letting God use our abilities. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:23,24: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." What makes our work holy is the motivation by which we do it. If we work to glorify God in it and serve others in the process, that is what makes it ministry. The word ministry and service are derived from the same Greek word, diakonia. Those in the workplace are like a remnant of a wayward people in a forest awaiting harvest. It is a fertile pasture awaiting a shepherd who can lead them into a life of purpose and destiny. Will you be the instrument of God to shepherd His people out of bondage? Ask the Lord to use your "staff" to perform miracles and to become a shepherd to those He has called you to lead. Why not start today?