Who do you work for?

Who do you work for?

I don't mean the company that you're employed by. I mean, what gets you up in the morning? Why do you carry on writing assignments even when it's too hard? What encourages you to work hard in your job, to carry on?

This thought came to mind when I was going through my photo album on my phone to delete photos. I'm 'that person' that has thousands of photos on my phone, so it was time for a spring clean. After scrolling a while, I reached a photo of my Grandad, who passed away 6 years ago. He wrote sermons and a self-published book, and he went to Bible College. I began thinking, I don't carry on writing and go to Bible College because of him, to make him proud, because sadly he won't see any of it. But I'm encouraged by the thought that he'd be proud of me if he were here.

I'm a people-pleaser. I'm terrible at saying, "no". If someone can't do their week on the youth rota and they ask me, unless I have somewhere else I *have* to be, I can't say "no". My heart is warm when people say they're proud of me. My heart is warm when people compliment my work, say I've done a good job. Do I work for people to tell me they're proud? 
A couple of years ago, I was going through a difficult time in my head-space. I wanted to make everyone around me proud. But I tried so hard that it felt like I had put myself on a tightrope; carefully balancing, struggling to stay upright. If I fell, then I thought people around me wouldn't be proud, wouldn't be pleased, would be disappointed. 

Maybe the want of a promotion, money, success, leadership is what gets you up out of bed in the morning. Maybe that's what you work for. 
Maybe you work for the want to help people and make a difference.

I'm reminded of Colossians 3:23-14,

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

All the things I mentioned above aren't necessarily bad things to be working for, but it's so important that we first work for God. It's so important that in all we do, we're doing it for the glory of God. It's Him that we want to make pleased. It's Him that will provide the good things for us when we give it all to Him and trust.