"Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Col. 3:23).

In 2 Chron. 31:21 we read of Hezekiah that in every work that he began, he did it with all his heart and prospered. It is not merely much more pleasant to be bright and brisk about everything, but it is actually one of God’s commands, written in His own Word. I know this is easier to some than to others. Perhaps it comes natural to you to do everything heartily. But even that is not enough. What else? "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." He knows whether you are seeking to please Him or whether He is forgotten all the while and you think only of the smiles of others.

But perhaps it is hard for you to do things heartily. You like better to take your time, and so you dawdle, and do things in an idle way, especially what you do not much like doing. Is this right? Is it not just as much disobeying God as breaking any other command? Very likely you never thought of it in this way, but there the words stand, and neither you nor I can alter them. May the Lord give us strength to obey this word of His. And then the last word of the verse about Hezekiah will be true of us too_we will be prospered.