A Job Well Done – Teaching Kids Responsibility

After finishing my post Monday, I remembered a verse that God has used in my life over and over.

Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord your will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord.  Colossians 3:23-24

This verse encompasses everything I wrote Monday.

• Do your best when you work
• The Lord is central to your work
• The Lord rewards you for a job well done

Yet, this verse goes beyond the I Corinthians verses and reminds me that we serve the Lord in our work, not men. 

Are you teaching your kids that they work heartily for the Lord, not men?

One way of teaching kids responsibility & the idea of working hard is to use Bible stories to illustrate.  Here are a few that come to mind:

Joseph (Genesis 39)
His work: Overseer of Potiphar’s house, Leader with responsibility in prison, Ruler over Egypt
His reward: Saved his family during famine

Rebekah (Genesis 24:15-67)
Her work: Draw water for Abraham’s servant & his camels
Her reward: Jewelry, Marriage to Isaac

Midwives in Egypt (Exodus 1:15-21)
Their work: Feared God, Delivered Jewish babies
Their reward: Households

Daniel (Daniel 1, 3, 6)
His work: Disregarded men’s standards earlier in book, Served Lord with whole heart (ch 1), Disobeys King to obey Lord (3), Distinguished work with excellent spirit(6:1-3, 28),
His reward: Prosperity during reign of Darius & reign of Cyrus

Read these stories during your family devotions and discuss how your family can apply the idea of working heartily for the Lord, not for men.

God rewards you for a well-done job, so why not reward your kids, too. I’m not saying to reward them for every job they do, but reward them when they do an exceptional job.  The reward does not need to be material.  It could be one-on-one time with Mom or Dad, or choosing the video for family, movie night.

On the other hand, watch out for the slackard who doesn’t get his jobs done well.  Encourage those kids to go back and do the job again, until it is done well.  I had the hardest time when my kids did not clean their room well.  It seemed they would not clean their room, unless I was standing in the room with them.  To this day, my 19 year old son still has a hard time cleaning his room.  Yet, in other areas of life, he works hard, knowing he is serving the Lord in all areas of life.

I know this takes time & effort when your kids are young to teach them to do a job to the best of their ability.  To be honest, I don’t remember all the specifics of teaching our kids to complete a job well.  However, they all have a strong work ethic, for which I thank God.

How do you teach your kids to complete a job to the best of their ability?
Would love to hear ideas.

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