Learn How Your Spirit Makes Your Work Fruitful

Work is very important to our lives. I teach my kids that their work could be walking the dog, sweeping the floor, doing the dishes, taking out the trash, doing homework, or cleaning their rooms. Whatever work we do, we ought to do it heartily. And when we do that, our work is fruitful.

In this article, we'll learn about:

• working heartily; and
• being fruitful.

Whatever may be our task, we can work at it heartily, from our soul. And in our work, we can do something not just for others, but for our own spirit (God's presence within us). We can work for money, material possession, or praise from others. Certainly. However, the real reward from our work comes from the spirit (Colossians 3:23-24). 

• Colossians 3:23-24 (AMP) says, "Whatever you do whatever your task may be, work from the soul that is, put in your very best effort, as something done for God and not for men, knowing with all certainty that it is from God not from men that you will receive the inheritance which is your greatest reward. It is the Lord Christ whom you actually serve."

How can this be?

To work heartily means to use an intensive force, with all the powers of your being. The Buddha said that our work is to discover our work and then with all our heart to give ourselves to it. That's pretty good. When we work heartily, we are using our bodies, our minds, soul, and spirit. We use everything of ourselves and we give it our all. We intuitively understand, subjectively, without effort, that we have spirit within us. And that spirit is something like a heavenly inheritance that we've received from God (Ephesians 1:13-14).

• Ephesians 1:13-14 (AMP) says, "In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and as a result believed in Him, were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit as owned and protected by God. The Spirit is the guarantee (the first installment, the pledge, a foretaste) of our inheritance until the redemption of God’s own purchased possession (His believers), to the praise of His glory.

Spirit is a gift, like a reward. And we keep that spiritual gift within our hearts (2 Corinthians 1:22) like a treasure. 

• 2 Corinthians 1:22 says, "Now it is God who establishes and confirms us in joint fellowship with you in Christ, and who has anointed us (empowering us with the gifts of the Spirit). It is God who has also put His seal on us (that is, He has appropriated us and certified us as His) and has given us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a pledge (like a security deposit to guarantee the fulfillment of His promise of eternal life).

Matthew 6:21 says, "...for where your treasure is, there your heart (your wishes, your desires, that on which your life centers) will be also. Where your treasure is, that's where your heart is also. So, keep your heart like a treasure. 

Quick Recap

So, let’s recap. Whatever work we do, we do it heartily (with intensive force and all the powers of our being), knowing that we have received the reward of our inheritance, which is a gift of spirit in our hearts. 

Messy Bedroom

Consider this. Let’s say I tell my kid to pick up her room before she goes to a friend’s house. She runs to her room, throws her toys into her closet, stuffs her clothes into a drawer, and runs out the door. Would you say she put your whole heart into this task? No. 

Now, consider the same situation, but let's imagine that she takes a couple of extra minutes to straighten each area of her room. She puts her things back where they belong and folds her laundry decently and in order. Her room would be more of a blessing to walk into. Right? Sure. This would be good example to teach children how to work heartily. 

For Us Adults

For us adults, we also try to work heartily in everything we do. Why? Because we have inherited from God our reward, a gift of holy spirit, the presence of God within ourselves. Inheritance means having a right or privilege to which a person is entitled by birth. When we are born again (or when we realize and believe to connect with the God and everything that is created), we inherit from God a right and a privilege to live with holy spirit in our hearts. What an incredible gift! 

Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Steiner said that the strength of humankind was planted by God in his soul so that he could, with all his might, love to work and learn. 

• The sun with loving light makes bright for me each day, the soul with spirit power gives strength unto my limbs. In sunlight shining clear I revere, Oh God, the strength of humankind, which thou has planted in my soul, that I may with all my might, may love to work and learn. From thee stream light and strength, to thee rise love and thanks.” - Rudolf Steiner

Remember. Because God is spirit (not an old man with a gray beard floating in the clouds), God's gift is spirit. Because God is spirit, God's gift is spirit. We have the gift of holy spirit in our hearts. And when we work, we do it heartily, with all that intensive force and power in our being. Cool stuff, eh? 

But where's the fruit? Where's the fruit of our work? 

Being Fruitful

Galatians 5:22 says that when we work, with this knowledge of having spirit within our hearts, then we are fruitful.

• Galatians 5:22 (AMP) says, "But the fruit of the Spirit (the result of His presence within us) is love (unselfish and unconditional concern for the well-being of others), joy, inner peace, patience (which is not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

There's no law or rule that can deny our inherited right to freely enjoy the fruit of the spirit, which grows from knowing God's presence of holy spirit within us. Fruit comes from knowing, being aware of, and walking in spirit. Being in-spired. The fruit of spirit, the work that God’s presence within you accomplishes, is:

• love, 
• joy, 
• peace, 
• patience, 
• kindness, 
• goodness, 
• faithfulness, 
• gentleness, and 
• self-control. 

This is the work that God's presence within you, your spirit, accomplishes. 

Another Recap

Whatever we do, we do it heartily, because God’s presence within us brings forth fruit, such as love, joy, and peace. We bring forth fruit in every good work we do, as we steadily grow in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1:9-12).

• Colossians 1:9-12 says, "For this reason, since the day we heard about it, we have not stopped praying for you, asking specifically that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and insight into His purposes, and in understanding of spiritual things, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, displaying admirable character, moral courage, and personal integrity, to fully please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing in the knowledge of God with deeper faith, clearer insight and fervent love for His Word. We pray that you may be strengthened and invigorated with all power, according to His glorious might, to attain every kind of endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to God, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of God’s people in the Light.

The more we grow, learn, become mindful of God (the universe, our Source, the unlimited power that surrounds us), the more fruit is produced in every good work that we do. As we renew our minds upon that which God has provided to us (Romans 12:2), the more we intuitively understand how powerful our spirit is in relation to the work we do.

• Romans 12:2 (AMP) says, "And do not be conformed to this world any longer with its superficial values and customs, but be transformed and progressively changed as you mature spiritually by the renewing of your mind and focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes, so that you may prove for yourselves what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect in His plan and purpose for you.

The word translated in that verse is from the Greek word meaning “metamorphosis.” It refers to the process that leads to an outward, permanent change. Like a caterpillar to a butterfly. 

Our work, when brought forth from the spirit, produces fruit, which actually is the manifested presence of God's love in the renewed mind. Read that again. Our work, when brought forth from the spirit, produces fruit, which actually is the manifested presence of God's love in the renewed mind. 

Hercules, King Augeas, and Working Smartly

There's an old story that's been told many times. It's the one about Hercules cleaning the dirty cattle barns of King Augeas. Hercules asked the king that if he could clean the incredibly messy cattle barns (which held 300,000 cattle) in one day, would the king give Hercules 30,000 cattle in return for his work. The king agreed, because he knew it would be impossible for a man to shovel the 3-feet thick layer of manure that covered the floor of his enormous barn. Hercules was smart about his work though. Let's say he was inspired. Instead of shoveling the barn, he dug a trench from the nearby river and directed the flowing water toward one end of the barn. The water flowed through the barn, washed everything away, and the barn was cleaned in less than one day. Hercules worked heartily. And smartly. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, our work may not include cleaning a messy cattle barn, but whatever work we do (from cleaning our rooms to working in a kitchen to working in a ditch to working at an office), it can be done heartily. When we work heartily, we put all of our being into it, knowing that we have inherited a holy spirit, which brings forth fruit, such as love, joy, and peace. I encourage you to work heartily in whatsoever you do, and grow in the knowledge of God.

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