A Short Devotion on Excellence for Your Next Meeting

📖 Colossians 3:23

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”

💭 Reflection

This reframes the audience for your work entirely. Effort tends to rise or fall based on who's watching, and Paul suggests the most consistent motivation isn't a boss or a deadline, it's doing the work as an offering to God, who's always watching and never needs to be impressed. That's actually a relief once it settles in, it removes the exhausting calculation of exactly how much effort a given task deserves based on who might notice, and replaces it with a steadier, simpler standard.

✅ In Practice

Pick the one task today most likely to be rushed, and give it slightly more care than feels efficient, as an offering rather than an obligation. Notice whether your effort today shifts depending on who's watching, and let that observation be honest rather than defensive about what it reveals.

🗣 Discuss

Where has our effort today been aimed more at looking good to people than doing right by God?

🙏 Pray

Lord, help us do today's work heartily, as if for You, not just to satisfy whoever's watching. Give us a steady standard of effort that doesn't quietly rise and fall with visibility. Amen.