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My friend Jim buys and sells cars as a sideline business. If you were to watch him on a day-to-day basis, you would see him browsing car ads, calling sellers, negotiating to purchase cars, getting them ready for resale, putting them out for sale, negotiating with potential buyers, and closing deals.

Jim, however, describes his business this way:

I’ve worked for two companies in which the son of the owner also worked for the company, and I’ve often thought, “That would be cool. To work for your father in his company.” Then I realized, “Wait a minute, I do work for my Father in the car business! My Father brings me the inventory I need, leading me to the right cars to purchase. Then, my Father brings me the customers I need so I can sell the cars at a profit. All I do is a little grunt work in between!”

Practically, this “arrangement” allows Jim not to stress over whether or not he has inventory. (“I just tell my Father that it would be nice to have some inventory.”) Nor does he stress over lost deals. (“Maybe I should have offered that seller a little more money yesterday. Now he’s holding out for more than I’m willing to pay. Oh well.”)

Work is a good thing, and whether we’re in business for ourselves or working for someone else, we’re all working for our Father:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3.23, 24, NIV)