Work While You Wait

 

Most of us probably remember the song from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that said, “whistle while you work.” That song was sung by a group of woodland creatures that helped Snow White clean. Working isn’t fun, but when we are idle the time seems to move even more slowly. If we keep busy the clock seems to move with a little extra pep in its step. 

 

For those of us who believe that Jesus will return to rapture the church, we too find ourselves waiting. The animals whistled while they worked to help pass the time, but the Apostle Paul told us to work while we wait to help pass the time. In I Corinthians 1:7 Paul said the Corinthian Christians were “eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The phrase eagerly waiting translates a Greek verb that implies activity while waiting. 

 

Sometimes while we wait for something we just sit back and let others do the work. When we fly on an airplane we open a book, put on our headphones, or take a nap; while we are waiting someone is moving us to our final destination. Sometimes we wait while nothing is happening. When we sit in the doctor’s office waiting room, we flip through a magazine or scroll through our phones, but we are just killing time. Nothing productive is taking place. While we are waiting for the return of Christ Jesus, we need to be productive. The best use of our time while waiting is to worship and witness. 

 

Worship is so much more than just singing songs. When we worship we make a big deal out of God—we lift Him up with our words and actions. Witnessing will be the natural result because we will find ourselves constantly telling people about our great God. All the other good things we should do, from charitable giving, to serving, to using our spiritual gifts to minister, all flow from a heart that is engaged in worship. 

 

Waiting can be hard, but if we stay busy, it doesn’t seem like we are just waiting. Since Jesus is going to come back, we need to try to bring as many people with us as we can before we punch the clock and run out of time. We aren’t killing time, we are redeeming it.  

 

So whistle while you work, and work while you wait. The world might think it is dopey, and they might even get grumpy, but it will make God happy.