(Post by: Lilly Hobbs)

I start off every single day by making my bed. It is the first task I accomplish in the morning. Some of you already know this important detail of my life because you’ve listened to our “Love Jesus, Make Your Bed” Podcast episode, in which case I would like to applaud you for listening!

However, I want to re-visit this topic here on the Blog this week because I think that y’all will relate, and I know that many people, like myself, struggle with discipline.

When I decided that I would make my bed as soon as I got up every morning, I didn’t expect it to be much of a challenge. I mean, it only takes a minute to do, right? Well, I quickly found out that even a “small” task like making a bed really isn’t that simple.

An abundance of excuses, that truthfully are too embarrassing to mention, would surface in my mind when I would wake up. Ok, I’ll mention a couple… Perhaps one reason was that I wanted to wash my bedding later that day, or that I would wake Madie, or that I couldn’t make it perfectly every time so why try in the first place. Totally lame, but there was always an excuse for why I couldn’t do it that morning, or really any morning. I would then get frustrated and tell myself that I would start the next Monday (yes, I am one of “those” people).

This also seems to be the case for many of us in our relationship with Jesus, wouldn’t you agree?

Some of us have really great intentions to read our Bibles, serve at our Church, get connected with a small group, pray for those we’re around etc. However, there always seems to be an excuse (or multiple) for why we can’t check those things off of our to-do lists.

It’s easy to say you are going to accomplish something, but sometimes very difficult to actually get it done. Proverbs 14:23 says, “There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”

I know, very encouraging!

Yet, I told you in the beginning of this post that I do make my bed every single morning, which implies that I must have been able to move past the excuses that surfaced each morning when I started. This is true, but I was not successful in this area of my life until I became disciplined, took on the mind of Christ, and formed a radically different mindset about making my bed.

You see, I viewed making my bed as something I “had” to do instead of something I “wanted” to do. It was more like a chore to me than a task I could do with excellence.

I can’t help but believe that this is exactly what we do within Christianity as well. We have a ton of great intentions, but we look at the things of Christ as chores that we “have” to do because He told us to.

No wonder most people feel like they aren’t growing in their relationship with Jesus like they should be. If we truly love Him, then we will WANT to spend all the time we can with Him doing the things He has called us to!

Somehow, we manage to get to work and school on time. We manage to go out to dinner with friends, and get to all the sports practices the world has told us we need to be a part of.

My point is that if you truly love Jesus, you’ll make time for Him because you want more of Him. It’s not just something you have to do anymore. That’s the difference between relationship and religion.

Colossians 3:23-24 says, “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.”

Making my bed has become something I want to do because I get to do it unto the Lord. It’s a simple way I can thank Him for another day and opportunity to live wholeheartedly for Him, and for the physical ability to do so as well. My first task of the day is done unto Jesus, and I do it because I want to love Jesus well. What if this was our thought process about everything we do?

If you want to change the world, you need to do these two things… Love Jesus, and make your bed.

SO WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE?

= Are you functioning out of a relationship with Jesus or a religious checklist?

= What tasks can you do with excellence for Christ?

= What are you going to do differently?