Your Daily Slice

TAMMUZ 16

With Our Hands

“And you shall bind them for a sign on your hand …” (Deu 6:8)

What do we do with our hands? We work. Be it the barber cutting hair, the data entry clerk working a keyboard, or the laborer working with a shovel, it is done with our hands. However, if how we choose to do our work, the attitude with which we choose to do our work is not a ‘sign’ of who we belong to, we have a problem.

Consider the restaurant server refusing to work on a Saturday because it is Shabbat:  is this not a ‘sign’ on his/her hand of keeping Torah? And what of the accountant who refuses to falsify balance sheet entries:  is this not also a ‘sign’ of keeping Torah? We could go on and on, to include the family member that declines the invitation to consume BBQ spareribs, or refuses to acknowledge the pagan holidays. And yet, let us examine ourselves on the how we choose to make the stand that we do.

First, are we so self-righteous that we are not the good example of our Master, Messiah Yeshua, that we are called to be? Are we so puffed up with our Torah knowledge that we must broadcast to any and all how much we know? Or, are we by choice that humble servant that would never even break a bruised reed (see Isa 42:3)? What about gentle and kind? When we must refuse the BBQ ribs, are our words – and the tone of our voice – spoken in polite consideration of the other person? Or, are we harsh and critical because that other person is too stupid to know what is right? And what about the server that claims to be a Torah keeper, yet is slothful in his/her serving? Is this not also a ‘sign’ from our hands?

Whether we use our hands literally to make a living or not, it will all be indicative of who is the most important person in our lives:  the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or ourselves. And if we seriously want our Creator to “bless the work of our hands” (Deu 2:7), should not our attitude be one of how can we best please Him, in all that we say and do?

“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us. Establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands. ” (Ps 90:17 TLV)

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Master and not to men, knowing that from the Master you shall receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Master, Messiah, you serve.” (Col 3:23-24)

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