Finding the strength to do what I like least... Advice for people pleasers.

So, are there any other 'people pleasers' out there? You know the kind - you say yes to things you really should say no to...

This morning as I got out of bed at 5am because I knew that the 80km drive from Pretoria to Turffontein in Johannesburg was going to be difficult on a Monday morning - it took over two hours , and that was actually quite a pleasant surprise.

And, while I was in the traffic I was thinking "here I am battling the traffic so that I can spend a day moderating hundreds of exam scripts"... I am not a fan of marking. I like people, not paper. Put me in front of a group of students, but don't put me in a room with their exams! AAAAAaaaaarrrrggghhhh.... It was not a pleasant thought, battling the traffic to go and do something that I don't really enjoy doing.

The great encouragement is that I only have to do this for two days. I know many people who do this 5 days a week for 48 weeks of the year (not marking [that's grading for the Americans]... I actually know some people who LIKE marking!) No, I mean there are people who battle the traffic each and every day to go to jobs that rob them of life...

I thought about you, and it struck me again, life is not meant to be that way! But, let's be honest, there are very few people that have the privilege to choose from a variety of different job options. Most of us do what we do because we need to pay the rent, put kids through school, pay our cars, and put food on the table.

So, I walked into a room FULL of scripts, they were PILED HIGH... My heart sank. I said a little prayer, something like "Lord, help a brother here... I have two days of this. Why did I agree to help with this?"

Then these verses came to mind:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. [Col 3:23-24].

I remember reading in Bob Buford's great book, 'Half time', that if we want to bring blessing to God, and find blessing for ourselves, we don't necessarily need to do things that please us (that's what a 'brat' does - in ethics we call is hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure). Not everything that is worthwhile is pleasurable (although that is generally an easy way to find momentary happiness).

BUT, constant pleasure is NOT the reality of daily life. There must be something deeper, something more significant, something more real that makes life, and the tasks of life, more meaningful.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that what made life wortwhile was learning to live for others. So, as I picked up each of the scripts to look through it. As I picked up each markers report to read it. As I placed my pen on the paper to write, I thought about the people, and the God of those people...

I said a little prayer to our God and remembered that these people are still working towards their FIRST degree, while I have the joy of having completed a few. Many of them cannot afford to pay their fees, they work a job and come home to study at night after a hard day, they do it because of the God that we love, and the people that our God loves... So, I said to "Dion, you're not doing this because you enjoy it. You're doing it because you can do it, others need it done, and you're God's servant in this place. So, do it for God, and these people who God loves."

And so, the day passed, and it was not a frustrating day of grading papers, counting marks, and considering 'assessment tools', rather it was a day of serving God and God's people.

I don't know if it will work for you. I sure hope that there is something that you can glean from this experience that will make your work an act of service, a moment of praise; something you can do for God and those whom God loves.

If you need a prayer please feel free to drop me a line. I'll be glad to offer a prayer for you. I ask you to do the same for me.

Tomorrow I'll awake and make my way back through the traffic in service of our God and God's people.

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