7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:7–11 (ESV)
Let’s examine what it means to have initiative in the workplace. Here are some quotes I discovered online concerning a working definition of initiative.
“Initiative is doing the right thing without being told.” Victor Hugo
“Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” Golda Meir
“This a story about four people named Anybody, Everybody, Somebody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.”
My first job was sweeping the parking lot of a Burger King Restaurant. One of the first life lessons my boss gave me was to take initiative. Taking initiative is the self-discipline to solve problems and take actions by thinking of the solutions rather than being told, or ordered, what to do. I have never forgotten that life lesson and have always strived to abide by it in every job I have ever had: secular or sacred.
When you think about it, taking initiative is being godly. God took the initiative in saving sinners from their sin. Sinners do not seek God (Psalm 14:1-4; 53:1-3; Romans 3:10-11). As today’s text from I John indicates, it was God who sought the sinful.
Read and meditate upon the inerrant and inspired words of I John 4:10: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
God did not wait for us to come to Him, not only because we wouldn’t but also because we couldn’t (John 3:1-8; 6:35-66; Ephesians 2:1-3). He came to us in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ.
When you return to work this upcoming Monday, think about God taking the initiative in saving your soul from sin’s penalty, power and eventually its presence. Take that same spirit of initiative and apply it in your home, at your school and where and when you work.
Have a blessed day.
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 