Do Everything {Blogging Through Music}

This week on Blogging Through Music, Jenn and Jerry look at Do Everything by Steven Curtis Chapman.

Please note that this post is geared toward our Christian brothers and sisters. 🙂 If you are familiar with this fun, upbeat song, you’re probably wondering how we can write something deep about it. While it is an entertaining song, the message within it is deep and true. We found that the more times we listened to it, the more we discovered. (Lyrics and the video are at the end of the post.)

I believe this song deals with one of the greatest problems facing the church today. And I honestly believe that, if we get this one thing right, it could have a profound impact on our churches, communities, and the world around us.

What if we realized that everything we do matters?

Sometimes we downplay our role in the Body of Christ. Our lives seem insignificant. Our work feels unimportant. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth! Everything we do has spiritual significance, no matter who we are. This may seem hard for the janitor cleaning out toilets to believe, but it is as true for him as it is for the pastor of a 25,000 member congregation.
There are so many verses to back this up, many of which we will mention, but this song seems to specifically center in on

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17

Thoughts about Service

1) Our worth isn’t found in the service we are performing, but the One we are serving. We serve our Maker; We are His creation and, as such, we are valuable to Him. You were stolen from Him, sold into the slavery of sin, but God paid a great price to buy you back (1 Cor 6:20).

2) Through service, we follow Christ’s example. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).

3) We don’t serve God to gain His favor. We serve God because we are highly favored. The very definition of grace reveals this to be so:

Grace: unmerited favor

We deserved nothing and God has given us everything.

4) So service is the proper response to what God has done for us. It’s not in some vain effort to repay, but out of love for our God. Our lives should be a living testimony of the love of God, in whatever we do.

Biblical Service

This idea is echoed throughout all of Scripture. We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). We love others because God is love and He resides in us (1 John 4:8). We forgive others because we have been forgiven (Col 3:13, Eph 4:32). We love our enemies because God loved us while we were his enemies (Rom 5:8-10). We could go on and on. We give because much has been given to us. We are kind because God has been kind to us.
So, how does this play out practically?

Things to Remember about Service

1) Remember Who you’re serving. Let’s say we are cleaning toilets (whether for a profession or at home). We glorify God in this effort, honoring Him with our hard work, always with a thankful attitude toward Him, working to the best of our ability, cleaning toilets with a joyful spirit that reflects the goodness of our Lord.

2) Remember to be grateful. Think about how many people don’t have toilets to clean. I read a quote the other day that said around the world, more people have cell phones than they do a proper flushing toilet. Ummm…Wow. When we grumble and murmur, we reflect, instead, an attitude of ungratefulness.

3) Remember your testimony. The world is always watching. Everything we do in the world may impact how others in the world see Christ. We represent Jesus Christ to a lost and fallen world. And as faithful representatives, we do not want to do anything that would tarnish the character of Christ.

4) Remember what God values. Everything has spiritual value, even the most mundane of tasks. If it’s at home, think about your children watching you, listening to your tone and your attitude. How are we to expect gratefulness, kindness and a good attitude from them when ours is anything but godly?
Part of the problem is that we have been trained to place importance upon how much money we make, the clothes we wear and how many lives are influenced by our lives. This is how the world decides value. But we are not of this world. This world is not our home. Our citizenship is in heaven. We need to renew our minds to see things from an eternal perspective, one where every moment of our walk can be a positive influence upon the Kingdom of God.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58

5) Remember to be faithful. We are not to be lazy or idle. God rewards those servants who work faithfully and with humble hearts. But we shouldn’t do it because He’ll reward us; we do it because He loves us and requires so little of us that we want to serve Him. It is our joy and blessing to serve Him by serving others.

More Scriptural Guides about Service

Here are a few more verses that give an even greater understanding to how much God wants us to do all things for His glory:

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Colossians 3:23

For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12

Also check out Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Ephesians 5:15-17, Ephesians 6:7 & Titus 2:7-8

“Do Everything”
You’re picking up toys on the living room floor for the fifteenth time today
Matching up socks
Sweeping up lost cheerios that got away

You put a baby on your hip
Color on your lips and head out the door

While I may not know you,
I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes, does it matter at all?

Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long
As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause He made you,
To do
Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
Tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

Maybe you’re that guy with the suit and tie
Maybe your shirt says your name

You may be hooking up mergers
Cooking up burgers
But at the end of the day

Little stuff
Big stuff
In between stuff
God sees it all the same

While I may not know you
I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes, does it matter at all?
Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long
As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause He made you
To do

Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
Tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every thing you do

Maybe you’re sitting in math class
Or maybe on a mission in the Congo
Or maybe you’re working at the office
Singing along with the radio

Maybe you’re a down and out rock star
Or feeding orphans in Myanmar
Anywhere and everywhere that you are

Whatever you do
It all matters
So do what you do
Don’t ever forget

To do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause He made you
To do
Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace

As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause he made you
To do
Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

In every little thing you do
In every little thing you do

Do Everything
Steven Curtis Chapman

Go live joyfully, serve willingly, love fully and offer your lives as living sacrifices to our Lord.

Is there something that you have learned from the Do Everything song we failed to mention? Was the song new to you, or a familiar favorite? We’d love to hear from you below!

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Special thanks to Susie Glennan, Phyllis Sather, Jennifer Clarke, Virginia George and Meeghan Mousaw for editing help. Sometimes it’s hard for two people to come together and sound cohesive, and these ladies helped out tremendously. 🙂