別人可以幫忙，但我們自己必須做好工作──OTHERS CAN HELP, BUT WE MUST DO THE WORK
對於「工作的完成」有個不變的事實，就是：工作總得有人來完成；並且，如果這個工作只有你能做，要不就是你定意做好它，否則它肯定不會完成的。
商業顧問兼管理教練提姆·凱特 （Tim Kight） 提出了這樣一個睿智的觀察：「醫生不能讓你變健康；營養師不能讓你變苗條；老師無法讓你變聰明；健身教練無法讓你保持身材。他們可以幫助，但你必須承擔責任並做好自己該做的事。」
這聽起來像是一般常識，但正如凱特所說，我們太頻繁的無法「做好自己的工作」，因此我們會有疑問為什麼預期的成功常會變成失敗呢？我在自己的生命中也常看到這樣：我有一部還沒有寫的小說，打鼓會是我的嗜好但技術的提升還停留在期待。我其實可以閱讀書籍、觀看影片和收聽如何做這些事情的訊息，但在我投入時間並且實際去做之前，這些追求都還只是停留在空想的範疇。
請你挑選自己最敬佩的人，無論是商業或專業領袖、演員、演說家、運動員，甚至是屬靈典範。無論這個人是誰，他們的技術和成就都因超越一般的人而受到注意。他們可能從開始就制定了一些可衡量、可量化的目的和目標，以及一些遠大的抱負。但他們絕非只透過「期待和希望」就成就了他們的地位，他們「做了」想要實現而必須做的工作。
在聖經中，我們發現與上帝建立真正、永恆的關係是透過信心而經歷祂的恩典，但聖經並沒有忽視工作與行動的重要性。雖然我們並非透過工作來贏得上帝的恩寵，但我們的工作是祂透過聖靈在我們生命裡面作工而彰顯於外的明證。以下是我在神的話語中發現的一些真理：
信仰和工作必然是交織在一起的。你能想像有人聲稱自己有一份很重要的工作，但卻從未出現在工作或履行任何職責的嗎？對於我們確實有一份工作（任何工作）的證據，就是我們真實的完成了工作的需要。「我的弟兄們，若有人說自己有信心，卻沒有行為，有甚麼益處呢？這信心能救他嗎？…你將你沒有行為的信心指給我看，我便藉著我的行為，將我的信心指給你看。」（雅各書 2章14-18節）
想產生預期的結果，要對工作有計劃並實際執行工作的計劃（plan your work and work your plan）。你想遇到一個「很成功的失敗者」嗎？這樣的人就是總告訴人們自己想做什麼，但卻從來不想辦法實際去做。「諸般勤勞都有益處；嘴上多言乃致窮乏。」（箴言14章23節） 「殷勤籌劃的，足致豐裕；行事急躁的，都必缺乏。」（箴言21章5節）
建議是否有用取決於我們是否願意去做。如上文所述，醫生、營養師、教師和訓練師可以提供有用的引導，但如果我們不願意聽取他們的意見，更不願意將他們的建議付諸實踐，那麼一切都將對我們沒有什麼實際好處。「你要聽勸教，受訓誨，使你終久有智慧。」（箴言 19章20節）。「愚妄人所行的，在自己眼中看為正直；惟智慧人肯聽人的勸教。」（箴言 12章15節）
© 2021. Robert J. Tamasy 是企業巔峰: 給今日職場從箴言而來永恆的智慧 一書的作者。也與導師之的作者David A. Stoddard 合著Tufting Legacies。編輯多本著作包括Mike Landry. Bob的書: 透過苦難成長。Mike Landry. Bob的網站為www.bobtamasy-readywriterink.com
備註：如果你手上有聖經想閱讀更多內容，請考慮以下經文：
箴言 24章30-34節
24:30 我經過懶惰人的田地、無知人的葡萄園，
24:31 荊棘長滿了地皮，刺草遮蓋了田面，石牆也坍塌了。
24:32 我看見就留心思想；我看著就領了訓誨。
24:33 再睡片時，打盹片時，抱著手躺臥片時，
24:34 你的貧窮就必如強盜速來，你的缺乏彷彿拿兵器的人來到。
哥林多前書 3章9節
3:9 因為我們是與 神同工的；你們是 神所耕種的田地，所建造的房屋。
以弗所書 2章10節
2:10 我們原是他的工作，在基督耶穌裏造成的，為要叫我們行善，就是 神所預備叫我們行的。
歌羅西書 3章23-24節
3:23 無論做甚麼，都要從心裏做，像是給主做的，不是給人做的，
3:24 因你們知道從主那裏必得著基業為賞賜；你們所事奉的乃是主基督。
摩太後書 3章16-17節
3:16 聖經都是 神所默示的（或譯：凡 神所默示的聖經），於教訓、督責、使人歸正、教導人學義都是有益的，
3:17 叫屬 神的人得以完全，預備行各樣的善事。
反省與問題討論
- 有人說：「我喜歡工作。我可以整天坐在那裡看著別人去做！」你知道有這樣的人嗎？你是否曾經因為看到工作的需要，但卻沒有主動付諸實現而感到愧疚呢？請解釋你的答案。
- 你能想到任何曾經得到良好建議，可能是醫生的指示希望改善你的健康，或者屬靈教練建議你如何提高工作效率以及在靈命上的成長，但你卻沒有付諸實踐的例子嗎？你認為是為什麼原因而這樣呢？
- 當你面對一項艱鉅甚至令人生畏的任務，但透過堅定的努力行動而成功完成它時，你的感覺會是如何？你可能會從一份表現優異工作中得著什麼獎勵呢？
- 有些人傾向於將他們的信仰降低於僅是敬拜場地或宗教場所。但是聖經教導我們要在所做的每一件事上活出我們的信仰。你認為信仰在幫助自己完成工作職責，和面對職場中各種挑戰上扮演著什麼樣的角色？
OTHERS CAN HELP, BUT WE MUST DO THE WORK
By Robert J. Tamasy
There is a universal truth about work that needs to be done: Someone needs to do the work. And if it is work that only you can do, either you determine to do the work – or it definitely will not be accomplished.
Tim Kight, a business consultant and trainer, offers this sage observation: “Doctors don’t make you healthy. Nutritionists don’t make you slim. Teachers don’t make you smart. Trainers don’t make you fit. They help, but you must take responsibility and do the work.”
Sounds like common sense, but too often we fail to “do the work,” as Kight puts it, and we wonder why expected success turns into failure. I’ve seen that in my own life, with a novel that I have yet to write and my desire to improve my skills at playing the drums as a hobby. I can read books, watch videos and listen to audio messages about how to do those things – but until I devote the time and actually do the work, those pursuits will always remain in the wishful thinking category.
Pick out the person you most admire, whether it be a business or professional leader, performer, speaker, athlete or even a spiritual role model. Whoever that individual may be, they have become noted for skills and accomplishments beyond the norm. They may have started off with some measurable, quantifiable goals and objectives, along with some lofty aspirations. But they did not get to where they are simply by wishing and hoping. They did the work necessary for what they intended to achieve.
In the Bible we discover that a true, eternal relationship with God is by His grace, through faith. But the Scriptures do not discount the importance of working. We do not earn God’s favor by our work, but our work serves as external evidence of what He has done in our lives internally by His Spirit. Here are some of the truths we find in the Word of God:
Faith and works necessarily are intertwined. Can you imagine someone who claimed to have an important job, yet never showed up for work or carried out any of their responsibilities? The proof that we actually have the job – any job – is that we actually perform the work required. “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?… Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do” (James 2:14-18).
To produce desired results, plan your work and work your plan. Do you want to meet a “successful failure”? That is a person who is always telling people about what they want to do, but never get around to doing it. “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” (Proverbs 14:23). “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5).
Advice is only as good as our willingness to implement it. As noted above, physicians, nutritionists, teachers and trainers can offer helpful guidance, but it will do little good if we are not willing to not only hear what they say but also to put into practice what they advise. “Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise” (Proverbs 19:20). “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15).
© 2021. Robert J. Tamasy has written Marketplace Ambassadors: CBMC’s Continuing Legacy of Evangelism and Discipleship; Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace; Pursuing Life With a Shepherd’s Heart, coauthored with Ken Johnson; andThe Heart of Mentoring, coauthored with David A. Stoddard. Bob’s biweekly blog is: www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com.
Reflection/Discussion Questions
- Someone has said, “I love work. I can sit and watch other people doing it all day!” Do you know of anyone like that? Have you ever been guilty of that yourself, seeing the work that needed to be done but being unwilling to take the initiative to engage in it? Explain your answer.
- Can you think of any instances when you received helpful advice – perhaps instructions from your physician to improve your health, counsel from a mentor on how to enhance your work productivity, or suggestions on how to grow spiritually, that you failed to put into use? Why do you think that was the case?
- How do you feel when you confront a difficult, even daunting task, and then through determined effort succeed in taking it to completion? What rewards do you derive from a job well-done?
- Some people tend to relegate their faith to a worship facility or religious setting. But the Bible teaches we are to live out our faith in everything we do. What role do you think faith plays in carrying out our responsibilities and facing challenges in the workplace?
NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages: Proverbs 24:30-34; 1 Corinthians 3:9; Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 3:23-24; 2 Timothy 3:16-17
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