Diligence (n.) having or showing care and conscientiousness in one's work or duties.

Coming back from spring break always brings lots of time for laziness and negative thoughts about school and responsibilities to settle in. It's true, sometimes these responsibilities are not fun and we really don't wanna do them. It's in these times though, I want to challenge you to dig deeper and work diligently.

I know you've probably heard it a million times to "work hard" in all that you do, but I don't want to work hard. I want to work diligently. Diligence is more that just working hard; Diligence is caring deeply about what you are doing and doing it well. When we do things, we should intentionally put our care and heart into every little thing that we do, because if we aren't, then what is the point?

When it comes to school, relationships, friendships, organizations, my spiritual walk, I am prone to just do things "good enough." Just have to get it done so I can move onto the next thing. This isn't working with diligence. When it "could've been better," that is not putting conscientiousness into your work. We need to stop trying to rush through everything and focus on things step by step, one at a time. Take a step back and relax for a second. Remember that there is more to life than just completing a checklist. We must do things wholeheartedly, and to the best of our abilities, because if you do things "just enough," there will always be a void that is not filled.

Not only is it better to work diligently, but God actually calls us to. In Galatians 6:9 it says: "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." By not giving up and doing good, we are glorifying the Lord, isn't that beautiful?! In glorifying the Lord, there comes good from it, so there is just one question I must ask you, why NOT work diligently in all that we do? It is the least we can do, as Christ suffered the most gruesome death so that we get to live in freedom! In this, we should work diligently as God has given us blessings upon blessings such as school, work, and relationships that we should live out to our fullest abilities! It's not about us, it's never about us, it's about the Lord and that is where we can find our drive and passion to do the small things diligently because that reaps big benefits.

So as you start up life again after Spring Break, I want to challenge you to really examine how you are doing the things you are doing. Are you doing them good enough? Or are you doing them with diligence? I challenge you to change the way you think and do things, do them diligently and be reminded that the Lord's name is glorified through you. Go about things with an attitude of appreciation and gladness, do things wholeheartedly and fully. Don't look back on things and think, "that could've been better." Be diligent, instead, and make things the best they can be.

"The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied." -Proverbs 13:4