Remember the first day you showed up for a new job? Or maybe you can recall the first date you ever went on. Perhaps you remember the feeling of showing up the first time for your volunteer team. When things are new and fresh we tend to show up at the top of our game. When things are new we get up early, put in the extra effort to prepare and pay attention to every detail possible.
Over time people tend to pull back on that level of intentionality. Whether it is a job, a volunteer role or a relationship our attention and focus have a tendency to wane over time. Unfortunately, that is just human nature.
That is why we must make a simple commitment in regard to those things which are most important to us. The commitment is this – never casual.
You see when something is important to us we put in the time, effort and focus to do our best. We don’t allow ourselves to get casual. When we get comfortable we have the ability to slide into a casual attitude around the things which matter most.
For your job, your relationship or your volunteer role – it doesn’t matter whether this is day one or day 1001 – we cannot be casual.
It is okay to be tired. We all get tired. What we cannot do is show up and be casual because we are tired.
It is okay to be imperfect. None of us are perfect or at the top of our game all the time. What we cannot do is allow our imperfection to cause us to drift towards a casual attitude.
It is okay to be carefree. We have to live with an open-handed trust in God as the ultimate provider of all good things. What we cannot do is allow a carefree attitude to translate into a casual approach towards the things of God.
How do we fight a casual attitude in the things that matter most? Give as much thought, attention, prayer and preparation as you did when you first begun. Treat day 1001 on the job as important as day 1. Make date #499 as intentional as date #1. Let your areas of volunteer work and charity receive as much devotion and care today as they did when you first begun.
Cory Lebovitz 
This is a great thought, Cory! Autumn and I were just talking about the Women’s prayer gathering this weekend, and her husband John posed the question…”I wonder how many women will show up in sweatpants and ponytails”? I thought it was a funny question but I did observe and noticed that most women were dressed just as if it were a Sunday service, not a Saturday girlfriends getaway sleeping in late and sipping coffee. However, I was one of those in sweatpants (not a ponytail). There are often too many mornings that I struggle to get out of bed due to illness, but your perspective has given me a new way of thinking! Instead of just barely getting out of bed, I need to approach it as I am thankful that I can get out of bed and prepare myself as a gift to God, representing HIM. I have been a professional public speaker for over 10 years and I would never show up to give a presentation in sweatpants…so I need to live my life every day as a representative to God, His public speaker…ready and prepared at all times, giving thanks for his blessings. Thank you for your words this morning!
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