My apologies I should have lead with that. I’m a Diesel Mechanic in the transportation industry.
'stuff don't work if it's broke' - which goes for trucks just as much as it does for people.
there is a semi-famous thing called 'the Christian work ethic' that seems to be largely forgotten these days, that is based largely on these verses:
whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men
(Colossians 3:23)
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might
(Colossians 9:10)
that ethic may be summed up like this: whoever you are, whatever vocation you find yourself in, work at it as though your boss is God, not some human. you are representing God in what you do for a living, so work at it as well as you possibly can, in terms of gaining skill with it, in terms of being efficient with it, in terms of being honest about it, in terms of putting in the effort.be skillful at your job as though it is a task God has given you and you want to do it well for Him.
be efficient with your work as though God has given you the work and you don't wan to waste God's time.
readily confess if you don't know how to handle it or you've made a mistake, just like you would confess your need for help or your sins before God.
work at it with all your heart and mind just like you would if God Himself was your supervisor -- out of love for God, not terror of Him.
notice that Colossians says nothing about what kind of work it is. in the direct context Paul is talking to slaves - and he doesn't say anything about whether the slaves masters are good or evil -- he just says work as though God is your real master, so you do the best $#&%job you know how to do.
that's first and foremost. you have nothing to be ashamed of as a mechanic. that is a 100% honorable and needful profession. your job is essentially to figure out what's worn out or broken or wrong, and fix it.
that's the same job God has in our lives -- He renews our minds, He redeems our souls, He moves us to change our actions.
my life is a broken down truck motor: i got all kinds of parts needing total replacement and all kind of re-tuning and adjustment needing made
you see what i did there? i made an analogy between your work and spiritual things -- you should think that way; you should try to be the best you know how to be at your job ((which is a skilled job that needs a lot of specialized training and knowledge)), and you should try to understand what your doing in a way that glorifies God. you should look for Him in it -- it's not like your a liquor salesman or a plastic surgeon; you're a guy who fixes things that are broken and worn out: that's what God does in our lives =]
people look down on mechanics because they've had some experiences where they think they're being cheated -- don't cheat people.
people look down on mechanics because they think they've been lied to -- be honest with people.
people think that way often because they don't really understand how expensive parts are and how much time it takes to do something -- teach them, try to inform your customers so they don't get crazy ideas like it should only take an hour to remove a front axle carrier ((good grief how many safety-critical parts are attached to that??)) or the head gasket only costs $40 so why does it cost hundreds to replace it??
man you shouldn't be ashamed about what you do. it's something to be proud of, honestly. in fact if you worked at a manufacturer or a place that did racing or heavy customization or fabbing, the skills, knowledge & intuition you have are worth gold.
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