Core Scripture: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” (Colossians 3:23)

Message: I remember the day I found out about Peak.  My Amazon mentor, Steve, pulled me aside during break time.  It was Monday of Thanksgiving week.

“So, you know about your new schedule, right?” Steve inquired.

His eyebrows were raised, and he looked at me semi-skeptically.  As if he knew something I didn’t know.

“What is Peak?” I asked innocently.

Steve chuckled, rolling his eyes.  He asked to see my phone, and we pulled up the Amazon app.  Nobody had ever taught me how to do this yet.

I discovered I was supposed to work Thanksgiving Day.  That was a bit of a problem considering I was supposed to drive to St. Louis Tuesday afternoon.  Steve helped me put in some PTO to cover the days I was gone.

And then he told me about Peak.

The only thing I knew about Peak was that I got this cool free black T-shirt.  I soon learned Peak was Amazon’s way of powering through December up to Christmas Day. 

I scrolled my phone.  Blue blocks on the calendar told me I was now working six days a week.  Three weeks of complete chaos.  I was soon to be drowning in a flood of packages needing to be shipped out for the holidays. 

Steve put his hand on my shoulder and stared into my eyes.

“Get your rest.  Eat well.  Use more of that PTO if you need to.  It is three weeks of craziness like you have never seen before.”

I smiled at him.  It was almost as if a gauntlet had been tossed before me.  A challenge I was willing to accept.  And I wanted to prove myself worthy of accepting this test they called Peak. 

Game on! 

Week one was a blur.  I took it one day at a time, but I survived.  The trick I picked up was to use my colleagues to help me through.  I sought out the veterans.  I learned from the best of the best.  And I began to soak in their wisdom, feeling more and more comfortable each day.

Steve.  Drew.  Chris.  Hayley.  Stephen.  Ryan.  Doug.  Cesar.  Vaughn.  Warren.  Jamie.  Betty.  Lindsay.  Dee.  And so many others.  I watched them closely and followed their lead.  They all had one commonality …

They knew how to work!

I began proving myself through my actions.  While some were staggering and floundering, taking extra long breaks and complaining about the long hours, I was powering through.  It was at that point that I asked myself an important question. 

Why?  Why was I working so hard?  Was I doing it to prove myself?  To catch the eye of my managers?  To flex over my peers who were starting to give up?  Was I doing this for a promotion?  To look impressive?  To even do a bit of boasting?

These were important questions! 

Psalm 139:23-24 came to mind.  I began to pray this prayer: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Truth be told, I realized a bit of my motivation to work hard was frustrating to God.  In examining myself, I was working hard to be better than my peers.  They were driving me to perform better.  I was measuring my success by comparing myself to others.

There is a problem with that.  When we measure our success by comparison, what will we do when we fall short?  Jealousy tends to percolate inside.  Suddenly we are working to make ourselves look good, not to glorify the Lord.  Pride is a dangerous trap.

I decided to flip the script.  If someone were to ask me why I was working so hard, I was ready to say that I wanted to push myself for God.  I wanted to give HIM the recognition.  Nobody really asked, but my heart was changed for the better.

I savored my first day off after working my first 60-hour week.  My wife surprised me, doing all the laundry I normally would be doing on Saturday herself to give a break.  What a precious act of service!  I rested.  I finished chores.  And of course I caught a little college football. 

Week two was different.  After slugging it through the first few days, it all came to a crashing halt.  I was stowing packages in aisle J, and they were piling up on me like a blizzard.  I was sinking.  My back ached.  I couldn’t keep up.  Lack of sleep was taking its toll.  I wanted to curl up in a fetal position and suck my thumb.

Enter my buddy Ryan.

Ryan was working the aisle next to me.  I had seen the guy’s face but never worked alongside him until that day.  Ryan was one of those guys who knew how to work.  He seemed driven by a force that I just couldn’t keep up with that morning. 

While my bin was piling up, Ryan somehow garnered enough endurance to keep BOTH of us afloat.  He threw the life raft at me when I needed it most.  Not only was he putting my packages away, but he was efficiently rearranging my sloppy storage bins. 

“Dude!  You are a machine!” I called to him.  “Thanks so much for your help!”

“Just lots of energy drinks, man,” he called back humbly.

I gave him a fist bump, allowing him to catch me up.  When it was all over and done with, our manager, Stephen, came by with a knowing smile on his face.  He knew we had been slammed.

“You guys okay?” he asked with a wink.

“Thanks to him!” I said, pointing at Ryan.

Ryan, humble as ever, didn’t even accept the credit. 

“Just doing my job, man,” he said with a hint of a Southern drawl.

Stephen fished out some “swag bucks” from his pocket to give my hard-working colleague.  This is Amazon’s currency of rewarding you with prizes for getting the job done right.  Ryan took it modestly. 

Payback came later near the end of my shift.  I had already put in for two hours of PTO after getting slammed.  My back needed the rest.  I popped some Advil and did my duty as Lane Captain.  All the Lane Captain does is help others out.  Low and behold, there was Ryan, walking down to load up his bags.

“I got you, bro,” I said shooing him back to his cart. 

He wiped fresh sweat from his brow, smiling gratefully at me.  “Thanks, man!”

I pulled all nine of Ryan’s bags, pushing them down the aisle to him.  By the time I was done helping out, I checked my watch.  9:50 am.  Time to clock out early. 

I yawned all the way home, grabbed a quick early lunch, showered, and crashed into bed.  Sleep had never felt so sweet.  I awoke at 3:10 pm, a whole half hour before my boys got home from school.  It was just what I needed to enjoy my son’s winter band concert later that evening.

After finishing my last shift yesterday, I am relishing my day off today to prep for the home stretch of Peak.  Two weeks down.  One to go!

Time for the teacher connection.  It took me long enough to get here, didn’t it?  Ask yourselves some important questions … Why do you do what you do?  Are you working hard?  Where does your motivation come from?  Are you glorifying God in your work?  Or are you snatching all the credit for yourself?

Be humble.  Work for God.  Not for meaningless worldly accolades.  Sure, you can enjoy a pat on the back for doing the job right, but your motivation should be higher.  Your drive should come from a carnal desire to allow others to see a bit of Jesus in you.

You will see a few teachers giving up this time of year.  Showing movies.  Allowing apathy and negativity to rule their darkened hearts.  Rise above the norm.  Flood your colleagues with encouragement and love.  Allow the light of Christ to shine through your actions so the world might come to know Him. 

Challenge: Prayerfully approach the Lord to ask where your motivation comes from.  Live out the following scripture from Matthew 5:16 which says, “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

Bible study: Read Matthew 19:16-30.  Journal or discuss the following questions …

1. Is the rich young ruler living his life the right way?
2. Where is the rich young ruler’s motivation to work coming from?
3. Why would Jesus tell him to sell all his possessions?
4. Where is your own heart this Christmas season?

Just for fun: My “lunch” at Amazon comes from 5:30-6:00 am.  I have taken to joining the foosball gang in the back of the break room, showcasing my mad skills there.  Although my buddy Mohamad and I make quite the dynamic duo, my favorite team to watch is Doug and T who proudly refer to themselves as team TOM.  Two Old Men.  T’s defense is legendary, and Doug’s competitive fire is palpable.

Prayer: Lord, speak to me this Christmas season.  Tell me how to please You, giving YOU the glory for my work ethic.  May the rest of my colleagues see the light of Jesus through my actions.  Amen.