Do It with Your Might!

He began life as a small, sickly child. Plagued by chronic asthma, he often struggled for every breath. The boy had to watch from a window as everyone else his age played outside. On a family trip to Europe, the youth mostly saw the walls of hotel rooms, unable to enjoy the outdoors.

In adulthood, however, he was a Spanish-American War hero, a published author, and an experienced hunter and adventurer. He pressed for the completion of the Panama Canal, established 150 American national forests, and was the 26th president of the United States.

The weak asthmatic boy was Theodore Roosevelt. Encouraged by his father, young Theodore created an ambitious exercise routine—adamant that he could defeat his health problems. Through sheer effort, his chest and arms filled out and he was able to enjoy the outdoors. His fight against asthma gave him the drive to tackle every challenge head-on throughout his life.

Roosevelt later taught his children to overcome setbacks during what the family called “scrambles.” These were long hikes where they would walk in a straight line to reach a particular destination. During these adventures, there was only one rule: if you reached an obstacle, you had to go under, over or through it—never around. For example, they would have to swim across any pond or climb over any rock formation in the way.

In the Bible, David did not shrink from challenges either. Before defeating Goliath at about age 20, he had single-handedly killed both a lion and a bear while herding his father’s flocks (I Sam. 17:34-37).

King David did not only succeed at hunting and warfare. Everything he set his hand to do, he did to the best of his ability. He was a skilled musician (I Sam. 16:16-18) who composed 77 of the psalms in the Bible. He invented a number of musical instruments (Amos 6:5) and he organized 4,000 musicians and singers to serve at the Temple (I Chron. 23:2-5).

 

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When God told David he could not construct the Temple (and that his son Solomon would), he still “prepared abundantly” for the structure, drawing up plans and gathering materials (I Chron. 22:1-6). David did such a thorough job preparing that when Solomon put the Temple together, “there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building” (I Kgs. 6:7). Every part of the Temple was virtually ready-made for Solomon. All he had to do was put the pieces together.

Perhaps due to his father’s example, Solomon was later inspired to write, “Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” (Ecc. 9:10).

Modern Convenience

The examples of Roosevelt and David above may seem “larger-than-life.” You may think there are not many people like this anymore. Part of this is due to living in an age where everything is easier. Obviously, the average person does not have to fend off lions or bears while tending to a herd of animals!

While reading this article, you are likely sitting in a comfortable chair, possibly in an air-conditioned room. This issue of Ambassador Youth magazine probably arrived in your family’s mailbox. Or you could be reading it on a computer—in which the words are delivered instantaneously to your home.

Yet the majority of those who lived throughout Earth’s history had to chop wood to build a fire, had little means to keep items cool, and traveled only on foot or horseback.

In contrast, most today can walk to the kitchen and turn on the stove with the flick of a switch, pull a tray of ice cubes from the freezer, and travel hundreds of miles a day in a car.

By comparison, the 21st-century life is one of comfort. This can make it difficult to understand how to apply Ecclesiastes 9:10. Amid modern conveniences, electronic gadgets and Internet communication, what does “do it with your might” mean for you?

Living Ecclesiastes 9:10

When studying the Bible, a good point to keep in mind is that it was originally written in Hebrew and Greek, not English. By looking into the definitions of the original words, you can better understand how to apply an individual verse to your life.

In Ecclesiastes 9:10, the simple English word “do” takes on a wealth of meaning. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon defines the word as “to do, fashion, accomplish,” “work, make, produce.” It also means whatever you “deal with,” “prepare,” “use,” “spend,” and “bring about.”

Read the verse again with these words in mind: “Whatsoever your hand finds to do”—accomplish—make—produce—deal with—prepare—use—spend—bring about—“do it with your might.”

Truly, this is “whatsoever your hand finds to do”! This verse applies to everything in your life. It is a verse you must live.

When you rise from bed in the morning, the meaning of this verse should be on your mind. As with applying any overarching principle, it helps to begin small. You should brush your teeth adequately. While picking out clothing in the morning, you should make sure it is not wrinkled. If it is, you should iron it.

When mowing the lawn, do you make sure to trim every spot, or are some hard-to-reach places left to grow? When doing the dishes, do you wash some of them, and then give up? Or do you scrub and dry every last one, then wipe down the countertop and stove as well?

The “with your might” attitude means you should dive headlong into every task—then go above and beyond what is expected. When you complete small tasks to the best of your ability, larger ones will be easier to accomplish as well, such as school research projects, diligently practicing a musical instrument, or your performance at a part-time job.

This certainly applies to spiritual matters. Prayer and Bible study should also be accomplished with complete effort and attention. Are your prayers heartfelt, varied and interesting? Remember, prayer is talking to the Father. Also, do you approach studying God’s Word by quickly skimming through the verses, with your mind wandering to what you are going to do next? Or do you stop and ponder the meaning of each word and sentence, looking for how it applies to your life?

Whenever you are given a task—meaning literally anything and everything—it is your decision how to approach it. Always strive for excellence!

Keys to Improve

Today, most people are undependable, show up late, lack conviction, make excuses, self-justify and produce inferior crafts due to slap-dash workmanship. They do not take any sense of pride in their work.

This means a person who lives Ecclesiastes 9:10 will stand out. Some of your peers may even become angry because you “make them look bad.” It is difficult to go against what everyone else does. A number of key principles will help you fight the incorrect attitudes prevalent in the world.

Study the lives of successful people: On top of Theodore Roosevelt and King David, there are many other lives that can encourage you to exhibit a “with your might” attitude. You can find books or documentary films about these people at your local library. Consider reading about explorer Ernest Shackleton or one of the many works by Elbert Hubbard, particularly A Message to Garcia. There are also many inspiring women, such as Abigail Adams (wife of the second U.S. president) or Annie Sullivan (who taught Helen Keller to communicate). Other biographies are recorded in the Bible, such as those of Abraham, Jacob, Jeremiah, Esther and Ruth.

Find ways to improve: No matter how many times you do something, you can always do better. A diligent worker is constantly considering how he can complete his job more quickly and effectively.

Stay healthy: You cannot do something with your might if you are sick. Be sure to drink plenty of water and eat healthful foods—avoid overly processed sugars. Be sure to eat breakfast every morning, as it truly is the most important meal of the day. Also, get proper amounts of sleep at night. In order to get up early, you must go to bed early.

Plan each day: It has often been said, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” Always make a list of what you need to accomplish daily, understanding that you may have to make adjustments.

Do not give up easily: Make sure small setbacks do not stop you from completing a job. For example, if you are supposed to vacuum the living room, but discover the bag is full, do not simply give up. Rather, find a spare bag and replace it. Even go to the store to buy a new one if necessary. Small roadblocks should never stop you from completing any project.

Everything Means Everything

Theodore Roosevelt often took walks on the grounds of his estate under a starry night sky with longtime friend American naturalist William Beebe. In his The Book of Naturalists, Beebe recounted that Roosevelt and he would often search the night sky for the faint spot of light known as the Andromeda Galaxy. When it was found, one of them would recite, “That is the Spiral Galaxy in Andromeda. It is as large as our Milky Way. It is one of one hundred million Galaxies. It is 750,000 light-years away. It consists of one hundred billion suns, each larger than our sun.”

After a moment of silence, Roosevelt would grin and say, “Now I think we are small enough! Let’s go to bed.”

Although he did not know God’s truth, Roosevelt used the night sky to remind him that he was incredibly small compared to the rest of the vast universe. Consider how much truer this is today—a time in which scientists now know there are hundreds of billions of galaxies total!

King David, who was “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22), used the stars in a similar way. Notice Psalm 8: “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man, that You are mindful of him?” (vs. 3-4).

The quality, complexity and detail of Creation reveal that God is the ultimate example of doing everything “with your might.” To understand more about His Plan, read or review the book The Awesome Potential of Man.

A companion passage to Ecclesiastes 9:10 is found in the New Testament. It greatly expands the meaning of “do it with your might.” Notice Colossians 3:23: “And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”

In other words, whatever you do, act as though you are doing it for God!

Verse 22 expands this principle: “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God.” This means, even if no other person is watching, you should put your whole heart into every task.

Remember that you should do everything “as to the Lord.” Ask yourself: Would I be ashamed if I turned in this homework assignment to Jesus Christ? How would I mow this lawn if God was watching? What would my attitude be at work if Christ was the manager of this department store?

How you approach the tasks in your life—both big and small—is important!

From now on, be sure that you do everything with all your might. Perform every task as if you are doing it for God. Determine to live Ecclesiastes 9:10!