No Sweat

When our service to the people around us is done as a service unto the Lord— doing His work in His way— there will be no striving. There will be no human sweat.
Why?

 Sweat signifies man’s effort.

The first time sweat is mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis 3: 19. Because Adam had eaten from the forbidden tree, God told him, “ And to Adam he said: Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the earth in thy work; with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herbs of the earth. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return. ” (Genesis 3: 17– 19).

Sweat is a result of the curse that sin brought.

Because of it, the ground would not yield its fruit without man’s effort and sweat.
Scripture also tells us that those who ministered before the Lord in the inner court were not to wear anything made of wool, anything that would cause them to sweat. “And when they shall enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments: neither shall any woollen come upon them, when they minister in the gates of the inner court and within. [18] They shall have linen mitres on their heads, and linen breeches on their loins, and they shall not be girded with any thing that causeth sweat.” (Ezekiel 44: 17– 18). This is a picture of the kind of service that honors the Lord.

Work done out of man’s ability, smartness or money can be a horrible sweat.

But when you come to the place in your life at which you begin to live and serve in His strength, you understand what it means to bear His yoke, which is easy and light.

(Matthew 11: 28-30) "Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is sweet and my burden light."

In this way, the assignment He gives you will never destroy you emotionally or physically. It will not tear you apart. Why? Because you are not working in the realm of human talents, resources and strength. You are not producing it out of your own labor and sweat. There is no longer any flesh involved. It is Him— service unto Him and empowered by Him.

This brings tremendous freedom and liberty to laugh and be content and joyful in whatever comes. It makes no difference whether you are asked to turn the world upside-down or just to be a doorkeeper at the house of God. You simply do the work that He has given you in the strength that He supplies as a service unto Him.

(Taken and adapted from a book by K.P. Yohannan. While much of what he writes is very good and Catholic, I nor the Holy Father could recommend everything he writes.)