Who's the boss?

Yesterday we got explanations of our salaries for next year. I had a hard time with mine...the words said "you've done a great job," yet my merit was 0.5 units (out of a possible 3). I guess I shouldn't complain--the offical policy is that if you've been on sabbatical, you get no merit raise. It's a bit of a double edged sword, though, because salary reviews are done on a calendar year basis, and sabbaticals are on a school year basis....so that means I've had two years of basically no merit raises. It doesn't seem quite fair--if I took a calendar year sabbatical, it would be very hard for my department (they'd have to find someone for one semester twice to cover for me, or everyone else teach an overload). I've worked very hard since I've been back from sabbatical--I even took students with me on part of my sabbatical, and maintained an active research program during the schoolyear myself. Yet no merit based raise.

I'm to the point of saying, "why bother?" In conversations this spring, I learned I'm busier than my OB and make less money than one of my students is starting at, so why am I doing this? I'd rather be playing with my kids.

Then God reminded me of Colossians 3:23-24: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." I'm not doing this job because I get paid for it....I'm doing it because it's what's God's called me and equipped me to do--to share the Gospel and to equip and train students to serve God in the vocations God's called them to.

But with that said, I am going down to three or less days a week for the rest of the summer, and three or four days a week for the fall semester.

Lord, help me remember who I really am working for, and to be faithful in doing what you've called me to do.