Article October 20, 1997 ISSUE

Why are you doing what you're doing?

Jennifer Sappenfield Woodbury

My dad always asked that question. It was, in fact, a test to gauge the quality of my thinking if I felt depressed or confused or unhappy. It reminded me that it didn't matter so much what I was doing—whether I had this or that job. What mattered was my mental approach to my activities. Was God propelling me?

Many times I failed the test, replying that it was money and recognition that drove me forward rather than a desire to express God. But even at those times—especially then—the question was a critical checkpoint for me. The basis of the question is really the First Commandment: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:3).

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