If you have a job, consider it a great blessing – especially now. A job is not something that should be handled flippantly. A job can provide us with the means for feeding us and our families, but it also puts us in contact with people who are watching to see who we are and how we respond to crisis; a job provides one of the most common ways we interact with the world, with people who are far away from Christ, being crushed under the weight of sin.
Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
Galatians 6:4-5Galatians 6:4-5
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
4 Do your own work well, and then you will have something to be proud of. But don't compare yourself with others. 5 We each must carry our own load.
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People are paying attention. They see your integrity and your work-ethic. The way you treat work supplies, the hours you keep, the way you treat customers when the customers aren’t listening; these things are all scrutinized and used to decide what kind of person you are, and by extension, whether the gospel you proclaim is true and active in your life. They can see whether you are honest and conscientious. They can see gratefulness, thankfulness or its opposites. They can see compassion and patience, or anger, pride and arrogance.
A lot of people are looking around, trying to decide if they are doing the right thing, if they are doing “enough”. They do just enough to get by. This is not the kind of worker we should be. When we do what we know is right, we gain “personal satisfaction”. We don’t have to feel the unease that comes with comparing ourselves with others, of feeling inadequate, of trying to measure up. And beyond our own personal satisfaction, others see something too! We an expression of what God’s faithfulness looks like.
How we behave at work is not just a show, but a reflection of the spiritual life we already have. If you are not spending time with God on a regular basis, then you will be unprepared for crisis and people at work. You will make simple, yet image-shattering, errors of judgment. You may lose a client because you don’t control your tongue. You may end up spreading gossip or being critical when you should keep your mouth shut. You may “borrow” supplies and forget, only to find out later that someone was watching.
If you will turn your life over to Jesus moment by moment, then a completely different set of statements can be said about you. Those under the influence of the Spirit confront their co-workers with patience. They have strength to stand before powerful people and speak with honesty and purity. They work faithfully, and their efforts are rewarded with trust and honor.
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Today, if you have time to dig deeper, you might turn to the book of Daniel. But rather than focusing on the many prophecies, try to look at how others responded to his work ethic. What made Daniel and his fellow-workers different from the crowd? What spiritual disciplines did they focus on to keep their hearts in line with God’s will? How did this allow God to receive the glory?
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