"WHATEVER YOU DO..."

Recently while I was flying to preach there were three people sitting behind me on the plane who were talking very loudly. It was clearly obvious that neither of them liked their job very much. One of the individuals was especially annoying. He droned on incessantly about all of the projects he was involved with. When one of the other two started to speak he interrupted with another story about himself. He was quite full of himself. The screaming baby in the seat behind me was actually a relief from the other noise!

Well, back to the point of this article. Most people are not happy in their jobs. As a matter if fact, many people in America hate the work they do. I've personally talked with many people who would change jobs today, if something else were available. But that happens to be one if the biggest problems. Nothing else is available. In a recent survey from Adecco and Harris Interactive, “the majority of American workers say they plan to start looking for work when the economy recovers.” Forbes magazine says that five million Americans are out of work right now. The unemployment rate currently stands right at 10 % according to the latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics! So, in this environment, what's a Christian to do? Please consider just a few thoughts.

If you have a job, thank God every day.  Knowing how many people in our world who are without jobs, should remind those of us who have them, just how blessed we are.  Even those who do not like their job are at least blessed with work. Pray every day! We should ask God to help us have the right attitude about our work. We need to be asking Him to help us look at our work as a place to evangelize. We should ask God to help us help the right example for those around us.

Remember that we are only here a short time. We are strangers and pilgrims on this earth. In that sense, all jobs are part-time. If you consider your work a trial, remember that Paul said, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17) We will not work forever.

Set the right example for others.  We are to live our lives, even when we are not happy at work in such a way that those who work with us will not have reason to speak evil of us. Peter told the early Christians, “so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:12) The Lord is our ultimate judge and the one to whom we give glory! Remember that our Savior told us to let our lights shine before everyone around us so that our Father will be glorified (Matthew 5:14-16).

View your workplace as an opportunity to tell others about Jesus. Our primary job in this life is to help others find their way to Heaven. We need to try to tell as many people as possible about Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20).  We can win our friends, family and co-workers to Christ by the way we live our lives (1 Peter 2:12; 3:1).

Plan for the future! This life is a training ground for heaven. We should always be working to better ourselves in this life. Whatever we do in this life should be done to bring Glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31). We are looking toward a better city, an eternal home where we will rest throughout eternity (Hebrews 11:16; 13:14).

Focus on the more important aspects of life. Family, spiritual growth, and church are all more important than our jobs. Some Christians our so into their work that they can't see the most important aspects of life. We would probably all be happier if we keep our work in the right perspective. If we give priority to what God wants us to put first, we may just enjoy our jobs more. Our job is not the most important part of our life.  God wants us to work hard, but He has given us some priorities in our life that should receive more attention than the work we do. We should put more emphasis on our own spiritual growth than we do our job (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 5:12-14). Our eternal destination is more important than anything else in this life (Philippians 3:20-21). Our family should be more meaningful and important to us than our job. Paul said that husbands should love their wives in the way Christ loved the church and that we should love our wives like we do our own body (Ephesians 5:25, 28).  Being the spiritual leader in our family is more important than any job we might have (Ephesians 6:4).

Dear Father, we thank You for everything you have done for us. We thank you for the opportunity to glorify You in every part of our life. Help us dear God, to constantly be aware of the fact that we live and work among people who do not know our Lord. Help us to tell them the Good News that can bring them salvation. Help us in our work to glorify You by our attitudes and our conduct. We pray for those who do not have jobs and for those who are struggling in the job they have. May we always be concerned for others and may we always be thankful to You.