In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. “Your Majesty,” said Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king.”
“I understand,” said Henry, “The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.”
“Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.”
When King Henry died, a statement was written: “The King learned to rule by being obedient.”
Any job, after time, can become distasteful. Maybe your job has become boring, or frustrating, or just plain unpleasant.
It is interesting to me that some who have the most attractive jobs find a way to loathe going to work. Then there are those who are employed in the most obnoxious situations who exude cheerfulness about their employment. I have come to believe that whether or not one enjoys his job has more to do with his own attitude than any other factor. Your attitude toward your employer, your tasks, and your coworkers will probably determine how meaningful you find your work to be.
I have a proposal. See your work as God’s work. Understand how all that we do is to be to God’s glory. The submissive spirit you display toward your boss is a reflection on your love and respect for God. Pouring yourself into your tasks and doing your work (whether it be counting beans, sweeping floors, or managing people) with excellence is a reflection of your commitment to glorifying God. Being gracious to difficult coworkers, forgiving offenses, and staying out of break room gossip communicates to those you work with whether or not you just claim to be a follower of Jesus, or really follow His example.
I am sure someone reading this is currently contemplating switching jobs. I am not telling you not to. But first, see your work as your ministry. Look at your coworkers through the eyes of Christ. You’ll find that when you accept your employment as a blessing from God and an opportunity to represent Him daily to people who need Him, the work itself and the people at work become a passion.
One way to love God is to love the ministry He has given you. That includes your job!
“…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” – 1 Corinthians 10:31
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Hi, Scott,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the insightful post; great points about obedience and attitude. Additionally, I took great pleasure in listening to your recent sermons ("A Career Without Limits") about being a Christian in the workplace.
One question, though, as you do not address this above nor, as I recall, in your sermon series - how does a Christian handle persecution (as in, being the target of hostility precisely because of faith in Christ) in the workplace, even persecution to the point of verbal harassment and being forced to resign, given a severance package, or terminated?
Speaking from recent personal experience, I do "consider it all joy" (James 1:2) to have endured such a trial, as it sent me to my knees in daily prayer, adding immeasurable sweetness in my walk with Christ.
However, in wrestling with the events at my former workplace and the reason behind them, I am still at a loss - knowing that I was falsely accused by my supervisor precisely because I am a Christ-follower, who took issue with my faith and values, and am now out of work due to losing a political battle when standing up for the truth in the situation... how do I reconcile what happened as well as learn from this, especially now that I am no longer in ministry at this employer?
Blessings,
Will in Colorado
Will,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry this has happened to you. It would be hard for me to give you a clear answer, not knowing all of the specifics. But even if I did know them all, I would still have trouble giving you an explanation. Sometimes in this lifetime, we will never know why. Jesus did tell us that if we follow him, we should expect persecution (John 15:20). Paul also said, "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." I think in this country, more often then not, working hard and faithfully, being loyal to our employers and kind to our coworkers, persecution at work will be minimal, compared to other places around the world. But it is still inevitable to some extant if we are going to be faithful to Jesus and our calling to follow him in every way. But Will, this isn't heaven! Our reward will not be complete until we are with Him in person!