The Gospel at Work
Working can seem particularly monotonous, especially if you do not enjoy your career. Yet, working is honorable in God’s eyes – there is no doubt about that. God worked for six days when creating the universe, and He said that it was good. We are made in His image, therefore we were created to work and with joy. Original exertion was cultivating and tending gardens and other physical labor. So how do we serve and glorify God in our careers created in the twenty-first century?
I am learning the hard way how to serve God in my career/job. I have been “stuck” in a job that is not the healthiest environment, and have found myself becoming quite apathetic. It has made me realize how easily we can get into the mindset that a career is supposed to make us happy, serve us, and selfishly should be about us. When that becomes the main purpose of your job, sin will rear its ugly head. This can result in multiple things. In my own experience, I become irritated with my supervisors and coworkers, uninterested in my tasks, and hopeless in my circumstances.
The fact of the matter was, not having a good work situation was carrying into other places in my life, infecting it like a disease. As I went home to complain yet again about work, my husband gently reminded me of some truths.
I realized I needed to consciously decide that I was not going to let emotion play a part in how I view work, and I was going to consciously have faith that choosing to have joy in my work is not only right, but it is for my benefit.
It was quite selfish to think that my joy should depend on how people treat me at work. Since then, I have actively tried to change my attitude, choosing to pray that work is for my benefit, choosing to treat it as an act of worship. As I choose to view work as a way to spread the gospel, I have been praying that he opens the doors for gospel conversation. Taking the time to read Scripture on my lunch break has been a vital way to keep my heart in check, as it rejuvenates my Spirit when I’m feeling down and can turn my entire day around.
Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness.” I long to come to this point where I am running the good race, not only in my Christian faith but in what God has given us on earth with work.
God has taught me a great deal about seeking joy in the mundane and using what scripture says to teach us to work hard in all circumstances. Since work will always be a part of life, I want Colossians 3:23 to be my life verse, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,” and I hope that you can make the same the same choice and to honor God with your work.
