“The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for His return.” (Mark 13 :34 NLT)
The work we do, is not only what we do through the church or in response to our own individual ministries, but from day to day, in the factory, office, school, or wherever we labor for our living. Work is a sacred trust given to us, not only to earn money, but to earn a reputation, to develop positive influence, and most importantly, to exalt the Lord Jesus until His return.
Is this to say we must be “preaching Jesus” with every other breath? No, it’s to say we should be living and breathing Jesus with every activity of our life, including our work, whether we ever speak His name. When our bosses and co-workers recognize us as a person of integrity, someone they can trust and admire, we have laid the groundwork for individual “witnessing” in the breakroom or on our own time.
To take time away from work to share with our co-workers, text, or make calls about the Lord, unless specifically instructed by the Lord, is to rob our employer of what they’re paying us to do. Being a good “witness for Christ” has less to do with what comes out of our mouth and more to do with what goes into doing the best job we were hired to do.
We work, not simply to earn a paycheck, as important as that may be, but to exalt, honor, and glorify our Master. There may be someone else’s name on our check, but the source of our income is the God of heaven. Unless and until we understand that every penny we have is a gift from God, we’ll be confused as to whose money it is and for what purpose it should be used.
Even as veteran “saints,” we sometimes wrongly assume that the Tithe is the sum of our “obligation” to the Lord, when in fact it is simply an indicator that we understand that everything we make and everything we have belongs to the Lord, including our families. Work, as planned and designed by the Lord, should never be viewed as drudgery, but privilege.
Realizing that a number of homeless people are not able to care for themselves, I will not make a blanket statement that includes all that are without work, but many, if not most, are not working either because they believe it’s below them or because they believe they deserve a better job than they’ve been offered.
Some would rather bleed the proverbial “system” than take work they feel is beneath them, but having been without work, I found that often that “menial” job is exactly the step I needed to get to something better. When our confidence is in the Lord and not the “job,” we can trust Him to direct us to the right place at the right time, and in the right way.
It occurs to me that some reading these words aren’t employees, but employers. You’ve worked hard, scratching and clawing for years to get where you are. Please keep an eye out for prospects that were “you” a number of years ago. Take someone, or perhaps a small group, under your “wing,” teaching them what you’ve learned, training them on how to excel as you have. Trust the Lord to enable you to choose them so they not only can model your work ethic, but your faith.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 