Obviously the line of work that we choose plays a significant role in our finances. Through our jobs and careers we earn the income that supplies our life and ministry. For many the process of earning a wage has become drudgery. The workplace is a place they would just assume avoid. The phrase ?overworked and underpaid? has become their motto and they just endure work so they can pay the bills.
The world would have us believe that if our job pays well, is secure, people know us because of our accomplishments, and the boss and co-workers like us, then we have achieved the ultimate work life. This view of work is nothing more than unsound theology produced by our culture and one would have to question whether it is actually obtainable.
When a Christian adopts a philosophy of this nature they are likely to struggle with this dilemma. How do I make a spiritual contribution to work? Within that question we discover an illusion about work. The perception is that there is a line down the middle. On one side we have our job and on the other side we have the Lord?s work. The illusion is that the work we perform on our job and the Lord?s work are completely separate. They are not separate because God makes no distinctions between what is sacred and what is secular.
If more Christians would look beyond the cultural portrayal of work and focus on a spiritual understanding, a mountain of work related stress and insecurities could be lifted from their lives.
We can look to the very first words in the Bible to see who invented work. Genesis 1:1 says, ?In the beginning God created?. This tells us that God was a worker and it was He who established a model for work. It was a creative work but it was work nonetheless. In the Genesis account of creation we see that God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:27). The first example we have of a man being put to work is Adam. After God created Adam He placed him in the Garden of Eden to work (Genesis 2:15).
We tend to overlook that all of God?s natural creation is active and has a normal course of movement. The stars, sun, moon, vegetation, water and animals were all created to do what they are supposed to do. Since God, who was a worker, created man in His own image and placed him in the garden to work, then we could conclude that humanity was created to work. Work is part of our very being. God determined that we would contribute to the processes of His creation through work. It?s an extraordinary thought to realize that God allows us to take part in sustaining and advancing His creation.
Christians often adopt the idea that the only spiritual contribution they can make at work is going to the job and preaching to their co-workers. I don?t deny that we could use more of that. But the real contribution of the Christian worker begins when we realize the awesome responsibility attached to our existence, the responsibility of using our unique design to allow God to continue his work through us.
Adam was designed to carry out specific task in the garden. Keeping the garden and naming the animals were assignments from God. His life had a purpose. You and I are no different. Any work that we do is a task that is taking place within the operation of God?s creation. Whether we are at church, in the mission field, or at our place of employment we are working for God. We may be spreading the Gospel, loading boxes on a truck, or preparing a report. Whatever the case may be, God is interested in every kind of work.
By looking beyond the office walls and viewing our workplace in relevance to creation we realize it?s not about the unfair boss, the office gossip, the long hours, or co-workers that do little yet get all the credit. It?s about God, His creation, and the contribution we make. This understanding can ease the drudgery for a Christian worker. Worldly issues in the workplace loose their impact when we turn our attention to God and the purpose He has for us. That focus alters the meaning of our work.
Through our unique design God has equipped each of us to fit some task better than others. Some Christians struggle on the job because they have mismatched themselves to a line of work. Taking time for career planning and self discovery can help us avoid employment mistakes that rob us of a satisfying work life. Sometimes, even with careful planning we can get off course. Especially when we allow the worldly directive to set our career course, pursuing our desires instead of our design.
Money
The number of people dependant on wages from a job as their source of income increased dramatically during the industrial revolution. During that era millions of people shifted from the agriculture industry and small business to working in the bustling factories that emerged. When we reflect on the industrial advance of that period we often think of Henry Ford and mass production of the automobile. The story of the Ford Motor Co. is fascinating but like everything in life success comes with a price tag.
The productivity of Ford?s assembly line brought with it a very high human price. Talented craftsman who once constructed those automobiles were separated from their work by a machine. The use of their talents and abilities at work was sacrificed. Their work became monotonous and the facility suffered from a lack of motivated workers.
Ford solved the manpower problem by nearly doubling the average wage. Even though this ended his labor shortage, boredom, absenteeism, alcoholism, and stress from high production quotas became a problem. Why? Because workers struggled with what their contribution to the finished product actually was. In response to the workers question, what is the meaning of our work? Ford replied, work means money! Ford?s definition is a widely accepted perception of work. For many people the number one determining factor for the job they choose is money.
Are adequate wages part of a satisfying work life? Absolutely. But God did not design humans to fit income brackets. He designed us to fit task. When wages become the number one priority of work it can disconnect us from doing what we were designed to do best. We can become detached from ourselves and separated from God (Mathew 6:24).
Many achieve their desired income but fall short of experiencing a satisfying work life because a certain amount of pay drew their attention away from their God given talents, abilities, and gifts, and the reason they have them.
Many place their value in money, which is a symbol of work, instead of placing value in the work itself. We may generate money through work but it?s essential to understand that wages are a gift from God. (Ecclesiastes 5:19). Money is by-product of work.
Identity
Another reason we work is to express who we are. We all go through the process of searching for our identity, trying to find ourselves. We question our value and wonder where we fit in life. We want to matter.
Our culture paints the picture that it is important who the world thinks we are. Because of this we tend to evolve into who we believe we are and strive to live up to what the world says we should be. We adopt the belief that we are a product of things like our parents, our education, or our position at work.
For many people work is where they find their identity, focusing on positions because of their significance, influence, and the respect that is gained. Rather than a means of expressing their inner being, work has become a lifestyle of seeking recognition and searching for something to attach their identity to.
God?s identity is revealed through the work He does not through His position of creator or title, master of the universe. It should be the same for us. When we derive our identity from our role at work we attach ourselves to something that is performance oriented and can fail. We see this happen all around us. People become separated from their work for some reason and all of sudden they don?t know who they are. Their attitudes, emotions, and worth go up and down with the circumstances. They have formed their sense of being from something external.
We were recreated to serve God through good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). We are servants of God. This is our true identity and nothing can take it away. God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Knowing this allows us to reveal our real identity through the work that we do rather than seek work that will provide us with an identity.
Relationships
Since we spend 40% or more of our lives at work we tend to view the workplace as a source for developing relationships with others. Because of the amount of time we spend on the job we have more exposure to people there than we do through other daily activities. Many seek approval, friendship, and love through work at level common to intimate personal relationships. Sometimes when they don?t find these things on the job their lives become miserable.
Work is where we go to support others. It was never intended to be a base in which we develop our life relationships. Some people do develop successful relationships at work but it is more common to observe conflicts among co-workers rather than close relationships. The highest level of support that a Christian can contribute at work is heartfelt acceptance of their fellow employees (Romans 15:7). This goes beyond just tolerating others. It is being able to accept them for who they are even if you don?t approve of their actions.
Recognize that friendships, acceptance, and love do not belong to work. Those all come through God from our connections with other people.
Security
Most men and women gain an immense sense of security from their occupation. That sense of security can be dependant on things like our rate of pay, our friends at work, and our position. A person that has a job that allows them to develop ties to other people, pay the bills, live in a nice home, drive a nice car, and afford some of the accessories of life, can become very secure in those things. We yearn for security. Feeling secure can play a major role in our self confidence and personal stability.
Most people do not realize how much security they place in their job until they become separated from it. They often begin a fight against themselves because what was once a great source of security is gone. Fear sets in and they become overwhelmed with worry thinking about what may happen in the upcoming months. Focusing on worse case scenarios. This is an indication that we have neglected to derive our security from our trust in God. We place our trust in something that is temporary and can disappoint and fail. Then when we lose those things we turn to God for help.
There is nothing that God wants more than for us to find our absolute security in Him. A job loss is a time that we often review our life and reexamine our objective. It?s often a time when God invites us to place our absolute trust in Him and stop trusting in earthly things (Matthew 6:31-34).
A common complaint among Christians is that they feel disadvantaged in the workplace. Much of the time knowing they are more qualified and capable than their non-Christian co-workers yet experiencing less success and sometimes even being intentionally mistreated. God does not expect Christians to take a back seat to the rest of the world. But many Christians are missing God?s best in the workplace because they are pursuing work through a worldly view. Christians live spiritual lives and when we form a sacred/secular mindset we struggle because we are trying to obtain results by combining two entirely different sets of directions. For many Christians beginning to interpret God differently is the key to experiencing a rewarding and fulfilling work life.
?Promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another? (Ps.75:6-7).
Kevin Farrar is the author of the Wisdom For Your Wallet personal financial program. To learn more about Wisdom For Your Wallet go to http://www.wisdomforyourwallet.com.