“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24)
Work is an act of worship.
“Work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” (I Thessalonians 4:11b-12)
Work is a way to witness.
The crisis of having a shortage of workers in our country points to an even bigger problem. We have a character and commitment crisis that reflects that people have lost sight of the God-given responsibility we have to work. I’m not just talking about earning an income, but I am also talking about productivity for as long as you are able to be productive. We are not on planet earth just to sit back and crave and consume. We are here to contribute, to manage, to organize, to oversee, to manufacture, to produce, to strategize and to create.
When God created Adam and put Him in the garden, before Eve came along, before marriage was established, before their failures and fall in the Garden Temptation, Adam was given a job. He was to be the gardener. God didn’t introduce work just so that Adam wouldn’t be bored. God introduced work because it would be through work that Adam would be able to glorify God and find meaning in his life.
You have a boss, but it isn’t your earthly boss that you are primarily working to please. It is the Lord. He has given you gifts and talents and an opportunity to take responsibility and to exercise dominion. To do nothing with those gifts and talents and to disobey the mandate to have dominion on the earth is to thumb your nose at the very Creator of your life. At the end of the work week, we would do well to ask God, “Have I pleased you in my work this week?”
We have been created in the image of God. We have been created with gifts and talents so that we can work. One way we reflect the glory of God and point people to the Creator is through the work we do. In that respect, our work becomes a form of worship. Taking pride in our work, doing it to the best of our ability is not only a compliment to the Creator who formed us, but it is worship at one of the highest levels.
The world says, “Eat your heart out. Play your heart out. Spend to your heart’s content.” God’s word says, “Work with all your heart. Put your heart into doing an excellent job because at the end of the day, you are working to please the Lord.” It is with our hearts that we worship the Lord. Work, when done with excellence, when done with integrity, when done with passion, when done with a joyful attitude, all in an effort to please God, becomes an act of worship.
Not only is work an act of worship, but it becomes an opportunity to witness. The Apostle Paul saw hard work as a strategy to witness. Notice the emphasis in I Thessalonians 4:11b was on “outsiders.” By outsiders, Paul meant, make an impression on those who are outside the faith. Paul helps us see that excellent work, honesty in our work, faithfulness to our employer, integrity in our efforts, working to the best of our ability can help non-believers see Christ in us. Our hard work, motivated by our desire to please Christ, becomes an open door for our witness for Christ. As you go about your work, pray, “Lord, help me do more than make an income. Help me make an impact for the Kingdom of God.”
You spend a lot of time at work. You are around the same people day after day. For many people, you spend more time interacting with people at your workplace than you spend in your home with family. As your co-workers watch you work, they take note of your character. They watch how your spend your time. They get to see the quality of your work. They evaluate your peace. They see your joy. They observe your work ethic or lack of all of the above. You have a God-given call to leverage your faith in the workplace. God goes with you to your workplace, and God wants to be seen through you in your workplace. Remember, you are working not for a paycheck, but for Him. The Bible calls us the Light of the World. Some workplaces can be very dark. They ought to be lighter because we work there.
Ultimately, witnessing isn’t so much about talking about Christ as it is demonstrating who He is in the way you work and relate with others. If you are clothed with Christ, others will take notice. Jesus was the ultimate Servant. Can you find ways to serve those in your workplace and as you do, do so with the recognition that you are being like Jesus to them. It will have an impact!
I suppose making a difference starts with the desire to do so. Do you want Christ to be seen in and through your life? Expect Him to use you in your work setting for sure. Let your work reveal the difference Christ makes in you as you worship Christ by excelling in your work and as you witness to others about who He is to you as they watch and encounter you at work.