“And whatever you do, do it
heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.”—Colossians 3:23
In order to work, “as to the Lord rather than for men,” you
must first begin with employment that honors Him. Just because you have a chance to make money
at a job does not mean you should necessarily take it.
God does not approve of all
businesses. He certainly would not bless
anything that exploits or deceives people.
You may say, “Well, this is the only
job I could get.” But compromising your
faith is never the way to support your family.
A clear conscience and vibrant Christian life is far more important than
the money you could earn from unethical pursuits. Furthermore, if God does not want you doing a
certain job, He will give you a better place to work.
Once you find appropriate
employment, be sure to treat other people the way God does with love and
respect, whatever their position is.
Years ago, when I was attending Rhema Bible Training Center, I worked at
local hospital in the Operating Room as a Surgical Technician assisting doctors
as they operated. In those days, it was
very difficult because I and one other person were the only Christians. She worked cleaning the rooms after each
surgery. The people who had this job
were treated with little respect by the medical professionals. However, we became good friends and soon
began to talk about the Bible and pray for our co-workers. Some months later, one of my supervisors’ who
was notoriously rude to anyone who was not her “equal,” asked, “What I was
doing associating with housekeeping?”
The question startled me as I was not aware that anyone was watching
what we did on our lunch break. I was
able to share with her that in Christ there are no prejudices and that in Him
we are all equal. When I resigned my
position, to go into full-time missionary work, there were two other
Christians. Today, in the Operating Room
nearly every one is a Christian, including the doctors. Our witness, actions, and prayers, go far
beyond what we can imagine.
The
Bible tells us to work as unto the Lord.
We can not do that unless we are at a job that pleases Him and aligns
with His ways. Once we find ourselves
serving Him in our job, we must never forget to treat others with love and
respect, regardless of our position or theirs.
Prayer—Father
I ask You to help me refocus my viewpoint on for whom I work. I repent for forgetting that I work for You,
and focusing my attention on my job to earn money to support myself and my
family. Lord, I ask You to help me keep
my focus on You rather than self, in Jesus Name. Amen.
