The bible says, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” (Colossians 3:23 NLT)
Wow. So Jesus, You’re going to just take over in my job too?
As modern day believers, I can’t believe how easy it is for us to compartmentalize our faith. We can put God/faith/church in box, family in another and work/business into another. We don’t often let one meld or flow into the other. And why should we? Modern religion has taught us that our service to God is once or twice a week for a few hours. We go and do our spiritual duty and go back to our regularly scheduled program the rest of the week.
But what if God never intended for us to separate our lives into those boxes? What if His intention was for us to live, breath and exist in Him with all that we are and all that we have? Our work and business lives are just as subject to His Presence as anything else. ALL good and perfect gifts, including our jobs and businesses, come directly from Him. It is a blessing to have a job, let less your own business, especially in this day and age. So many across the globe would love to have the opportunities those of us in the 1st and Western worlds take so easily for granted.
In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we find that the earliest believers didn’t have separation of spirituality and business. Rather they saw their businesses, jobs and holdings as tools to be used by God to build the Kingdom of God. Believers sold businesses and property to bring the proceeds to the apostles and nobody in the community of believers suffered lack because of it. Paul made certain to show an example of working to those around him in manual labor, reminding them that a man that doesn’t work, doesn’t eat. The bible is filled with examples of those who trusted their work to God and the result was the work of their hands was blessed.
Our work and business is also the opportunity to show the world how a job, position or business submitted to God is blessed. It is also an way to bring the light of God to a sometimes dark and depressing place of employment. We often times “hate” our jobs and feel the heaviness of working in a place that doesn’t value us or the contributions we make to their bottom line. In those cases, we must remember God placed us there to be a beacon of hope, a breath of fresh air and an intercessor for those who otherwise would never know Jesus for themselves. In other words, we can’t compartmentalize God out of our work lives because too much is at stake for the Kingdom.
Finally, the Word of God is rich in advice, wisdom and counsel on how to obtain wealth in our lives. Abba has given us power to obtain wealth in our hands. Whether that is working in corporate America as a analyst, creating a line of jewelry or inventing new technology that will change the future of your remote village, God can help you be the best that you can be everyday.
This month’s S. O. A. K. calendar is designed to bring understanding, clarity and life to the believer in the area of work and business. Instead of compartmentalizing that area of our lives, let’s take this month to expose our work to the light of God AND break the habits of putting everything in a neat little box. Scribe, observe and apply these scriptures to your professional life and welcome the Spirit of God to your place of employment too.
Happy March to you all and may the Lord bless the works of your hands greatly.
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