Experiencing God’s reward in one’s career
“Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men (Proverbs 22:29).”
Background- Understanding Jesus position of workplace
It is very amazing to know that our Lord Jesus spent most of His time in the marketplace because out of the 132 public appearances in New Testament, as much as 122 of those were in business-related context. Amazingly, of the 52 parables Jesus told, 45 had a workplace situation. Of the 40 divine interventions recorded in Acts, 39 happened in the marketplace. Even the word "work" in its different forms is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible, more than all the words used to express worship and praise combined.
If we take a deep theological review of Jesus ministry, we will deduce the fact that the Saviour of the world worked in His earthly father's "secular" carpentry business for the majority of His life. This is one of the reasons why the religious leaders of His time had serious issues with him. The religious conclave wouldn't accept Him because they could not rationalise how an ordinary working class man who thinks he can do miracles in their midst become a sensation or claim to be a song of God. They scoffed. We still have the same problem today as we compartmentalise the "sacred" and "secular” as two different entities, forgetting that the kingdom demand is an interception of bringing God in us into the world we live in on a consistent basis. It is very wrong to view life as divided between the sacred and the secular. All of life relates to God and is sacred, whether we are making a business presentation or changing soiled diapers or leading someone to faith in Christ. It is unwise to think there are sacred things we do and there are secular things we do. It all depends on what is going on in our hearts. You can engage in what looks like holy activity like prayer and Bible study with a dark, self-centred, unforgiving spirit. Remember the Pharisees? And on the other hand, you can work at a job in a very secular atmosphere where the conversation is littered with profanity, the work is shoddy, the politics are wearisome, and yet like Daniel or Joseph in the Old Testament you can keep your own conversation pure and your behaviour above reproach. You can bring honour and glory to God in a very worldly environment. God does not want us to do holy things, He wants us to be holy people.
We must also understand that our work can become a platform for meaningful evangelism. If every interaction does not lead to an opportunity to share the gospel, one is a failure. Evangelism should be a priority, true, but not our only priority. Evangelism in this context is not just preaching by speaking but living a life that endears and draws many to Christ. In Ephesians 1, Paul says three times that God made us to live to the praise of His glory. We need to concentrate on living a life that honours God and loves people while working with utmost professionalism and excellence. That is far more impactful than all the evangelistic strategies in the world.
It also important to know that while Jesus was on earth, He made it clear that He had a specific work to do, given to Him by the Father for His glory (John 17:4). He even called the work, “the father’s business”, which further expound on how Jesus saw work as an investment that must come with its reward – both in this world and in the world to come.
Right attitude to work as a Christian
Colossians 3:23-25 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Another translation says to “work heartily” (ESV). Yet another says to “work willingly” (NLT). The Amplified Bible adds “from the soul.” Ephesians 6:7-8 shares a similar concept: “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.” In essence, this is the Christian work ethic. We work with our best effort because we know that we are doing it unto the Lord and this is the only kind of work that can be rewarded here on earth or in heaven. There has been cases of Christians whose work excellence made their bosses to be interested in knowing more about their Jesus to the point of becoming saved, whereas many has also been the reason why many will not believe in Christ because of acts of laziness and lack of initiative.
In our careers, we are commanded to put forth our best efforts, to work from our heart and soul at whatever we do. We are accountable to God and stewards of the gifts He has given us. Our work flows out of our gratefulness to Him. This is even more important when we understand that God instituted work with creation, prior to the Fall. Genesis 2:15 says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” After Adam and Eve sinned, work became toil (Genesis 3:17-19), but work itself is included in the “very good” part of creation (Genesis 1:31).
Throughout the Old Testament, God gave the Israelites specific instructions about how to do their work. He also gave instructions about providing for those who had less: “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 23:22). This command confirms the importance of work. God does not tell the people to harvest everything and then simply give food to the poor. Instead, He tells them to leave enough of the grain to allow the poor to work for themselves. Work has a way of giving us a sense of purpose, productivity, and dignity.
The New Testament contains another important principle regarding work: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10); that is, the refusal of an able-bodied man to work should have the consequence that he lacks food. Paul also says that an “idle” man who refuses to work should not be part of the church (verse 6). Paul and his companions set a good example of hard work: “We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, labouring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you” (verses 7-8).
It is a mandate for very Christians to work hard. Work is integral to life, and approaching work as God-given will give us more pleasure in it. We can work cheerfully and without complaint because we are working for the Lord who loves us and has redeemed us. A good work ethic can also be a witness to others (Matthew 5:16). The world takes notice of our efforts and wonders why we do what we do and this may become the reason to minister salvation to them. When our light shines in form of excellent working culture and result-oriented venture, many will get interested in knowing about our God.
Knowing the boundaries of stress
In our quest to translate work to a means of survival or a channel to receive all the reward that life has got to give us, we must be careful of the boundaries. God has not called us unto work-a-holism. We do not work merely to amass worldly wealth (in fact, Matthew 6:19-34 warns about this). We work to bring glory to God. We also do not work ourselves into the ground or to the extent that our health is damaged or our families suffer. What is the basis of a high-rewarding work that takes you off your family or makes you weary out fast in age? What is the basis of million naira monthly salary that takes you away from your relationship with God? These are not godly rewarding ventures!
God is more interested in relationship with us than He is in what we do. God therefore instituted the Sabbath at the beginning of creation. He did the work of creation for six days and then ceased. God is omnipotent; He did not need rest; He was setting an example for us. In the Ten Commandments, God confirmed both the importance of work and rest. “Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work” (Exodus 20:9-10a). Later, we see that God even required a Sabbath for the fields (see Leviticus 27). Though the specific laws regarding the Sabbath may be Old Testament, we know very well that “the Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27). It is a gift that we are wise to accept as the sure path to truly rewarding career. So, while Christians are called to have a strong work principles and to work hard at all that they do, they are also called to take times of rest.
Your work is valued
God values our work even when the "product" seems to have no eternal value. His design for work is multifaceted: not only does He desire us to worship Him through our work, He is concerned about meeting human needs and has created each of us with unique DNA to be a conduit for Him to provide for those needs. Wouldn't it be awful if all of us were pastors but no one was a plumber or a teacher for our kids in school? God also provides our work as a vehicle to influence society for His glory.
I like the way The Message Bible interprets Romans 12:1: "Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering."
In the 1600s, there lived a man named Brother Lawrence whose job was dishwashing. He learned a profound truth that God's presence could be experienced even in the grind of daily, routine work. "For me," he wrote, "the time of activity does not differ from the time of prayer…in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are calling together for as many different things, I possess God in as great tranquillity as when upon my knees at the blessed Sacrament." He found that in his mundane tasks, he met the same God he loved and worshiped as in the stillness of the desert. Oswald Chambers summed it up well: "God comes into our mortal flesh and we do our ordinary work, in an ordinary setting, among ordinary people, as we would do it for Him."
Reward for a good work
Of course, God wants to reward us for our work – both spiritual and physical work. Deut 15 vs 10, reads, “...the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand”
The book of Proverbs said in all labour there is a profit but we also know from Jesus parables that there are levels of rewards – there is thirty-fold, sixty-fold and then the maximum hundred-fold. Every work gives best return of reward based on our disposition to go the extra mile as a platform to glorify God and make our light shine so that they might see our good works and glory our father in heaven. We must also understand the place of the favour of God in our works, wherein we enjoy optimal reward that is made possible by God’s unmerited help that catalyses our performance for fast-track promotion, recognition and even invention that can generate a lot of financial/reputational equity for us. We must however be driven by the fact that opportunity for career reward comes when we bring all our best into what we do every day as unto the Lord.
We must also understand that God promises rewards to people in everyday jobs, based on their attitude and conduct (Eph 6:8; Col 3:23-4:1).
The Lord has called each of us to be excellent in what we do – as this is the only way for God-glorifying reward. Those whom God used in the Kingdom as marketplace ministers were skilled and exemplified excellence in their field. Not only were these men skilled, they were filled with God's Spirit. Then the Lord said to Moses, "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship" (Exodus 31:1-5). Also consider Huram, the master craftsman of bronze to whom Solomon entrusted much of the temple designs. He was a true master craftsman (see 1 Kings 7:14). Consider Joseph, whose skill as an administrator was known throughout Egypt and the world. Consider Daniel, who served his king with great skill and integrity. The list could go on (David, Nehemiah, Acquilla and Priscilla). Most of these were in the “secular” world of work providing a service that was needed for mankind. May we strive for excellence in all that we do for the Master of the universe in ways that bring glory and honour to the Lord in Jesus name.
