From the beginning there was work. God worked and determined that humankind would work as part of their fellowship with Him. He gave the garden of Eden to Adam to tend and keep. The Fall broke this perfect fellowship and corrupted work; however, it did not fatally sever the relationship between worship and work. It made work difficult and because we are in a fallen state, we naturally want to find a way not to do our work and over time believers have separated the two into secular and spiritual spheres. Most of them hold the misguided notion that some work is “spiritual” and other work is “secular,” the former being more pleasing to God than the latter yet all work matters to God.
It is crucial we understand this notion that all work matters to God. If we do, it brings a totally new energy and dynamic to our work. Though it may seem hard to believe, the amazing truth is this: the work of the janitor is pleasing to God as the work of the CEO. The same is true for bankers, accountants, lawyers, teachers, doctors, nurses, and electricians. Therefore, we need to appreciate everyone’s uniqueness and the value they bring to work. Below are the ways in which we can integrate faith and work;
Work with Integrity; As believers, it goes without saying that we must hold ourselves to the highest standards of ethical behavior in our work, knowing that we work not just for human bosses but for the Lord (Col 1:21). This means we will not cook the books, take shortcuts that might harm the environment, our employees, or our customers. It means we will not take advantage of neither our customers by overcharging or overpromising nor our suppliers by underpaying them. It also means honoring our employers’ time by not slacking off or browsing social media sites for hours on end.
Work with Excellence; We should seek to outstandingly exceed internal and external client’s expectations and needs in all that we do because we serve a God who is excellent in every way. Excellence should be engrained in everyone’s work ethic and there should not be a place for complacency. This calls for a high level of focus on the quality of work as Dr. Martin Luther King put it “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”
Work with Love; Above all else, we must seek to love our leaders, coworkers, and employees to the best of our ability, knowing that as fellow image-bearers of God they deserve to be treated with the utmost dignity and respect. Practically, this means caring for our coworkers by maintaining meaningful work relationships with them, acknowledge each person’s basic dignity, have empathy for every person’s life situation, listen to and encourage each other’s opinions and input, appreciate other people’s contributions, avoid gossip, teasing and other unprofessional behavior, obey the policies and procedures of your employer.
“Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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