Faith and Work: Being a Christian in the Workplace
Unless you are employed by a church or other formal Christian ministry, you most likely spend 90-95% of your waking hours doing things that are outside of your church’s walls. Oftentimes the bulk of that time is in your place of work. That workplace probably either does not applaud your faith or actively pushes against some of your values or beliefs.
How do you live life in a world that separates the secular from the sacred, where the work you do sometimes can feel so disconnected to your Christian faith? How do you be a person of faith in your place of employment? Is work really part of God’s original plan? If so, why does it sometimes feel like such a grind?
All the way back at the beginning, we see God at work, delighting in working, in creating and in His Creation (Genesis 1). In the second chapter of the book of Genesis, God not only creates but cares for His creation most especially as Provider. He also commissions us, humans, to carry on His work of cultivating and providing and bringing order. It is important to note that this is all BEFORE everything goes haywire and humans take matters into their own hands. God said that creating and cultivating and providing and bringing order are all good things.
Scriptural themes also affirm that humans were made for work and the dignity and purpose it gives us. Much of God’s Word speaks to our calling, our purpose: we can seek work that fits how God has uniquely designed each of us.
Spending time exploring and understanding God’s call on your life, your God-given passions, and your spiritual gifts can help you as you engage in (or pursue) your vocation. Knowing that your gifts show up everywhere you show up may provide some new energy and focus to your efforts.
At the very least, God’s purpose for your job is that you serve the human community in some redeeming way. One way to serve God best wherever you find yourself is to practice a “ministry of competence”—perform your job as well as it can be done. In this way, you can build trust and earn the right to be heard on things like your deeper values and beliefs.
Knowing what some of the particular challenges are or might be for you as a believer in your chosen field can make you aware of places where you need prayer, support, and perhaps the practice of a spiritual discipline to stay the course at the intersection of your faith and work. At the same time, search out what dominant worldviews in your field are in line with the gospel. These places of agreement can aid you in seeing how and where your work matters to God.
Much research has been done on what individuals can do to create healthy work environments and become excellent leaders. Key personal traits include creativity, vision, persistence, humility, empathy, vulnerability, and living into your values. Every one of these is consistent with what God says about how we are to live—not just with excellence but also with Christian distinctiveness, being a blessing to others, everywhere, every day.
The Apostle Paul says that, with Jesus as our Source, no labor is ever in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). He goes on to say to the church in Colossae: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). Pray that God will aid and sustain you as you view your work, no matter what it is, as the Lord’s work!
Click here for a downloadable Faith and Work Study Guide.
For more on gifts, calling and purpose go to GodGiftsYou.com.
Shirley Giles Davis, author of the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and law enforcement leadership for over 30 years. She has worked with leaders and organizations in 47 of the United States as well as having clients outside the U.S. Contact Shirley.