9-5 to Eternity

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. —Proverbs 3:5-6

It was 102 degrees, and the humidity was at 389 percent. I was to meet Gary at his newly purchased house at 4:00 p.m. to quote a renovation job. The house was unoccupied, so it was 140 degrees inside. The clock read 4:15 p.m. but, still, no Gary.

Gary’s friend Bob was there, just hanging around I guess. At 4:20, Gary’s dad arrived. Gary sauntered in at 4:30. I was not happy. It soon became apparent that they simply were looking for a quote from a contractor to obtain financing for the work that they intended to do themselves.

I wanted to express my thoughts, maybe shed a little Sam light into their Neanderthal world. But I decided to ignore my desire to react and to instead respond properly… maybe shine a little of God’s light into their world. Profit: Zero. Two hours wasted. Plus two more spent aggravated.

Three weeks later, the friend Bob called, saying,

I’ve just left a house with water damage so bad that it’s too big for me. These are older folks, and I can’t recommend just anyone for the damage repair. I watched you keep your cool earlier this month while my friends were taking advantage of you, and you’re the only person I can trust this job to.

Profit: $60,000.00. That was probably the only time that year I responded with the knowledge that I represented Jesus, instead of reacting like I represented Sam… so, no pats on the back, please. And, of course, it’s not about receiving monetary rewards from God, but I will say my intent was to fuse my life with Christ into my life at work.

Worship and Work

How do we incorporate our discipleship into our work? How can we keep the light burning in our jobs without running people off with fanatical behavior or ignoring solid business principles? The first question we all have to answer is this: “Is God in the details of life… specifically, in the details of our work?” Be honest about your belief on this.

Let’s look at a few governing principles:

• Be effective where you are (1 Cor. 7:17)
• Focus on God and not on your circumstances (Col. 3:23-25)
• Be different (Phil. 2:12-16)
• Plant seeds (1 Cor. 3:5-9)
• Show grace (Col. 4:5-6)
• Keep your focus on what really matters (1 Cor. 3:10-15)

I do believe that each of us has been given our own ministry, our own opportunity to shine God’s light into this dark world that is hungry—actually, starving—for something more. My wish for you is that you will fuse your worship into your work so that Heaven’s welcome committee will say,

Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness! (Matt. 25:23)