On the contrary, there are several reasons why working is beneficial. It is beneficial for the company you work for, your co-workers, God, and you. It is a winning situation for all.
Work! The mere thought of it is enough to make a lot of people want to roll over and go back to sleep in the morning. Once awake, they think "Well, another day at my boring job!" How many people feel, "I really don't like my job, but after all, we must have money to eat."
That type of thinking can be very harmful for the total health of a Christian. For work to be meaningful in your life, you need to consider the Biblical reasons for working.
Just imagine! Work will consume more time than anything else in their life, including time with the family. Up until retirement, it's very common to spend more time at work than at anything else.
You'll often hear how important it is to have a positive attitude in a marriage to be successful. Imagine having the attitude toward marriage that a lot of people have toward their jobs.
What if you are married, and your first thought when you wake up is that you would rather go back to sleep than face your spouse or your children? What type of marriage would this be? This attitude would be destructive to your marriage.
This type of attitude is equally harmful concerning you and your job. Going to work with a bad attitude will harm your work experience. As Christians, we must have our thinking about work agree with what the Bible says. Why should Christians go to work? Let's look at the reasons:
Be Salt
The first reason for working is to be light and salt in the world. Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
As important as it is for Christians to come together in church, it is equally important for Christians to go into the world (John 17:18).
Work is God's plan for Christians to spend 40 hours a week allowing the Jesus in them to positively influence others.
A friend of mine spent several lunch hours at his workplace with a non-Christian friend. They talked about many issues, including God. One day the non-Christian told my friend that she learned more about God from her than she had ever learned before!
This wouldn't have happened if my friend had not been at work "in the world."
Let me challenge you to look at your company as a community of people who need Jesus. This is one reason we work.
Bless Your Employer
A second reason to work is to be a blessing to your employer. Titus 2:9 says, "Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things not answering again."
The King James version of the Bible doesn't use the words "employee" and "employer," but it says "servants and masters." When you see the word "servant," it can also mean "employee" while the word "master" can also mean employer.
Titus 2:9 says that servants (employees) are to please their masters (employers) in all things. A Christian employee ought to be a greater help to their company than a non-Christian employee.
Obviously, there is one area of exception to employees pleasing their employers in all things. When your boss tells you to do something contrary to what the Bible says, then in good conscience, you cannot do it. Stealing, lying, or cheating would be some examples.
However, unless what our boss asks us to do is against God's Word, the scriptures tell us to please our boss by doing the best job we can.
Use What God Gave You!
A third reason to work is to use your God-given talents and abilities. "What does that have to do with my employment now?" Remember the story of the talents in the Bible? See Matthew 25:15-28 if you are unfamiliar with the story.
The parable of the talents teaches at least a couple of lessons. One lesson has to do with money management, as talents actually were a unit of money in Bible days. Another lesson we can draw from this parable concerns the productive use of our gifts and talents God has given us.
We are now in training for our eternal "job description." The attitude we have and the degree by which we develop our talents down here on earth determines what Jesus commits to use eternally when we reign with Him.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Pastor Nate Belkstrom graduated from Christ for the Nations Bible College in 1976, and he spent the next six years in the workplace where he experienced a difficult time connecting his work with his Christianity. It was there that his heart was touched to help other Christians in their workplace experience.
