Search for Significance at Work/School
Intro: Did you know that in a recent survey it was found that 65% of American workers are unhappy with their jobs? There are a lot of factors leading to unsatisfaction with their jobs. But if you are looking for a little excitement in a new career how many of you would consider applying for one of these most dangerous professions? A). Bicycle Messenger--There are about 1500 bicycle messengers in New York City. Messengers are paid between $3 and $30 per trip. A good bike messenger should make about $125 a day. The faster you are, the more you can make, especially during rush hour. You have to supply your own bike (usually a $500 to $1200 mountain bike), safety gear and health insurance. The messenger company gives you a walkie-talkie and a big bag. Messengers work around the clock and break every rule in the book. Many practice "snatching" or grabbing onto a car or truck to speed up their trip. Contact individual messenger services in large cities for more information. How about being a smoke jumper? If the thought of being parachuted into a raging inferno and having to fight your way back until you can be airlifted out many sleepless nights later appeals to you, then you should try smoke jumping. Smoke jumpers are firefighters who must be in the air within 10 minutes and parachute into remote areas to fight fires. Dropped from small planes as low as 1500 feet in altitude, they quickly must hike to the scene of the fire, and instantly begin to chop and backburn areas to head off forest fires before they get too big. The work is all manual and requires strength, endurance and an ability to work around the clock if need be. http://www.comebackalive.com/df/dngrjobs.htm
I think for a lot of us what is needed is not a job change but a change in our attitude about our current job.
ILLUSTRATION: A husband and his wife woke up one Sunday morning and the wife dressed for church. It was just about time for the service when she noticed her husband hadn’t moved a finger toward getting dressed. Perplexed, she asked, “Why aren’t you getting dressed for church?” He said, “Cause I don’t want to go.” She asked, “Do you have any reasons?” He said, “Yes, I have three good reasons. First the congregation is cold. Second, no one likes me.
And third, I just don’t want to go.”The wife replied, wisely, “Well honey, I have three reasons why you should go.First the congregation is warm. Second, there are a few people there who like you. And third, you’re the pastor!So get dressed!” www.sermoncentral.com Even pastors need a change in their attitude sometimes.
Tonight I want to talk about the search for significance in your place of employment. Or if you are a student and not working I want you to think about this in terms of you going to school. I want us to look at a passage tonight that might seem a little odd. It is found in Ephesians 6:5-9. Let’s read it. It is important to understand that the church was born in the midst of slavery. “There were probably 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire at that time. Most of those people probably enjoyed more humane conditions than slaves at other places and times, but they were still slaves. It was not any fun. But, life for many folks in the Roman Empire was not fun. If slavery would have been abolished overnight, life would have become more difficult for most of those 60 million people. After the Civil War, black Americans who had been freed from slavery faced great challenges in adjusting to life as free men and free women. In the Roman Empire, those challenges would have been hundreds of times greater. I think Paul realized it would have been a foolish mistake to make emancipation the main cause of the early church. We need to remember the Bible destroys slavery’s foundation. Even though the New Testament does not attack the institution of slavery directly, it strikes a deadly blow against it. In Galatians 3:28, Paul tells us that in Jesus Christ there is neither slave nor free. Both are equal. Some try to discredit Christianity by claiming the Bible condones slavery. But, if it was not for the New Testament, slavery would probably be a thriving institution.” Dan Erickson www.sermoncentral.com
The principles found here can be applied to our work situation, school situation. Or if you are a stay at home mom I want you to know this applies to you. Paul gives some specific instruction to all of us here. They are actually a change of perspective.
1). Have the right attitude toward youremployer/teachers (Vs. 5-6)
It’s important that you do what you were hired to do and do it with the right attitude toward your employer. You are to do your job as if Jesus Himself is giving you the instruction. As a matter of fact the scripture teaches us that it is God’s will that you do your job from your heart. You and I are to respect our employer. You may say, “this doesn’t apply to me—I’m self-employed!” That may be so but you have a heavenly boss that you will answer to. It’s a very significant thing to do when you are respecting your employer (even though he or she might be rough around the edges.) You see when you do what you are asked you are obeying Christ. When it is hard to do what you have been asked—remember you are a servant of Christ. Sometimes we think that we have our religious life and then we have our secular life. They all go together. Employers (bosses) this same word is for you. See verse 9
2). Have a Christ-centered work ethic (Vs. 7) “Serve wholeheartedly”
I really believe that every Christ follower should be among the hardest working people. We ought to do our jobs (or school) with excellency. Look at Colossians 3:22 (The Message Trans.) “And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God.”
You might say, you don’t understand where I work. What I am doing isn’t making a huge difference in the world. I’m washing cars or mowing grass, or I’m staying at home with my kids. “A Christian realizes that no job is unimportant, if that is the work that God has called us to do. As Martin Luther said, "The work of housewives and shopkeepers is just as holy as that of a clergyman. To wash dishes or mend shoes for the glory of God is no less a sacred task than preaching the gospel." Dan Erickson www.sermoncentral.com
God does not look at the outward appearance but he looks at the heart. You never know either. Your work ethic may have a profound effect on others. They may come to you and say, “What do you work so hard?” Your answer may be, “Because I want to be the best employee I can be but to honor my God in heaven.” Your obedience may very well help to validate your testimony about Jesus. If you are lazy, unproductive, not working hard, always calling in sick, not caring about anyone but yourself, playing hooky, what does that say about your faith?
This leaves no room for laziness. Proverbs 6:6-8 (The Message Trans.) “You lazy fool, look at the ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions. So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed? A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next? Just this: you can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest!”
I want to clarify something here. God does not want us to be workaholics. He does not want you to place your job as more important than the family.
ILLUSTRATION: Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s, used to say that the three most important things in his life were God, family, and McDonald’s and that when he got to the office, the order was reversed. Friends, as Christians we should never reverse that order.
Not only are we to have a God-centered work ethic (doing it because we are servants of Jesus) but we are to have good ethics at work and school. Did you know that there was a survey taken several years ago that revealed 1 out of 3 (36%) of CHURCHED kids cheated on an exam. We need to understand that God does not want us to check our ethics at the door but to take them with us every where we go.
I want us to look at a passage in Daniel 3:17-18, 28. I want you to notice that these three Hebrew’s who were working for the king made a decision to be great employees but weren’t going to compromise their convictions. “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up…”They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own god.”
For many people the think they have to compromise in order to get ahead in life. Being a good employee doesn’t mean you do something immoral or illegal at work or school. For instance, your boss wants you to shred documents to cover up something. Or he wants you to lie about some monthly figures. Or a classmate of yours finds a copy of the test your teacher will be giving you. Or a co-worker tells you how easy it is to download pornography without getting caught at work. You will be tested in the workplace. You will face your own fiery furnaces. But stay faithful to the Lord.
What is so significant about having a good work ethic and having ethics at work? The promise is in verse 8: The Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does whether slave or free. In Colossians 3:24 says, “since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.” You know that bonus you deserve but thought you would never get it? Well you are promised it!
I want to share a final word on the workplace and school—God is at work there. I want to share a quote with you that I found…”We need to begin to search for God in our places of work. God is already there, make no mistake about it; we simply have not trained ourselves to see our creator.”— William E. Diehl
Students, what does God want you to do at your school before you graduate? What does God want you to at your place of work? May God work in our hearts and help us to see that it’s not just the place where we work but also a place where God is at work.
