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Stories & Blog
Practical Ways to Reflect God in Your Work
Read the series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Through this series, we’ve talked about how we reflect God and advance His kingdom through our work. Here are some practical ways in which we do that.
Through this series, we’ve talked about how we reflect God and advance His kingdom through our work. Here are some practical ways in which we do that.
- Work with a divine perspective. | This is the starting point. We must view our work as God views our work, which for many, will mean dismantling the false dichotomy between vocational Christian ministry considered to have more spiritual value, and other types of work considered to have less spiritual value. All our work — even the busyness of our day-to-day work — has value and dignity and can display God’s glory.
- Work with creativity, excellence, and integrity. | Everyone is wired differently and given unique creativity because they are made in the image of the Creator God. Our personal fulfillment in work grows as we understand how God has wired us and function in that realm — which consequently also contributes to the greater good of those we serve. Doing our work with excellence, according to our ability, points to the beauty and excellency of God. Last, all work, for it to have divine dignity and value, must be characterized by moral integrity. This is often one of the greatest challenges of working in a fallen world, exacerbated in those work cultures where corruption is more the rule than integrity. In such darkened contexts, however, the light of gospel living shines brighter.
- Work for the common good. | We work for the common good when we live out the values of Jesus’ kingdom that reverse sin and its resultant injustice. Issues of the economy, the flourishing of people and society, and how our work contributes to that flourishing — these are the concerns of the common good. Thus, work is not just for our individual satisfaction (a paycheck and personal fulfillment, though not wrong in themselves); but it is to contribute to humanity’s well-being and the advancement of God’s kingdom. What does it look like to seek the good of our coworkers, boss, or company?
- Guard your heart attitude as you work. | God’s glory is most displayed by His people when we show love — especially in the context of unpleasant work, and even in the context of mistreatment. Even those who have a dream job eventually collide with the realities of living in a broken world where we need the gospel to transform our hearts.
- Boldly and humbly declare who you are. | As God gives you opportunity, tell of God’s character by sharing who you are as a Christ-follower and why you work with creativity, excellence, and integrity. This is not proselytizing, which actively seeks to convert another person from their religion. Such behavior is generally prohibited in the workplace, and can even face serious consequences in cultures hostile to the gospel. There is a difference between proselytizing and declaring our identity in Jesus. Each situation will require discernment and dependence on the Spirit of God. But we must understand this distinction so that, without proselytizing, we can be a spoken witness to the work of Jesus in our lives.
- Ask God in whom He wants you to invest your life. | While our lives are to be characterized by God’s love for all people in all circumstances, making disciples necessarily involves loving investment in a few. With your spiritual antennas up, ask God to show you in whom He is working. Begin praying for them, and in God’s time and in His way, come alongside them in a posture of loving service.
- Practice Sabbath | In her book Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest, Lynne Baab defines Sabbath as “a weekly day of rest and worship. A day to stop the things that occupy our workdays and participate in activities that nurture peace, worship, relationships, celebration and thankfulness.” Sabbath was God’s idea from the beginning and is a necessity for us. It renews our present, and it points to the future. It lets us taste shalom — God’s Sabbath rest that we look forward to. And by practicing Sabbath, it enables us to show God’s shalom to others, because we can only display to others what we ourselves have experienced in God.
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