We’ve all had those days; you feel like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, your boss is tripping, customers/clients are complaining and moaning endlessly, your co-workers are working that last good nerve you have, you question whether this is the position you want to have, or even why you are working for this company…all before lunch.
As humans, we’ll spend most of our time working in an office on the clock for somebody else. For those few that venture into their own businesses, you still put in countless hours to keep the business successful and flourishing.
But, everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) will have at least one day that they will want to pull out their hair, cry their eyes out, scream until their throats are raw, or worse, tell someone how they REALLY feel.
Don’t.
It’s never really worth the aggravation and the headache you plan to put yourself through. And it is really the matrue way to handle things?
So how do you deal with the stress and the emotions that come with working full-time, or even part time, in a mature manner? How can we grow past throwing fits and allowing our emotions to cause us to break down? Because, let’s all be honest for two seconds, not everyday will be a day we hop out of the bed, excited to enter the office.
We all have bad days, but we need to focus on something bigger and greater than us.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” — Colossians 3:23-24
Do you remember your first job? Do you remember why you got a job? For many people, they got their first jobs as teenagers because they were either (A) helping out their family, (B) saving money for some big purchase (like a car or college tuition) or (C) wanting independence and extra spending money. I know myself, and many others, fell into the (C) category at first; being able to pull out my own cash and buy what I wanted, when I wanted to (mostly new clothes). So I worked primarily for the check, for the money, for the power. By college, that changed; I was now using the money (mostly) to buy food and school supplies and pay rent. Near the end of my college experience, I began to work simply for the recognition of being a good worker, a valued employee.
Throughout my younger years of working, everything was a selfish motive; fulfilling my needs, my wants, my desires. Using it as an opportunity to fulfill God’s purpose was never on the forefront on my mind. Not to say that working should not be about making ends meet, but is that the only purpose that I have working?
When I began working full time as a journalist, and grew and matured as a persona and as a professional, I begin to look at my job through new eyes. What I was doing was not for me, but for God, that He was the one receiving the honor and the glory. With our eyes, hearts and work ethic focused on God and not on ourselves, we’ll find the strength and peace needed to carry out our tasks and duties at work.
But how can we give God the glory THROUGH our work, if we don’t actually DO any work?
“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” — Proverbs 6:6-8
“Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.” — Proverbs 10:4
I’ve seen many people complain about their jobs, hating their jobs, but when I watch their actual work ethic, I shake my head. Like a child that delays doing their household chores, only to have punishment and consequences haunt them later, so I’ve seen adults refuse to lift a hand and actually do work on their job and complain when they are let go or when their paycheck is cut. As adults, we have to understand that we must be about our business and about the work set before us. At the right time, in the right season, the fruit, the results of your hard work and effort will come to fruition, and you will be able to turn and say, “But God…” because it was only Him that provided that increase and promotion, because you honored Him through your work and faithfulness.
Now, I have been at the other end of the scale as well; the workaholic. Many of my close friends will tell you that I have a drive to be successful. But my inner circle can attest that there are time that I push myself too hard and work too hard (I can hear the “mmm” and see them nodding their heads now…yes, I’m admitting it publicly). I used to think that “I have to work all the time; no time to be lazy or rest.”
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.” — Genesis 2:2
We’ve all heard this passage before and I’m sure we’ve studied it, but look closely: By the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing. God knew what He had to do and He knew that it needed to be accomplished by Him. Only God could do what was His do to.
On the seventh day he rested from all his work. God took a break. Imagine, the all-mighty King, the creator and ruler of the universe, the Great I Am, kicking His feet up and leaned back in a chair, sipping a glass of lemonade. Ok, ok, maybe He didn’t exactly do it like that, but do you get the image I’m trying to paint? God stopped. He took a break. He understood that rest is an important part of life. If He did it, why don’t we? If we are to be representatives of God, that should reflect in all areas of our lives, including our work ethic. God worked and rested; we, as followers, as we mature, should also do the same.
God knows, I used to always push myself, but now, as I grow and mature and gain wisdom, I understand that balancing work and rest makes a big impact. Even if it’s nothing more than a day of staying home, watching TV, if I’m not rested, I’m not going to perform at my best, and what good am I?
It doesn’t matter whether you are work at Burger King, flipping burgers, or as the executive director of a major organization, your work is to glorify God and, as you grow and mature, you learn that God has set the standard for what is asked and required of you. Keep striding toward what God has for you in your office and let your light shine bright. Be like the ant and work hard so that, in the right time, you can kick back you feet and relax.
The Book of James 