...whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
(1 Corinthians 10:31)
Throughout the Bible, workers served God in many forms: farmers, priests, ranchers, carpenters, doctors, tax collectors, temple (church) workers, guards and hundreds of other trades are also mentioned. If you think about it, most jobs we have today were represented in the Bible--we may be more high tech, and mass production oriented, but the jobs are similar.
Stop and think about this. There are so many jobs and so many people--Does God value some jobs more than others? This is a tricky question for most of us. Why is one person purposed for this job and another gifted for that job? Are some jobs more important to God? Confusion about the true value of your work can come from many sources, but one clear cause is the misunderstanding of a common word we often hear used. It is the term "ministry".
Who actually does ministry and what does this mean? Is it exclusive to those who perform certain jobs, like missionaries and pastors? The word "ministry" actually comes from a root word that means "to serve", as in serving God and His people, our neighbors and coworkers. So any job done with God and for His purpose is ministry. We are all involved in service work. When we have the correct understanding of the word "ministry," we realize the common misconception that God thinks some jobs are more spiritual than other jobs is simply not true. If you follow Christ and you work, guess what? You are in ministry!
A WORK PRAYER
Dear Lord, thank You for the opportunity to be in ministry every day at work. Help me to remember that my work is my ministry. Amen.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Before today, did you consider your work to be ministry?
2. How does the knowledge that your job is a form of ministry change how you plan to work?
This WorkLife SwitchTOOL was written by Doug Spada, founder and CEO of WorkLife, Inc. Excerpted from The Switch publshed by WorkLife Press. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Content edited and distributed by WorkLife.org for non-profit educational purposes.
