God @ Work

Colossians 3:22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.  (NKJV).

Here’s an interesting thought; on any Sunday all around the world, on every continent, thousands upon thousands of people are in church.  Worshipping the Lord, being encouraged from the Word of God and connecting with others.  Come Monday, where are they?  By and large they are…, at work!

These same Christians who just the day before were in one place, are now out in the community in many places.  Making a difference.  Doing their work with passion.  Having an influence.  Still living and believing the very same things they sang loudly and passionately about the day before.

These people are guided by the same values and principles that took them to church on Sunday.  They love God because they know what He’s done for them.  They do their best to live a life pleasing to the same God they worshipped on Sunday, and the One they serve at work on Monday.

But there is a challenge here; what are we really like at work?  Are we true to those ‘Sunday values?’  Are we living them on Monday?  Are we the same on Monday as we were on Sunday?

My very good friend Tim Symonds writes a Kingdom Business email, and I was impressed by this one.

“Isaiah 40:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert, a highway for our God”.  (NKJV).

“Over the years I have found that some of the most important things you need when ministering to people are strong breath mints and good aftershave. Even the Holy Spirit has a challenge to operate through a person with bad breath and a sweaty body.

“This scripture tells us to prepare the way for the Lord and make it easy for God to turn up. So the question is “What are you doing in your place of employment, in your home and in your circles of influence, to make it easy for God to turn up and do His work?”

“In church we say that we cannot change the hearts of people but we can create an environment where God can come and change the hearts of people.  You cannot force others to see, believe or come into relationship with God, but you can create the environment for this to happen.

“Does the way you speak, your attitudes to others, your responses to challenges smell of the fragrance of God or do they stink like day old garlic? Are you bringing people closer to God or driving them further away?

“I encourage you to put on some physical and spiritual aftershave, put on your best clothes and your robe of righteousness, brush your teeth and clean up the words that come out of your mouth and see God do His work through your life”.

Amen.  Very good!  You can contact Tim at Tim.Symonds@elim.org.nz.

What a sorry state our communities, businesses, schools, cafes, industries of every kind would be, were it not for the believers who passionately worshipped on Sunday, then go out on Monday with the same energy and beliefs to serve, influence and make a difference in the workplace.

We are not here by some random chance.  God I believe has placed us where we are in our workplaces to influence.  To impact.  To change society.  To be the salt and light of the Gospel.

We are the book, the only book, that many will get to read about the Lord.  We may be the only example some have of what a Christian is like.  But what a thrill it is when what they see on Monday they see again when they come with us to church on Sunday.