day 62: Year-end Examination

At the end of the year we are usually scrambling to get everything on our to do lists out of the way and cleaned and tidied up for a fresh start in the New Year. I also notice that at the end of the year there is a mad dash to use up all of the health reserve money that has been saved up tax-free throughout the year. I always thought that it must be interesting for doctors who get this year-end set of appointments for examinations, whether people need them or not. The end of the year is when most of us do the self-examinations of ourselves. We reflect back over the past year and evaluate how we did in life, work, spiritually, financially, etc. and we then set our goals for the New Year, some being called our "New Year's Resolutions". This self-examination is good. Paul calls for us to do this continually in I Corinthians 11:28. David Wilkerson, the author of The Cross and the Switchblade and now pastor of the Times Square Church in New York City says, "Paul further urges us, 'Let a man examine himself…'. The Greek word for examine here means 'scrutinize, test.' The apostle is saying, 'Test yourself—see if you’re walking according to God’s Word.' We’re to constantly ask ourselves, 'Am I changing? Am I becoming more loving and tenderhearted? Am I treating my family and friends with godly respect? Is my conversation becoming more righteous?” These are great questions of self-examination as we head into our new year of work life. As we set our goals for the person we want to be at work and to be a person who works to their purpose, we can be assured that our constant self-examination and adjustments and corrections are the way that God wants us to live and pursue His righteousness. So, set those goals this year with confidence and great expectations that this New Year will be a year of positive change for each of us.


Reference; I Corinthians 11:28 (New Living Testament)

day 61: What Do You Love?

I sometimes amuse myself by thinking about the words we use at work that we don't really mean or words we use but would never really talk about what they mean, not at work we wouldn't that is. The greatest example of this is the word "love". We all the time will say, "I love doing...", or "I would love to take that project on", or "I'd love to get together and go over that with you", or we ask in an interview, "what do you really love to do?". But if we ever stopped to define what those loves mean or really talk about what love is and what we truly love or not, we would likely pull up short and think better about talking about this at work. Love is not a usual work topic. This is the usual time of the year when many of us take inventory of the past year and begin to set goals and objectives for the coming year. This can coincide with business planning so it seems natural to set our own professional goals and might as well set our own personal goals while we are at it. Most of us start those lists with what we want to get done throughout the year and those goals may cross the areas of physical, spiritual, relational, financial and vocation. There are always many things that we want to accomplish and achieve within the next 12 months. Not often though do we sit down and take the time to catalogue what it is that we love and how we are aligning our time, efforts, and resources against that list. Maybe this year would be a good year to think differently (thank you for that tag line Apple). If we were to start with what it is that we truly love and then build our personal and professional goals from there, then the list might be different this year and it might even be eye-opening or life-changing. We are told in I John 2:15 that we are to "stop loving the evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show you do not have the love of the Father in you". What does this mean for us as believers who are trying to bring purpose to our work and lives? What this means is that we are to take a hard look at ourselves and determine what it is that we are truly putting our love towards and if it is towards worldly ways that undermine who it is that we can ultimately be for Christ, that we need to re-prioritize and do so quickly. This is relevant in our work and the examples we are in the workplace. If we are chasing that next promotion and raise and doing so at all costs to ourselves, our families and our co-workers, it is a pretty good bet that money and power would be high up, if not on the top of, our "I love..." list. These are hard things to reconcile but God calls us to be constantly checking ourselves and making adjustments. To be the person He wants us to be at work would not to be known as the person who is blindly chasing money, power, or even the next job. The right life example would be one where others could see that there is a larger context and purpose that we chase and fix our eyes upon and how we work is influenced by that choice. As we look to a new year, now would be the best of times to take a love inventory before we set our next year's goals and objectives.

Reference: I John 2:15 (New Living Testament)

day 60: Sunday Is Really The First Workday

I am sorry to say this to you because we all look so forward to the weekend. Wasn't it the band Loverboy who sang, "Everybodys working for the weekend!". Yes, the weekends are a time of rest and we should all take advantage of our sabbath time and our down time. With today's technology and being constantly online it has gotten harder and harder to find that "away from it all" downtime. All that said, I will put forward that Sunday, and in particular our church time on Sunday is an important first step of the work week and we should consider it really the first workday of the week in our preparation to have the kind of week we truly desire. I say that from the context that we are reading this and trying to live out God's purpose in our work lives and as such we are in constant preparation for what the day, the week, the month, the year, the lifetime has in store for us. So, let's go back to why Sunday is so important to get going in the right way for our workweek. Those who are called into the ministry have been called to ready and equip all the rest of us who carry the Word and the purpose of God into our work week and to our offices. Ephesians 4:11-12 says: "He is the one who gave these gifts to the church; the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ." What a great assurance. God gave the pastors at our church the gifts needed to equip us in the work that God has asked us to do for His purpose. And with that assurance, why would we ever miss an opportunity on Sunday to not be in church to gain the wisdom, lessons and equipment we need to make it through our work week. Many leaders hold their weekly staff meeting on Monday mornings to do just that for their teams; to be sure everyone is ready, prepared and aligned to take on the week. God does that for us with His staff meetings every Sunday in His church and he gives each of us an early jump on the week. So, next time we are thinking of blowing off Sunday church, we might think whether or not we would lightly blow off God's Staff Meeting that He has prepared for us. Think of Sunday as the first positive move into the workweek and know that you are being better equipped and prepared to meet whatever it is that you will face in the coming week.

Reference: Ephesians 4:11-12 (New Living Testament)

day 59: Kingdom in the Ordinary

You have heard me before speak of those who lament that they don't know if they are living their life to the fullest and doing a higher calling because they are not in the ministry but instead are in the marketplace. We already know that God did His work through ordinary people of the Bible and many of them were ordinary workers at some points in their lives. We also know that each of us are to search independently to find God's will in our own lives and then learn to adjust and obey what it is that He wants us to be doing. As we draw closer in our relationship to Jesus we will find what the will of God is for our lives. In the book Experiencing God, Blackaby says, "God reveals His ways to us because they are the only means to accomplish His purpose". I find that quote to be very inspiring because as I search for God's will knowing that the marketplace and business is what I am about and what I do, knowing that God will reveal His purposes to me and that He needs me to be doing what I do because in me (and all of us) this revelation of His ways is the only means to accomplish His purposes is both inspiring and comforting. That means that as we each seek our own purpose in our lives and work, that God is wanting to use His purposes to unveil our purpose, thereby making it one. So, as we think of our work and what we do day-to-day for all of those hours we can hold fast in the promise that the purpose of God can be manifested through our work. This leaves us with that important lesson that if we are to accomplish our purposes that what we do is less important than how we do it. God gave his disciples ways to do their work and He taught them, as we teach those who work for us, how to get the job done. We can learn many lessons from these teachings with the an important one being that when Jesus spoke to His disciples and asked them to do the things He wanted them to do, more often than not they questioned and sometimes scoffed at how Jesus wanted the job done. No better example of this than when Jesus commanded the disciples to feed the multitudes. The disciples wanted to nix the effort but Jesus instead was specific on what they were to do, and when they did it, a miracle occurred. Could it be that God is asking you to go about your work differently than you have in the past and He wants you to be an example in your workplace of how someone can work differently when they work with God as the determiner of your purpose? Might it be that how you have gone about your work has not been the best demonstration of how God can be in someones life as they go about their ordinary day-to-day work? Remember, He wants to use each of us to reveal His purposes. All we have to do is be willing and obedient to let that happen. Can today be the day that we put aside the rest of the things that get in the way and we start anew?


Reference: Proverbs 19:21 (New Living Testament)

day 58: Renewal

Each day we rise to face another day of issues, objectives and challenges at work. We do our best day-in and day-out to be strong and committed while we face the obstacles that so naturally are there within our workplace and with the people whom we work. When we do good and try and provide a ministry to others we are expending what needs to be renewed. Even Jesus felt that there was something that was expended when His robe was touched by the woman seeking healing. In Luke 8:46 He says, "No, someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me". None of us can even begin to think that we are ministering as Jesus did but if even He felt a depletion then we as humans would have even more of a depletion than He when we attempt far less. I don't think it is unusual for any of us to just feel beaten down and wiped out at the end of the week. It is in those times when we are the weakest and what felt like strength and vigor and full faith on Monday can feel like a whimper of faith and lack of strength come Friday. So, it is important that we find ways to renew and refill ourselves throughout the week. If you are having troubles living the life you want to live at work and you find that it becomes harder and harder as the week goes on, then it is time to refresh yourself by adding in Bible reading, prayer time and potentially joining with others in a small group within the week. The point is that we need to renew ourselves and realize that we just can't go it alone and expect to be strong and faithful if we are depending on our own strength. Our God loves the worker and He time and again has done miraculous things with those who toiled and worked the fields. He will give you strength and renewal and make you fresh and new every morning if you only seek Him to do so.

day 57: The Facts Please

Don't you just hate when the person at work takes snippets of information, doesn't have the whole story and then either tries to give advice, tell you what to do, or worse yet takes what he/she knows (which is not all the story) and goes and stirs something up by telling others? It happens all the time at work. We get an email that doesn't tell everything that happened and we take the information we have and run with it. The same with conversations we have with others. We can take what we have heard and then because we are in a hurry, overwhelmed, up against a deadline, or just don't care enough, we don't dig in deeper and then we end up representing something not quite right and it ends up becoming a bigger issue than it needed to be. Part of working with purpose is being a person who stands for and represents the truth. Everyone can respect the truth. They may not like the truth, but truth cannot be argued against and those who tell and represent the truth will be respected. But to get to the truth, it can take work and patience. It can take having to listen longer, ask more questions, understand the context of the situation and ensure that all sides of the story have been revealed. We are to be truth seekers and truth advocates. When we don't get the facts we run the risk of falling into the ranks of the foolish. Proverbs 18:13 says, "What a shame, what folly, to give advice before listening to the facts." We can start right now, today, with building our advice on the facts and doing whatever it takes to get to the root of the situation or issue by relying on the facts and the facts only. The facts are the evidence of the truth and when both have been stood up for, we can expect that we have done the right thing to stand on the higher ground. So, know that we have to work a little harder and dig a little deeper. It is part of the responsibility given as God's workers.

Reference: Proverbs 18:13 (New Living Testament)

day 56: Work Words, part 2 - Replacement Words

Yesterday we learned the simple truth that God does not want us using foul or abusive language in life or at work. A simple lesson for sure but not an easy one to follow and practice. It just seems like adding that certain word for emphasis or explanation helps make the point. But, when we take this path we are making both emotional and intellectual choices that have consequences. I think in most cases we are also taking the lazy path intellectually when we allow ourselves to use this language. The other day I overheard a conversation with two people where the description of one person by the other, to his face (which was representative of an anatomical part), expressed the point clearly but also created a heightened animosity and anger in the person who was being talked at and could have easily, if not for the control of the receiving person, come to blows. As I reflected on that conversation, the person delivering the message may have felt more powerful but in reality, this very intellectual person had lowered himself to a base level and chosen the laziest of words to express his point of view and left the conversation in a worse place than it was before, all because of the words chosen. If we are not to use foul or abusive language, what words are we then to choose to replace these words? Ephesians 4:29 concludes with; "Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them". We are to take the higher ground. We are to work harder intellectually and emotionally to find the place and the words that can still bring across the point but leave the other person or parties in a better emotional state. As I think back on the confrontation I witnessed, there was another way to have made the point. It would have taken the person who was expressing the point of view to have found another emotional footing to stand on, and then to have intellectually have thought through how it would be that he could build up the other person and still ensure that the lesson was given. It could have been done and knowing the situation, good could have come from what was initially bad and unfortunately after this conversation got worse. God wants us to use the faith that we have in Him, the power that He has put inside of us, and the love that He modeled, to be different than the rest of the world. That can start today, at work, with you and the words that you choose. Today would be a good day to start thinking and using the replacement words that He can give you. You and all others around you will be better for it.

Reference: Ephesians 4:29 (New Living Testament)

day 55: Work Words, part 1 - No Nos

This is pretty straightforward. Let's choose more carefully the words we use at work. We all know the statement, "he curses like a sailor". How does one become a sailor? A sailor becomes a sailor because he/she applies for a sailor job or joins the Navy to take the job of a sailor. So, the cursing of the sailor is referencing the cursing that occurs on the job. Yes, work for some reason is an easy place for the words of a sailor to become common language. I have been there and I have gone through stages in my career where I might as well have quit my job and joined the Navy. If we are trying to infuse our purpose into our work and we are trying to be the examples of how one is to supposed to live in a larger context then the words we choose to use at work need to be consistent with the life we are wanting to live. Paul makes it clear in Ephesians 4:29; "Don't use foul or abusive language." Clear enough? There is lots to learn and study on self-control and the taming of our tongues and how for some this takes God really helping out. But wherever you are and however hard or easy it is for you to control your language, it is an important lesson to remember. We are to live our lives in the example of the One who gave us His example to follow. And when the moment comes where the expletive is the most cultural, hippest and for some reason the most powerful word we can think of, then we need to think again and bite that tongue before we let the words roll out. Once out they can't be rolled back in. Today, say a prayer before heading to work that God will give you different words today to replace those that come most easily. Ask Him to give you new work words and to send the words of the sailors out to sea.
Tomorrow, words to use as replacements.

Reference: Ephesians 4:29 (New Living Testament)

day 54: True Understanding

Certain people at work are the ones that everyone go to for advice, counsel and wisdom. Often when asked about why they go to the person they have chosen you will hear things like, "they just seem to understand me". Understanding others and situations is a true skill. Some can do it and most can't. The difference between the two is often the difference between whether or not one can stop, listen and then intake the information and put it in context to the other person's situation. That seems easy, right? We should all be able to do that. If it was so easy then we wouldn't look left and right at work and think about all of those people who have their own agendas and are constantly only looking out for themselves and who only care about their own opinions and point of view. Those that have true understandeing of others can put themselves in the shoes of others and walk that mile plus in their shoes. If you want to be someone who can understand others and be someone that others seek out for advice and counsel and someone who others think of as a real team player, then I suggest we all can start with the advice in Proverbs 18:2; "Fools have no interest in understanding, they only want to air their own opinions". True understanding starts with the subordination of our own opinions and allowing ourselves to be placed in a state of empathy and caring about others that allows us to internally squelch our need to be the one with our own opinions before they are shaped by the condition of others. We as a believers have the ultimate example of One who came to earth and walked in our shoes so that He could share in the experience of man. To be one who truly understands we need to put ourselves in the place of others. We get there through listening, slowing down and walking with others in their shoes, and by constantly checking our own egos and opinions. Work needs more people like this. Perhaps, you are to be one for your office.


Reference: Proverbs 18:2 (New Living Testament).

day 53: Marketplace Assurances?

We live and work in a time of great marketplace uncertainty with no assurances of anything as it relates to business. Industries and jobs that were once powerful and seemed indestructible can now topple overnight. Security of a job is a lingering memory from days of old. We wonder from day to day when the next shoe will drop and what will be the impact on our jobs and companies. We want to think that we can find a sound footing but everything that was once solid is now not and we find ourselves slipping. It is not a time of assurance so we have to look beyond the corner office to find the peace and understanding that we actually need to do our jobs well and with confidence. The Prophet Habakkuk details a time and set of circumstances that feel very much like today and he also tells us where to look for the solutions to what is most troubling. Habakkuk 3:17-19 says: "Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He will make me as surefooted as a deer and bring me safely over the mountains." Business is never easy to predict even in the best of times. In the roughest of times, we can only look to the words we are given and allow our faith to carry us through the days. But if we can, then we can know that there is joy to be had and that this too shall pass and we will find that sure footing that we each once had.

Reference: Habakkuk 3:17-19 (New Living Testament)

day 52: God's Workers

So many times we feel like in order to do God’s work we have to be called to leave our jobs and go into ministry. And because we thnk this, we can feel unfulfilled in our work. I was reading a section of Blackaby’s Experiencing God and he points out that if you catalog some of the great people of the Bible, you will see that they were workers and through their work God used them to do great things in His name and glory.

Take a look:

-Abraham (Genesis 24:35
-Isaac (Genesis 26:12-14)
-Jacob (Genesis 30:43)
-Joseph (Genesis 41:37-57)
-Moses (Exodus 3:1-6)
-Elisha (1 Kings 19:19-21)
-Amos (Amos 7:14)
-Jesus the Carpenter
-The Apostles (Mark 1:16-20, Mark 2:14)
-Joseph of Arithmea (Mark 15:42-43; John 19:38)
-Lydia (Acts 16:14-15)
-Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:1-2)

If you doubt at all if God can use you in your work to do great things for Him, then doubt no more. You have been trained to understand people, economics, what products and services people want and desire, leadership, and teamwork. What a great piece of clay you are for His molding. As you go to work today, remember you may be the next worker that God taps to do something marvelous.

day 51: Don't Let it Linger

I woke up this morning and did a quick inventory of how I felt and what my emotions were going to be into this day. Fortunately, this was a day where my head and emotions were clear and I was optimistic about the day. Ah, wouldn't it be great if each and every day felt that way. Wishful thinking, yes. One of the best ways to control how you feel in the morning, and how you will feel on your way to work in the morning, is to be sure that all of the unfinished business that might drag you down has been taken care of the night before. What really makes the day the worst is when you go into the office knowing that you are harboring feelings of anger about something that happened prior and you just aren't over it yet. You might even be talking to yourself on your way to work, preparing for the fight that is going to occur. The Bible tells us to not start our day that way and to ensure you don't by taking care of things the day before. Ephesians 4:26 says, " And don't sin by letting anger gain control over you. Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry...". I always heard this verse in the context of marriage and it certainly is true there, but it holds true for work as well. If you allow yourself to carry anger home and into the night, not only will you have subjected your family to something that they never asked for or deserved, but you will have that same anger sitting with you in the morning and it will shape the rest of your day. We all know people who come to work who are ready to battle. We don't want to be or live that example. So, today, see if you can clean out that anger locker before you go home and leave it all at the office, even if that means getting around to those today who you feel have wronged you and cleaning up the situation. It will be worthwhile and tonight and tomorrow will be better for it.

Reference: Ephesians 4:26 (New Living Testament)

day 50: Reputation Trumps

We work so hard. We work hard for so many things. We do our very best day in and day out with the rewards tied to a day in the future when we can sit back and rest and reflect on a job well done. During that journey we set different goals for ourselves and we strive to meet and exceed those objectives. One that invariably becomes a measurement of how we are doing, and our ability to enjoy the latter years of our lives when we are not working, is our financial goals. There is nothing wrong with having financial targets and in fact any good financial planner will tell you that having goals and plans are essential to getting to where you want to be in the future. However, what can lead us astray is when we put that financial target above all else and we find ourselves in a situation where that measure literally takes over on us. I know too many people who because of this have gotten turned around and messed up with their priorities and let their perspective get our of whack. This turned into some bad decision-making and for some life long consequences of their actions as they blindly chased their financial dreams. The Proverbs tell us how to keep that in balance. Proverbs 22:1 says; "Choose a good reputation over great riches, for being held in high esteem is better than having silver and gold". That says it loudly and clearly. Whenever we are in a situation where we put our reputations at risk while questing for silver or gold, we are sailing in dangerous waters. As you think about today, remember that our reputations proceed us and at the end of the day, it will be our reputations that will outlive us. Let us be careful about our priorities and the outputs of why we work.

Reference: Proverbs 22:1 (New Living Testament)

day 49: Perspective of Troubles

Work is full of troubles that can get us down. We look at these challenges as really big ones because we have to deal with them for so many hours a day, so many days a week, and with financial security, career reputations and emotional impact all weighing in the balance. We see these troubles as serious weights around our necks and no matter how we want to lighten them up, they are real and must be managed and dealt with. So, if they are there and sometimes only time can work them through, then the best thing we can do it turn them over to God and ask Him to help us put them in perspective. My church, during this holiday season, has been offering a daily morning worship and devotional time to ready people for Christmas in a much more intentional way than just what can be offered on Sundays. I attended the session this morning and walked away with a new appreciation of the perspective we should be putting against all of our troubles. Imagine the troubles that Mary, the Mother of God, must have felt in the months leading up to the birth of Christ. An unmarried woman, carrying a child that was not that of her fiancee, managing the stigma socially but also the pressures and stresses of what was happening to her. Yes, even with these troubles, beyond anything imaginable, Mary in Luke 1:46-49 proclaims the greatness of the Lord and puts all of her troubles aside to recognize the marvelous and miraculous thing that was about to happen. If today or tomorrow, we think we have it rough, it would be the right time to put things in the perspective of Mary and look to see if there is not something wonderful that God wants to do with you that will emanate from the overcoming of your challenges and troubles.

Reference: Luke 1:46-49 (New Living Testament)

day 48: Wholly Holy

Webster's second definition of holy is: "dedicated or devoted to the service of God, the church, or religion; a holy man." The question at hand is can we be wholly holy by being holy at work? Of course the answer is yes, although not easy. The workplace is not a place (unless you are so fortunate to work somewhere where the open sharing of your faith is accepted and welcomed) where you usually feel comfortable expressing your faith, bowing your head to pray over your lunch, reading your Bible on break, or saying a prayer with someone else. Most workplaces aren't opposed to any of that, but it is not encouraged because most companies think there should be separation from work and religion. The legal issues alone that come from discrimination from one religious group to another causes companies to shy away from the topic all together. But we can't just shut off our relationship with God and ask Him to sit home or go spend time with someone else while we go to the office. Instead we have to have find a way to remain in fellowship, prayerful and holy while the work day moves along. We are given a simple call in I Thessalonians on how to remain holy by subtracting and denying another part of our life. We are told in Chapter 4, verse 7: "God has called us to be holy, not to live impure lives". Simply said, if we can remove the impurities of our lives, at work too, and strive to live a life of purity, then we are tracking towards living a holy life. So, what we can all do is commit ourselves in the mornings when we head to the office to a day without impurity, a day where we will do our best to do right. If we can start there and string together 8-10 hours, day after day, then we are building a foundation of purity and a foundation of holiness. And before long, we will find that one can be wholly holy at work and thus living our lives more fully overall.

Reference: I Thessalonians 4:7

day 47: Heart Of The Matter

Core to the way we live and work is our ability to assess other people and ferret out who is who and what is what when it comes to people. At work we end up doing it continuously with interviewing, bringing on new members of our teams, getting a new boss or transfer subordinate, meeting a new external partner, or evaluating a new vendor, etc. Being able to make good people assessments and decisions is part and parcel to success in the workplace. I would argue that most times, it is this ability that separates the great from the good. So, we get trained and we come to our own assessment process whether it is formal or informal. At the end of the day we more often than not will choose to like those people who are most like our selves. That can be good and that can be bad. I have spent most of my career with a focus on becoming great at spotting, attracting and promoting talent. The number of people I have personally interviewed is in the thousands for sure. And even then, after all of these years, it is still an art for me, not a science. So, still today I look for the better ways to be able to assess people and talent. God gives us a word on what is really important about people. Of course, we are not God and so we are not capable nor are we to think that we can judge other people, but the example that God gives us in the book of Samuel does say something to us about what is really important about people. We are told in I Samuel 17:7: "But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Think for a moment how differently we would assess and evaluate people who are looking to join the company or the team if we were capable of looking beyond the outer appearance and instead be able to delve into what is in someone’s heart like the Lord can do. We know that we can’t see into someone’s heart, but we can surely, through the way we assess and question, get past the superficial things and get to the core of who someone is and who they want to be. We can spend our time and energy with someone around their values, principles and dreams. It has been my experience that we want to work with, hang with, and go to battle with, those who are aligned with our own values, principles and dreams. In fact, we can be very, very different in our personalities, our experiences and our approaches, but if we are aligned at the core with each other, that it all works out to the best. Might today or this week be a time when you are going to be assessing someone else on behalf of the company or for some other reason outside of work? Would this be a good time to change your approach and spend more time trying to get to the heart of the conversation, to the heart of the person, to what is really, really important?

Reference: 1 Samuel 16:7, (New Living Testament)

day 46: It Should Have Been Me!

You were passed over for the big promotion. You didn’t get to go on the business trip. The project was given to someone else. The sales territory was split up and you lost out on the best accounts. The boss just pays way more attention to others than to you. You have been in the same position much longer than everyone else. You are sure that you make less money than everyone else at your level. How many of these are real and how many are just “work ghosts” that keep showing up and tormenting you? What are these all about? At the root, it is easy to be jealous and envious at work. The whole system is set up to pit one person against another where someone wins and someone is left out, passed by or just the loser. We are not to be envious or jealous. Both of these are emotions that can get in between our relationship with God. We are to do whatever we need to do to not allow ourselves to slip into these states or mind. The Proverbs tell us how bad this can be as jealousy is described as “cancer in the bones”. I have never known anyone who has had bone cancer but I am told that it is one of the most painful of all cancers with every move putting pressure and strain on one’s bones. It is not a pretty picture. In the same verse, we are also told that a removal of those things in our heart that does not promote peace and allows for our hearts to be peaceful, that we can expect a healthy body in return. As we look at the things at work that we find ourselves feeling jealous or envious about, we need to do what we can to remove these instigators and replace them with those thoughts and things that can promote a peaceful heart. Today, call on God to show you the things in work that are getting under your skin and ask Him for His help to put these aside as the unimportant things in life.

Reference: Proverbs 14:30 (New Living Testament)

day 45: Godly At Work?

I hear it all the time, “it’s so hard to be ‘Godly” at work”. When I hear it from others, I reflect upon my own work life and cringe at the memories of how I handled myself on many occasions and the poor example that I many times set. I also lament that my example might have hurt the cause of someone else who was trying harder than me to be more Godly and then they would see me and feel let down. When we are so emotionally and physically intertwined with other people for the hours we are when we are working we can easily slip into the ways and the words of others. I always marveled when someone senior would come into the company and before long, the words that person used became the words of their subordinates and before long their peers. I once worked with a person whose favorite phrase was, “I don’t disagree” and before long everyone said the same thing. There was nothing outwardly wrong about that phrase (other than it sneaked in a passive aggressiveness into the culture and before long no one ever disagreed outright) but it was a great example of how we become chameleons at work and can find ourselves sharing the words and behaviors that wouldn’t normally be ours. I also know that those words and behaviors from work then creep into home. So, what are we to do? What if we try and try but still can’t seem to keep ourselves above the temptations and the fray? What we have to do is quit trying to go it alone and instead ask God to do His work on us as we go to work. If we allow ourselves to receive the power that God has covered us with then we can find enough of that power to keep ourselves Godly when we are working. In 2 Peter 1:3, we are told just this: "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life...". Today, think through how you can let God give you that power so that today, day by day, you can find yourself living a Godly life…at work!

Reference: 2 Peter 1:3 (New Living Testament)

day 44: But, It's Only Work...

Since it is only work and not some form of formal ministry or “calling” we tend to think that God doesn’t want us to bother Him with the tedious details of our work lives. It just can’t be that important and why would we have to bring our work issues to God? Isn’t He more interested in soul-saving or issues that affect those in pain, need, or suffering? So, we try to humanly muscle through our 40 hours a week and then we wonder why God isn’t rewarding and fulfilling us in our work. If we expect God to intervene without us bringing our work challenges to Him, then we need to readjust our expectations and expect human results. We have to include God in our work lives as He wants us to do so. We are given this word in Psalms 32:2:"The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives." What a tremendous promise to know that God delights in every detail of our lives, including the details of the work we do. So, today you can drive to the office knowing that God wants to be there with you as you balance the books, make that sale, mill that part, fix that machine, prepare that presentation and make that decision, whether it be big or small. Don’t take this wrong, God doesn’t care about the result, He cares about us. He wants to be our best friend and like a best friend is there to hear our worries, our fears, our achievements and our dreams, God wants to be right there with us at work in real time. If you allow Him into the details of your life today, He will be delighted and you can know that He is there with you in any situation you face.

Reference: Psalms 32:2 (New Living Testament)

day 43: Lifted Up

In the Psalms, David is such an inspiration. He seems to almost always have the right word for the right time. David was a worker before he was a king. He worked in the fields as a shepherd and learned a skill the hard way, through experience. When we are mired down in the muck and mire of work and we feel like we are caught in a pit, that pit can easily feel like a pit of despair. At work it can be the smallest of things that put us in this mood and feeling. Why such a little thing like an errant word in an email, or a phone call not returned, or not being invited to a meeting can create a feeling of loss or hurt? These are the little things that, for some reason take on a life of their own and can quickly turn into an all consuming issue. When this happens we can quickly lose our perspective and instead of looking at our problems from the top of the mountain top of confidence, we look up and out of our pit of despair and the issues just get worse and worse by the minute. So what are we to do? While many things at work can be managed and handled through our own skills and experiences, there are many things that we need to turn over to God and let Him work it through for us. Psalms 40:2 gives us a clear example of what God can do for us. David says. "He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along." This is the God who comes to work with us day in and day out. He doesn't need to swipe an access card to come to hang with us at work. All he needs is the invitation from us to join us in the pit and meet us in the mud and mire. If we are willing to invite Him to take over and help us through the challenges we face we will find ourselves finding the solid footing that we once had. Can you take God to work with you so that He can lift you up?

Reference: Psalm 40:2 (New Living Testament)

day 42: Quiet Confidence

Is there someone you know who exudes a quiet confidence? They don’t have to say it, but you just know that they are confident in who they are, what they stand for, and the positions that they take. We all know these types of people. They are the quiet lions of the work world. You sense and know their presence when they are in the room. The people who I know who are that strong are role models who others look toward when everyone else is scrambling and shaking. How is it that they are such a solid rock? One way to find that inner confidence is to follow the words of Isaiah 30:15 as he provides how to build one’s inner and spiritual strength: “The Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says, ‘Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength”. God says that in our most difficult of times we are to return to Him and then in our faith we are to remain quiet and confident. The evangelist, David Wilkerson, writes on this scripture. He translates the word “quiet” in Greek to mean, “Repose”. Repose means to be calm and under control. The message here is that we can’t create our own confidence and quietness, but what we can do is strengthen our faith and then let our faith play out as we become more confident and as we wait on Him in quietness, we will find the right spirit and words. In our work lives we are being watched for how we handle those tense and stressful situations. Others expect us to hold ourselves strongly and calmly and to not let ourselves to become caught up in the war of words or taking on an attitude. Today is a great day to ensure that we are right with God spiritually as we face the challenges at work. If we can begin to give over to Him those things we cannot handle ourselves and wait on Him, then we will find that internal quiet and confidence that can become a life signature.

Reference: Isaiah 30:15 (New Living Testament)

day 41: Running In The Halls - part 3: Discipline and Training

"This job will be the death of me", he said as he pulled out of the parking lot at 10:30pm for the third time this week. The race we run with our work is a long one. The way careers are set up we can expect to spend most of our adult lives working. We do this day after day, sometimes closer to seven days a week than we want. We subtract hours from other parts of our lives, like sleep and family time, and add them to our work days. We do this month after month and year after year until one day we hit a wall and say we just can't take it any longer. It is a long and grueling race and if we were able to step back from it and see the size of the hills in front of us we would probably think differently about how we approach our work. But, trying to gain that perspective is nearly impossible, so we do out best and we slug through day by day, giving it our all, running the race the best we can. We have been exploring what Paul had to say about how to win the race of life and faith and how to finish strong for our Lord. We have applied the principles that he describes about knowing the goal/objective and focus and on how to get to the finish line. He also says in verse 27 of I Corinthians Chapter 9; "I discipline my body like an athlete, training to do what it should". I like this statement because I believe that much of the success any of us have at anything we strive to achieve comes from the preparation we do before the task. I believe it was Billy Martin, the controversial but heralded coach of the New York Yankees in the 1970's, who said, "The World Series is won in spring training". He was saying that the finish line and how the we finish is all in how we prepare, discipline and train ourselves. We can run a strong race at work if we also adopt this attitude and we begin today to train and discipline ourselves for the future and the work ahead of us. We can be stronger and have more endurance if we think of our physical bodies as the tool that allows us to operate day in a day out at our highest productivity. How we eat, sleep and exercise can make a difference. And, how strong we are spiritually before the crisis hits lets us be prepared for the times when we will be tested emotionally and physically. If we begin each day in training, both physically and spiritually, and we stay disciplined to be strong in both areas, we will stand a much better chance of completing the long race, winning along the way, and knowing that when we finish we will have finished well.

Reference: I Corinthians 9:27 (New Living Testament)

day 40: Running In The Halls - part 2: Straight Ahead

"It's a rat race around here". Ever heard that statement? What picture does it conjure up? When I hear that statement I think of a maze with two rats being let loose into the entrance and off they go working their way from one side of the other to get the cheese. Or, I see two rats running after each other, running in circles and swerves trying to catch each other. Minus the rats part, (or not minus, depending on where you work), the picture of running around like crazy or running around a maze can feel just like the office. We so many times feel like we are chasing and going from thing to thing without purpose or definition that we end up feeling like we have wasted time and energy until it just wears us down. We then wonder why we are not springing out of bed in the morning to get to work. As mentioned yesterday, Paul gives us his tips to winning the race for life and not only does he tell us to run the race to win, he also says to run with discipline and focus. In verse 26 of I Corinthians 9 he says, "So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches". What Paul was modeling for us was efficiency and productivity in reaching a goal and purpose, because we can straighten out the line between two points. When we feel like we are in the rat race at work, a place to start to fix is determining where it is that you are trying go and get very specific on that goal and purpose and "straighten out" the corners and angles that get in your way. And when at work we meander and wander and lose that purpose of why we are here in the first place, we can end up in a maze that takes us quite a bit of time to exit at the goal. The straightening out of work can happen when we part ways with those that drag us down or cause issues for the sake of causing issues, or it might be adjusting our own emotions to filter out the negative attitudes within ourselves that so often can creep in. And, it might be that we need to start afresh today with getting down to business and not spending that extra time worrying or talking about what it is that things should be, but are out of our control. There is a great feeling about finishing a race strong. The same can happen today at work for you by setting your goals and purpose for the day and running straight towards that goal keeping the distractions away until the goal is achieved. A day where on he way home you can feel great about what was achieved is a GREAT day!

Reference: I Corinthians 9:26

day 39: Running In The Halls - part 1: Focus

"How are things at work?", you are asked. The reply rolls off of your tongue easily. "I'm running around like crazy, trying to get everything done". It's a familiar feeling isn't it? So much to do, not enough time to get it all done. The metaphor for running around is an apt one. But are we running to a goal, to finish a race, or to win a prize, or are we just running up and down the halls metaphorically because everyone around us is doing the same and we aren't sure if we are getting anywhere at all? It's so easy to fall into this trap and find ourselves day after day in a full out sprint but not sure of the location of that elusive finish line, if there is one at all. While Paul, in I Corinthians 9:24-27, was talking about the "run of life" and how we are to race for the finish line for the prize to be with Jesus, he is also describing to us how it is that a runner wins any race of life. If we chunk down the different portions of our lives, like work as a significant chunk, the lesson he gives us can also help us win the races that we run at work, each and every day. The first lesson he gives us that we must run in a way to win, not to just run for the sake of running. For exercise, I am a distance runner and I understand what he is saying completely. When I run without a goal or an objective, I do not run the same. I am more likely to not push myself and to not actually improve. When I know I have a goal, which would be my personal race to win, then I train differently. I train in a disciplined fashion, which makes me better. Paul talks about the way to win the race is to first run to win, not to just show up. How we conduct ourselves at the office and live our worklife is a large part of the life race that we run. How we get our work done and balance it within our lives is also a part of the race. The example of working and living in a Christlike manner is part of the race of life. So, today, instead of running up and down the halls without purpose, can you chunk down the day into the things that are most important to accomplish and then also think about "how" it is that you will accomplish those goals as you work with others and affect how they feel about this day of work? Can you lay all of this out today to God and ask Him to help you run this race well, with a "W" in the win column when you leave the office today? Let's have a win today, regardless if a big or small race because we were able to focus on why we are running the race. Tomorrow, more of how Paul says we can win the race.

Reference: I Corinthians 9:24-27 (New Living Testament)

day 38: Motion Offense

It's time for the big decision. Everyone is looking to you to be the one who can save the day and what you come up with is going to be the for sure answer. The deal will only happen because of your negotiation prowess. We will only get this account because you always know what the right thing is to say at the right time to bring the account across the finish line. The machine will only start back up because you have the knowledge to diagnose the problem. We will only get this funding if you can do like you always do, and convince them to give us the next round. None of these examples are any pressure at all, are they? Who are we kidding, these can feel like work life or work death decisions and points in time. And, it is only worse when our necks are out there, and down deep inside, we aren't sure we have the right answer, decision, or direction. What do we do then? That is when we follow Solomon's advice in Proverbs 15:22 and we reach to as many people as we trust to give us counsel. He says specifically, "Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many counselors bring success". I grew up in Indiana, and during that time, there was a guy named Bobby Knight who coached the Indiana University basketball program. Coach Knight ran what he called the "motion offense". What that meant was that when on offense, the ball and the players were always in motion until the ball and a player was in the best spot to take the highest percentage makeable shot. My basketball coach ran the same offense and like Coach Knight, if the ball didn't change hands at least four times before a shot was taken, he would sit down the shooting offender. This is what Solomon was saying, we need to find the players/counselors around us who we can pass the ball to multiple times before we take the shot, before we make the big decision. Do you have your counselors in place? Are you in the habit of seeking their advice and counsel and passing the ball to them before you take the shot? Proverbs says that many counselors will bring success. Today would be a good day to begin getting them in place and to start practicing your own work version of the motion offense.


Reference: Proverbs 15:22 (New Living Testament)

day 37: Met Needs

The Israelites wandered around the desert for 40 years. When Moses exhorts his people to remember and obey the almighty God, he had to point out some of the most basic things to the people to get them to realize that while they were in the desert that God did indeed remember them and watched over them, meeting their most basic needs. Not only did God provide food in the form of manna and water from rocks, he also provided for them in other supernatural ways for their basic needs. In Deuteronomy 8:4, Moses points out to them, "For all these forty years your clothes didn't wear out, and your feet didn't blister or swell". Those are the most basic of needs, beyond food and water, if you are going to be lost in the desert. They had their clothes and they could walk to travel. What I find most fascinating about this is God's attention to detail when it comes to our needs. God doesn't waste his time on the superficial things, He gets right to the heart of matters and establishes a way for the baseline needs to be met. And, in this example, He did it even though the people couldn't recognize the miracle that was occuring. I love it, a miracle that no one notices and had to be pointed out later. What this verse tells me is that we can depend on God to provide for all of our basic needs, no matter our situation. Sometimes at work it feels like we are wandering in our own desert and not sure where to turn or what to do next. Could it be that God is allowing us to live that test and all He wants us to do is recognize that He is there with us providing for our needs and that is the confidence we need to break through and find what it is that He wills to happen? We are given talents that God is wanting to put to work at work. Today, let's not worry about our needs and let's turn those over to Him and allow ourselves to work within His will and glory. I suspect that that feeling of wandering and worrying might just change when you hand the needs back over to Him.

Reference: Deuteronomy 8:4 (New Living Testament)

day 36: C'mon, Get Happy!

Bobby McFerrin sang, "Don't worry, be happy!". That song became a huge hit because it struck the chord we all want to have inside of us; no worry and all happiness. Well, isn't that what we are supposed to be allowing our faith to generate? So, why is it that we can feel this way with a number parts of our lives but when it comes to work, it is just the opposite; "Worry, don't be happy"? Sure, we want our work to be enjoyable and we want to find joy in it, but as we have discussed before, work was not given to us originally as a gift (thanks Adam), but that doesn't mean that we can't and shouldn't strive to find happiness in how we put our talents to use to build, sell, market, support, or create. That happiness is within reach and we will feel more fulfilled and whole at our jobs if we can find that chord. After Solomon had gotten done telling us in Ecclesiastes how questionable work was, he goes on to tell us in Chapter 3:22; "So I say that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why they are here! No one will bring them back from death to enjoy life in the future". I find these words inspiring. I also take these words to make me want to change my attitude on the rough and tumble days. I also know these words to be true as many a family or relationship falls apart at home because someone is unhappy at work and they carry that unhappiness and frustration that comes with it back into the household. As much as the consultants teach, "check the office at the door", it is so much easier said than done. Maybe it is a set of small and surmountable frustrations at work that are keeping you from being happy. Today would be the day to take the serenity prayer to work with you. Go after changing those things that are burrs under the saddle that you can change, and just let go the other stuff that is above your pay grade or out of your sphere of influence. You can't change it all overnight, but start today with a little change. Enough of these and they will add up and happiness might sneak back into your cubicle.


Reference: Ecclesiastes 3:22 (New Living Testament)

day 35: Accusations

Yesterday, I wrote about taking credit and boasting where neither is warranted. It is a part of being dishonest at work. There is another dishonesty that happens at work and that is when things aren't going so well. This is when there is blame to pass around for something that went wrong like when the customer is upset, a report was incorrect, a sale fell through, a person quits because he/she was upset with how they were treated, a part fails, or a presentation wasn't ready in time. You know the drill. The boss or person of authority comes looking for rear ends to kick and chew. And we all know certain people who no matter the problem, they will not stand up and take accountability for themselves and instead will pass it off on someone else. They look like Teflon on the surface but inside they are being dishonest and falsely accusing others for blame when they should be standing up and taking it themselves. This is almost such a common decency and baseline treating of others that it doesn't need a Biblical reference to convince the point, but the reference is there when Luke in Chapter 3 of the same named book, describes what it was that John the Baptist came to preach as he was preparing the way for Jesus. In verse 14 of Chapter 3, John the Baptist responds to a group of soldiers who were asking how they should live their lives. He said to them to be sure that they were fair financially and not extort others and also "don't accuse people of things you know they didn't do". In that time, if a soldier was to falsely accuse someone of something they didn't do it could lead to death. Fortunately, in our country that doesn't happen at work, but there can certainly be a deathly emotional outcome each time someone is falsely accused at work. It doesn't take but a few times to have the false blame come your way that you don't want to be at that job any longer and you feel "run out". For that reason alone, we all need to choose our words carefully and be very, very sure before we pass along any blame on anyone so we not take the chance that we are falsely accusing. Better yet, it is better to stand up and take a part of the blame and instead of allowing the witch hunt to continue, change the conversation to how we ensure it never happens again, before someone else gets dragged in rightly or wrongly. When we are willing stand tall for our actions and results, we stand along with the example of one who was willing to give His all when He was wrongly accused.

Reference: Luke 3:14 (New Living Testament)

day 34: No Boasting Allowed

There is the old adage; "Oh, what a tangled web we weave". That line could be repeated a hundred times a day at work. Work is the easiest of places to tell the white lie, cover up an issue, fudge a number, point a false finger and worst of all take a little extra credit for something that we really didn't do all that much, if anything. Where you hear this the most is from the subordinates who actually did the work. No one hates it more than when the boss takes the credit. The next worst is when a co-worker steps forward and takes the applause. I have always felt that when it is going right, it should be impossible to have an academy awards type of event at work where one person would get the credit for a big project or success. It is never just one person. There is always a supporting cast who should be getting the same, if not more credit. How tempted are we at work to take a little credit for things that weren't all ours to boast about? If this is something that creeps up on you every now and then, then I encourage you to look to the Psalms in Chapter 12, Verse 3 where David talks about what he prays should happen to those who boast, about anything. He says that the Lord should cut out the tongue of a boastful person. That is pretty harsh, but you can see where he is coming from. Think how hurtful and divisive it is when someone is boastful. I know many a person who does this and no one wants to be on their team or work for them. No one wants to do anything for them as they know that they will take all the credit. When faced with the question, "who did this?", today I would encourage you to begin with all the other people and then add your name last, that is if you actually were a part of the success that wants to be recognized. If you can become known as one who passes credit around and would be the last person in the room to boast about yourself, you will be setting a purposeful and Kingdom example.


Reference: Psalms 12:3 (New Living Testament)

day 33: Produced Fruit

When we hire someone into a job we are basically crossing our fingers and hoping that the interview and assessment process works and that the person will be all that we want him/her to be. And, there is no day more so than someone’s first day when they will receive the highest regard and have the highest potential and expectations place on them. From day two on it will all be about the results they achieve and how they achieve those results. That is the way we are all evaluated at work. Someone got it mixed up when they thought that work was about having a place to go and do the least to be done to get by without regard to how others feel about how we do our job, get a paycheck and go home content and assured that the job will be there tomorrow and the next day. If there ever were those days, they are long gone. Today, we live in a performance-based work world where the expectations on us are raised each day. So, what you did yesterday is not good enough for tomorrow. This doesn’t have to be a negative. In fact, this is all within our control. Jesus gave us the parable in Matthew and its fruit. He was speaking of how we are to beware of false prophets and those who say they believe but don’t act or live so. He goes onto talk about how a tree that doesn’t produce fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, it is a reach to take this parable and bring it into the workplace, but part of our everyday way we live is how we live in our work and what we produce is under scrutiny in both the earthly and spiritual realms. The point here is that we have a choice in what kind of tree we want to be. We can choose to be a tree that produces fruit and results or we can choose to not be, and take the consequences. The fruit is not only "what" but also "how". And, so much of our spiritual journey on earth has to do with how we treat others and live our lives. It is the how as much as it is the what. Jesus says in Matthew 7:20 says that we can be identified by what it is we produce; “Yes, the way we identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced”. We have control over the type of fruit and results we will produce. While we have that control shouldn’t we do some self-introspection and pruning to be sure that we are producing at the level and abundance that we, and God, wants us to be producing?



Reference: Matthew 7:20 (New Living Testament)

day 32: If It Comes Too Easy...

We have all seen deals that are just too good to be true and just look too easy. It’s easy to decide if they are too good to be true or not. If they seem to be so, then the truth is that they are going to be a problem. In the United States in the late 1990’s, the mantra for those graduating from college was, “Get in, get stock options, get rich and get out”. Silicon Valley became the contemporary, “Go west, young man!” destination. And now years later we see many of those companies, unraveled and gone and many of their leaders living less than fulfilled lives and some even doing so behind bars. Why is it that we know that if something seems too easy to obtain wealth from it, that it can’t be good, but we still either romanticize the situation to becoming convincing or we are just lured right into the web? I don’t think it is because we are inherently lazy, but rather that we are opportunistic and we believe that we can make something great from anything. It is in our nature. But we need not look further than in Proverbs 13:11 for the warning to heed, “Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows.” So, if the deal or offer you hear today just seems too good to be true, put it aside and get back to work. The hard work you do day-in and day-out pays off. The wealth that is accumulated from hard work feels earned and as we know from our adolescent years, those things that are earned are more appreciated. So, the money earned from hard work will likely be more appreciated and stewarded more carefully. We should feel good about the hard work we do and allow ourselves to appreciate the earnings that come from that labor. So, be wary of that “offer of a lifetime”. It can come in the form of an investment, a presented deal negotiation term, or even a new job offer. There are no things that are good that come too easy, so be wary and listen to the Proverb when confronted with one of these opportunities.


Reference: Proverbs 13:11 (New Living Testament)

day 31: Outward Interest

What is it about work that makes it so all-consuming? From a particular project to complete, a sales account to be landed, a problem to be solved, a part to be repaired, to a presentation or report to be given, we can find ourselves heads down and so self-engrossed in what we are doing that we miss everything else that is going on around us. I have more than once in my career given feedback to others about how they are not perceived as a team player and at the root of the problem was that they were more concerned about themselves and what they were responsible for, than they were concerned, or even cared for others around them. So, it was not unusual for them to be thought of as a solo type of person. The typical consequences were that they were not sought out by others to be friends or close associates. I found that the go-it-alone people were usually the people who were less likely to stay in one company long and they never seemed happy at work. Paul tells us to not be this way. In Philippians 2:4 he says, “Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others too, and what they are doing”. I knew a very popular CEO who would just drop into someone’s office or cubicle and say nothing more than, “tell me what you are working on”. Oh, if I could only adequately express to you the look on people’s face when he would do this. There was an immediate uplifting of the person’s face and spirit as they talked about what they were working on and described in detail their successes and challenges. From them beamed a pride in their work. And where did all of this come from? It came from a simple question that was posed because someone else was taking interest in them. How much more effective leaders would be if they would start their days with interest in what others on their team were doing? I believe that this outward interest in others is one of the more powerful forces that could be instilled in the workplace. Morale would palpably improve just by looking outward versus always inward. We already know that we like people who are interested in us, so why not reciprocate and bring that attitude to work today? Instead of holing up in the office, conference room or cubicle and focusing on your own things today, why not take some time early in the day to drop in on a few people and sit down with them and ask them what they are up to and with sincere interest listen to them. With more of this and less of ourselves, we might find that work not only becomes more interesting for ourselves, but also that others take more interest in what you are doing too. And, when that happens then who knows who your next best friend at work might be?


Reference: Philippians 2:4 (New Living Testament)

day 30: Impressions

We are taught from the time we are first walking and talking that the impressions we make on others is one of the most important intangible assets we have. Whether it be mom or dad or a teacher, we heard, “you only have one chance to make a first impression” and that first impression was worth a great deal. And that surely carries right into the workplace. From the first impression to obtain the job or to attain the promotion, we work to manage the impression that others have us. While on the surface, there is nothing wrong with that, and in fact, in the work world where we have counter forces working against to diminish the impression of us while others put themselves ahead, we have to somewhat manage the impression that others have of us. It would be naïve to think that in all cases that we can, without restraint, be ourselves. There are times for a more mature you than you might want to be and there are times for a more optimistic and cheerful you than what you feel at the moment. So, we all manage our impression. But, Paul says in Philippians 2:3 that we are to not be selfish; and we are not to live to make a good impression on others. I had to process this for awhile to understand what he was saying. Why wouldn’t it be right to try and give others a good impression of ourselves? Aren’t we more able to have a greater impact on others if their impression is favorable? At work, this always seemed to be true. We depend on a favorable of impression of ourselves preceding us when we walk into a meeting with others we don’t know that well. Certainly the opposite can be disastrous. So, how far are we off base if we try and create a positive impression? The key to what Paul was saying was the first part of the sentence when he said, “we are not to be selfish and not to live to try and make the best impression". If we are selfish and we are living, or being all consumed and obsessed in the impression we make on others, then we are not being cognizant and considerate of others. It means we would be self-obsessed and that attitude is not what we are to possess. So, I take Paul to not not want us to make a good impression on others, but to do so in the spirit that will be one of concern to others and those around us, and let the good impression that we make from that spirit and attitude be the one that precedes us. If we start with being selfless and let ourselves flow from that place, then it would be hard to not make just a good impression, but the best of all impressions.


Reference: Philippians 2:3 (New Living Testament)

day 29: Who's Better Than Me?

I worked many a year and I don’t think I can remember a day that I rose and on my way to the office, I said to myself, “Today, I am going to work really hard at ensuring that others get ahead of me”. It’s just not the way that work is structured. Organizational hierarchy has only one box at the top of the pyramid and so on and so on. So, instead it is ingrained in us to reach for the top and to get there, with or without regard to the others we work. It’s not malicious or mean-spirited, but it is just the way it is. But, as we find purpose in our work, we are to think of ourselves differently. In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul says to us that we are to think about others as better than ourselves. Yes, you read that correctly, we are to put others in front of ourselves and Paul didn’t say, “…other than at work”. No, we are to adopt this spirit of humility in all that we do, including work. I find this not only a formidable challenge but also as one that runs so counter to what we face day-in and day-out that the only way we can live up to this challenge is to draw deeply on our faith and believe that if we work as Paul describes that we can still succeed and advance in our careers. But, if we take heed of Jesus’ words how we finish up on the organization chart has no forbearance on how we will receive our eternal rewards. So, it is a no lose proposition, we are to put others in front of ourselves and let the rest of it work itself out. I know, it is not easy, but what in life and work is? Remember, nothing worth good is easy. So, today, take that humility pill and allow yourself to put others in front of you and wait for the rewards.


Reference: Philippians 2:3-4 (New Living Testament)

day 28: Complainers

Okay, let's just stipulate that there is always going to be something or many things we don't like about our work. Could be that we don't like our boss, our office, our co-workers, our tasks, our commute, or just about anything. It's just the way it is that we aren't going to like everything about our job. So, the real question is what are we supposed to do about those things we don't like? Of course, we are to do our best to change what we don't like and make our work the best it can be, but, it is how we go about that change that can make us, as believers, different from others. Stop for a moment and think with me, do you know someone at work who all the time is complaining? You know, the person who seems as though he/she are just down on about everything and every other word out of their mouth is a complaint? I once counseled one of these people and when he came to me for the umpteenth time about the same issue and complaints and he said, "this is never going to change!", I said, "Sam, do you really believe that it is not going to ever change?". He emphatically said, "Yes, it is never going to change". So my return was, "If you really believe that then why don't you accept your belief and quit complaining about it, or tell me that it is so important to you that you go ahead and resign over it. Is it that important?". To that he told me it was not really that important after all and accepted the fact that his constant complaining over the issue was not really doing him or anyone else any good. He was not smiling when he left my office, but I believe that he was a little more content with himself, and I can restedly assure you that everyone else who he worked with was happier by measures. God gives us a word about complaining in Numbers 11:1; "The people soon began to complain to the Lord about their hardships; and when the Lord heard them, his anger blazed against them." God, doesn't want us to be complainers. He doesn't mind if we are prayers and bring our petitions to him, but complaining for the sake of complaining, just doesn't cut it with God and it is real drag on others around usin work who have to listen to the complaints and get drug involuntarily into the emotions of the issue. It's worth a try to see if today you can be complaint free. I like to say to others when they ask me how I am doing, "that I have no complaints". And if they listen to that response, I follow it up with, "complaining is only reinforcing a problem to myself and that doesn't do me any good at all". So, see if today you can be complaint free at work and see how that fits. You might just like the way it feels.

day 27: Know It Alls

The last two days have been about creating harmony at work and what our responsibility is in making that happen. One way we can create disharmony is when we get on the wrong side of others because we think we know better, or worse yet, because we think we "know it all". Work is funny that way because most of the reward mechanisms are geared to always be ready to have an answer and if you don't know it all then there must be a problem. It is a hard thing at work to say, "I don't know". But, as we all know a "know it all" person gets pretty hard to deal with over time. Before long, there is no debate to be had with them and the "know it all" turns into the "always right". "Know it alls" also come across as having lots of ego and priding themselves over others. Romans 12:16 completes itself with Paul saying, "...And don't think you know it all". Paul understood that people who try and prove that know everything there is about anything and try to act intellectually superior will not be the people that others admire, look up to, or want to follow. This would not be a good way to be as an example of a follower of Jesus. If we are live in harmony as Paul has challenged us to do, then we need to check our egos and smarts at the door and recognize that others may have the answer too and that if we listen to them we will learn things we don't already truly know. Today, there will likely be a circumstance where you can either listen and let others express their position and thoughts or you can butt in and be the "know it all". When that challenge comes, see if you can hold back and then see if things don't feel more harmonious around you. You just might be surprised how it feels different.


Reference: Romans 12:16 (New Living Testament)

day 26: Company We Keep

Yesterday, we talked about harmony in the workplace and the areas that each of us can watch and know about ourselves to ensure that we are doing our part to keep harmony. One of the areas that Paul speaks about in Romans 12:16 is the company that we keep. He says, "Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people". While this seems a simple statement and one that is not that profound, it does have major implications to how we conduct ourselves at work. Work is one of the most cliquish environments I know. Everything is set up for cliques to be created. There are departments, groups, pay grades or bands, titles, office configurations, etc. Ever notice how people of the same title and pay grades hang together at work? If you haven't just check out the lunch room today and take notice of who eats with who at what tables. It becomes pretty obvious very fast. One of the way that we can model a believer's life is by taking Paul's advice and be conscious at work about who we hang with and not let either pride or our title or responsibilities interfere with ensuring that we know and spend time with everyone in the company and we don't slip into our own little world of work friends. It's not that easy to do as it takes time and effort to know lots of people and spend time with everyone, but it is worth it as you will be known as the friend to all and with that comes a welcoming and respect. And when the time comes for harmony to be challenged at work, you may find that you become the bridge of peace between groups and people. What a fantastic reputation that would be. So, today, branch out from your normal set of people at lunch and invite others to join you. Start today and keep it going and I know you will pleased with the results.


Reference: Romans 12:16 (New Living Testament)

day 25: Harmony

Yesterday, we spent time on resolution of conflicts in the workplace. Let's stay with that theme for another day and expand it to how we work with each other to get the the best from our ourselves and others. The best selling business book by Pat Lencioni; The Five Temptations of a CEO, describes one of the fatal temptations of a CEO being the quest to keep harmony in the workplace. While on the surface and in the context of his book, the point is a good one, I have also been in too many workplaces where what is really needed, is a big dose of harmony. You have seen it too where companies, teams, departments, or in groups where it is always a constant fight among individuals and constant politicking. So much so that the politics of the organization take over the culture and there is no harmony other than the harmony that everyone is political. This does not make for a fun or purposed workplace and it becomes nearly impossible for an individual to feel as she or he can rise to their full potential and purpose in that environment. In Romans, 12:16, Paul is clear though that we are to strive for harmony. He says bluntly, "Live in harmony with each other.". It can be done, but it means that each of us have to dig deep into our souls and see if we are a part of the problem. If we are a part of the politics or the division of people and objectives, then we need to find a way to rise above the fray and become leaders of a different way. Each workplace has a definition of what harmony could be. That definition can be explored and uncovered by meeting and talking to those who are the best representations of harmony and alignment and staying on task or mission. And, usually, they are the people who everyone wants to work with or for. Can today, you seek out those people in your company and talk to them about how they have achieved this harmony in their team and then bring some of it back to your own team? Can you become an example and role model of how to bring harmony into the company and how to work with each other in a way that everyone can feel good about and be happy? I know you can!

The next two days we are going to take the same verse; Romans 12:16 and discuss how you can ensure that you are not the one who is creating disharmony.

Reference: Romans 12:16 (New Living Testament)

day 24: Resolution

How easy it is at work to have fall outs with co-workers over the most minuscule of things. The work environment, while trying to be a place of common purpose, mission and unified efforts is fraught with opportunities to become disjointed, fractured and misaligned. It's as if everyday there is a scattering force that takes over the minute we get to the office. I often think of it like when we were kids and would play with magnets and as hard as you tried you couldn't get all the magnets to stick together in line because there was always the negative force of the other end pushing away other magnets. And so, we wake up in the morning thinking not only about what we can achieve for the day, but we also think about how are we to overcome the petty fight that is lingering, or the boardroom battle that is looming, or the argument with the person who sits next to us. It doesn't make work as fun as it should be, does it? What are we as people of faith to do in these situations? Paul gives us a word in Philippians 2:1-2. He says that there is an encouragement we are to receive from belonging to Christ and that true happiness can be generated by finding a way to work together in agreement, a love for one another and working together with one mind and purpose. Paul wrote his letters to those who were doing ministry work in far-off places. But, his words are just as important for us who are seeking God's purpose in our work and trying to lead a life of example. If we can find a way to be a beacon of unified spirit and harmony in the workplace, then we will become a center of where others come to resolve conflicts and not be the source of conflicts ourselves. A day going into the office with all the arguments and conflicts resolved is a day that will be productive and purposeful. If you have some unfinished business today at work, take the time today to wipe the slate clean and be the leader of that resolution. The rest of the day, and tomorrow, will be better for sure.


Reference: Philippians 2:1-2 (New Living Testament)

day 23: God's Seniority

Many businesses use seniority to determine rankings, privilege, pay, promotion, etc. Others use performance along with tenure. God pretty much throws the whole thing out the window and tells us that we are not to even worry about being important, and in fact the least of us here will the most important in heaven and vice versa. And you may wonder, how are we to reconcile that with the way that our work lives are structured where the only way to get more is to get ahead and that means getting ahead of others? You might be embroiled in this right now. You want that promotion and you are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Even if that means that you don’t play nice in the sandbox with your fellow co-workers. You may not be malicious about it, but sharing a little less information with the competing person or positioning yourself to catch the recognition when it is doled out; well that’s all part of the game, yes? Not according to Him. Jesus says in Matthew 19:30; “But many who seem to be important now will be the least important then, and those who are considered least here will be the greatest then”. What is Jesus saying to us? He’s telling us that when we are worried about progressing and becoming more important here (and taking all of the actions to get to that level of importance) that we are playing for the wrong prize and in fact, we are playing the wrong game all together. God doesn’t really care about whether or not we are a Manager or a Vice President (after having been a CEO, I think he really doesn’t care about that for sure…and that it’s one of the humorous things in life that we can strive to have the top position that is the hardest and most life-sucking position you can imagine) what He cares about is the type of person we are and how we are living and representing Him to others. Sure, God wants us to achieve and be blessed. The Bible is full of His promises to make our lives abundant but He doesn’t want us sacrificing our eternal standing to gain en earthly and temporal position. And really for sure, He doesn’t want us to let the lack of progress here get us down and stop the good works that can happen in us, regardless of our standing or position. So, if not today, sometime soon, you will be faced with “what do I have to do to get ahead here?” Think hard on the question and don’t let the answer be anything that will cause you to lose your humility and grace with which you work. If you do, then you are potentially losing out on God’s seniority ranking and the biggest promotions of your eternity.

Reference: Matthew 19:30 (New Living Testament)

day 22: Yeah, Work Is Hard Too

Yesterday I referenced Proverbs 12:24 and said that leadership demands hard work. Yes it does but let’s face it work is hard as a whole too and the sooner in our work lives that we accept this fact the better off we will be in finding how to realize joy and purpose from the work we do. Where did this work thing start and how did it get to where it can be a burden in our lives? Well, we can go back to the beginning when Adam and Eve got themselves thrown out of God’s Club Med and their idyllic garden spot. Beyond passing down sin to the rest of us, Adam bequeathed to us the curse of hard work. In Genesis Chapter 3 we get the blow by blow and the particular verses of verse 17 ("...I have placed a curse on the ground. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.”) and verse 19 (“All your life you will sweat to produce food, until your dying day”) are pretty grim. But, once you get over it and understand that work is always going to be hard and some days will be excruciating, and that it just comes with this human territory, then you can make sense of it and try to manage work life to more than just a struggle and sweat. Someone once said to me, “I don’t like gravity much either and I would prefer it wasn’t harder every day to get out of bed, but I have learned to live with it”. I like that attitude and I like the recognition that there are times in our life when our work will seem really difficult and the only thing we want to do is pack it in and run away. However, we can draw on the fact that it was all set up for us this way. Hard work was not something we created ourselves. It is not something that we are to shy away from or feel like we are being robbed of life because we have to do it or that we are somehow cursed or being punished or unfairly treated. It is part of our human experience and like gravity; it is something that if we can accept then from it we can make the most. My hope for you today is that you don’t head to the office with the feeling of resentment, or feeling burdened down, but instead that you take these feelings and convert them to a rational realization that the hard work you do today, and tomorrow, and the next day, is just all part of life and that there are blessings that can come your way from how you do your work and how others view your attitude and performance. Can today not be a great day that you feel uplifted with what you have in front of you? Sure it can!


Reference: Genesis 3:17-19 (New Living Testament)

day 21: Leading Is Hard Work

Are you a leader at work or wanting to become a leader? In the work world we are in today everyone has a chance to be a leader of something at some point or another. If not a defined leadership role within the company, there are always task forces, improvement projects, group exercises, committees, representation opportunities, etc., to lead. I have been in the middle of the argument about whether leaders or born or made so many times that when it comes up now, I just stand to the side. It’s not an argument worth leading. :)

However, there are some truths about leading that one should know before they decide to take on a leadership mantle and one of them is that leadership is hard work and it takes the willingness to work hard at it if you want to be any good and succeed. Proverbs 12:14 calls it like it is; “Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave”. Now, I don’t think that we need to take it literally that if we don’t work hard we will be enslaved, but what the verse is saying is that if we work hard we can become a leader and to be a leader we have to work hard. And, we have to work harder to become a leader than how hard we will work when we are not in a leadership position. Why I think this is an important lesson is that there are lots of people who feel like leadership is a right instead of an earned privilege and as such they are not willing to do the work that needs to be done and is expected from those who are being led. Have you ever served on a committee where the leader didn’t work hard enough at it, so much so that is was painfully obvious? What happens? More often than not someone else has to pick up the slack and fill the leadership void. When that happens no one feels good about it and ultimately everyone suffers. Today may be a day that you are offered the opportunity to lead. If you choose to do so, know that you will be asked to work hard at it and give it your all. That is what we are supposed to do. And if we do it, then we again set an example of how it is to go above and beyond for others and to go the “extra mile”. Leadership is a privilege that is so many times worth accepting and stepping up to the challenge. My hope for you today is that if you choose to accept the privilege that you go into it with both eyes and arms open and you give it all that you have! There are others who are counting on you to do so.


Reference: Proverbs 12:24 (New Living Testament)

day 20: It’s Not Just About Planning

I am a planner. I learned a long time ago from my Mother that planning ahead makes lots of things go easier. She once told me when I was a kid, “if you lay your clothes out the night before tomorrow will go a lot smoother”. I have never forgotten that lesson so I try and plan as far ahead for things as I can so if something goes awry in the meantime, I have some time to make a course direction or change of plans. However, I have learned that planning is only half the equation. We can plan until the cows come home but then the curve balls of life and uncertainties that come with the day to day can cause us to be blown off-course. It happens all the time and we are caught wondering what happened and what could we have done to have better had our plans succeed. Proverbs 16:3 helps us out here. That verse says, “Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed”. Here is another of those proverbial promises that we are given. I find this an especially strengthening verse because it doesn’t say that we should just commit our plans to the Lord and He will have them succeed. No, it says, “Commit your work” to find the success in our plans. What we do for a living takes on an even greater purpose and importance when we realize that God has His hand in what we do at work. Some people I talk to think this is really stretching it. They say, “What does God really care about the job that I do, when I don’t much care for what I do myself?” You see, that is the point. We are to care and we are to take pride and we are to commit our work to God so that we can be the best representative of the type of work He would do if He was doing the job that we are. The impact we can have on others when they see us taking pride and putting in above and beyond efforts is a walking and living testimony of how He wants us to live our lives. We are given the promise that our planning will succeed if we go the extra step and commit our work to Him. That is if we step back and say, “Lord, what I have been given to do, I will do with all I have to bring glory to you and to reflect as much of you through me and my work as I can, and I commit my work to you” then the plans we have laid out in front of us will and can be achieved. This kind of promise should make all of us want to look at our work through a different and more positive lens. Think about today whether or not you have truly committed your work to God and if you haven’t then see if you can commit today, or things that you are going to do today, to Him and then step out of the way and allow Him to fulfill the promise that will be forthcoming.


Reference: Proverbs 16:3 (New Living Testament)

day 19: Working Our Way Up

Have you every felt like you are in a job or doing a task that is “below you”? Many times in my career I was faced with working with people who didn’t feel like they had to do jobs to ready and prepare themselves. They just thought that they should be able to move directly into a bigger role because they were confident that they had the skills and potential to be successful. But, in most cases, that is not the way it works. The way it works, is that you are asked to “work your way up” and are given experiences and jobs that will prepare you for the bigger ones in the future. This doesn’t sit well with a lot of people and I would venture to say that all of us at one time or another question why it is that we have to wait or clear hurdles to get to the next level. Many times it is for experience and wisdom. While it may appear on the surface that the job grade above us doesn’t look all that hard and for sure, if our boss can do it (said with sarcasm) we can do it too, the fact is that experience is important. Sometimes it is experience that comes from just doing it and knowing the difference between how to do it well or not, or sometimes it is real knowledge that contributes to an ability to be successful. There are many Biblical examples of people being prepared for what it was in life they were to achieve. One of the best examples is found in Psalms 78: 70-72. In this passage we succinctly are told that King David was chosen to be King but not before he had learned as a boy to be a successful shepherd so that he had the skill to shepherd men. Verse 72 says about David; “He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands”. One of the greatest men, leaders and warriors of all time had to do his time in one of the lowliest of jobs as a shepherd so that he could learn how it was to be a skillful leader of men. One could wonder how successful David might not have been if not for the lessons learned in the pastures and hills of Israel. We will all feel at some point as though we are being held back and having to be taught something we don’t feel necessary to learn. In those times, might we not be better off remembering that we are being prepared for something bigger and better and if we allow ourselves to have the learning heart of King David, then we will make the most of the experience and get the most from the learning.


Reference: Psalms 78: 70-72 (New Living Testament)

day 18: Quick and Slow

I once worked with a person who never listened and only talked and usually was the first and last person to talk in a conversation andhe would fill in the middle too. Fact is he was slow to listen and quick to talk. And, we all knew it, adjusted to it, and at the end of the day, didn't like it. He missed out a lot on what others had to say along with their thoughts and ideas. Over time others became so conditioned to never getting a word in otherwise that they stopped bringing up ideas or original thoughts. Meetings became nodding up and down sessions and before long it just wasn't worth it to even try harder with this person. Add on top of it that it didn't take much to light his fuse and have him go off on a tirade. As you can imagine when it got that way no one really wanted to listen to what he had to say either so everyone would basically tune out. I always felt bad for this guy because he missed so much from others and his words became of no impact to others that even when he had something great to say, his words were just lost. We are given in the letter of James a lesson to be just the opposite as the person I have described. James says in Chapter 1, verse 19 - 20; "My dear brothers, take note of this; Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for anger does not not bring about the righteous life that God desires.". To bring about the righteous life God desires we are to control ourselves and our anger and a way to do that is to be quick to listen and slow to speak. I know I have experienced on many occasions that when I start to get frustrated or angry with someone or something that has happened at work, that it was because I just didn't listen to everything that was being said and/or I jumped right into the middle of the conversation and tried to take it over from the person was trying to explain. Just a second or too more and little slower on the words out of my mouth and the situation may not have escalated. But, too quick to talk and too slow to listen will get you in trouble lots of time and can end up in an ugly and angry place. We know that patience is a God thing. It is a gift that we all can learn to practice. As you enter into this day, pray that you can speed up the listening, slow way down the talking and be so slow to anger that it never even materializes. And if you can do this today, you can know that you are walking in the path of righteousness.

day 17: The Big Give: A Samaritan @ Work, part 3

This is the third of a three part entry learning from a session I attended given by Dr. John Hull about the Good Samaritan story (found in Luke 10:25-37). What I am attempting to do is take this lesson and put it to work at work.


After the Good Samaritan made the choice to stop what he was doing, risk his reputation, and dirty and bloody himself all for the help of another, he then made even a larger decision when he decided to bring the man that needed help back into town and share the resources of transportation (a donkey), a bed, clothes and money to get him back on his feet. And most of all, all of this took the most precious resource that any one person has, his time. At work we are not often faced with having to reach into our own pockets to help others, but we are asked all the time to share a budget we have or cut back on our own needs to help out someone else. There are times when we know that helping someone else and giving of our resources is absolutely the right thing to do. There are other times when someone else on the team or in the company is without transportation to and from work and it may be out of our way but we know the right thing to do is offer to give them a ride. And more often than not in the workplace, what someone really needs from us is that precious resource; our time. Making the time to just sit and listen to someone as they tell of their struggles and challenges with their boss, a co-worker, or a project, can be invaluable to them. In the office any of these, or all of these offerings to another person may not seem like a lot to give of ourselves for someone that is hurting, but I can tell you for sure, that when others see someone else give of their time for them, it is perceived as a big give on their behalf. They know that you, and other people are busy. But what is important is that we know that if we are too busy to give ourselves to others who are hurting, then we are just too busy with the wrong things. If the Good Samaritan had been too busy, or not willing to give of himself, then another man may have died. Thank our good Lord that most of us will never face a moment that is that acute. However, are we not being asked to show that same level of compassion and giving in the everyday world we live in, in the everyday work that we do?

Reference: Luke 10:25-37 (New Living Testament)