day 567: Faithful Work

I am often asked, "how we can be faithful within our work?" The answer is the reason that I write Purposed worKING. We are believers and we want to bring glory to God in all that we do and what we do most of all with our time and energy while we are here on earth is work at jobs and at places where faith and God is not a component, conversation, or determining factor of success. It is one of the great paradoxes of life and why God equipped us so well with His Word to use to help us understand how to make the most of being in this world and at the same time being one of His. Books are written on the subject, conferences are held, speakers go around the country and people like me write about it. Work and all that makes up work is relevant to all of us. Jeff Van Duzer, Dean and Professor of business law and ethics at Seattle Pacific University was recently quoted as saying, "God designed humans to work. They are made in his image; God is a worker. And God's work is creative and meaningful." (Dean Duzer has also recently released a book; Why Business Matters to God - And What Still Needs To Be Fixed). The work that we do today and have done throughout our careers and will do for years to come is important in God's plan for you and others. We can never know when the years of being the right example, being faithful to working and living in the light and example of Jesus will give us the moment to share our faith and influence someone else to meet Christ. our work, if we do it right and well, can be God's work. Paul told the Thessalonians; "As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of the Lord Jesus Christ.". Let our work this day and this year, be faithful work!

Reference: 1 Thessalonians 1:3

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