Exhort servants to be obedient to their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; not stealing, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.”
~ Titus 2:9,10

Today (May 1, 2014), Workers’ Day, I celebrate with all workers. I am very thankful to God for a wonderful boss, wonderful colleagues and wonderful children. Today is a public holiday set aside to honor all those whose hard work makes our country as great as it is, and to give the workers recognition and a well-deserved special day of rest.

One of the greatest hindrances to the gospel’s effectiveness is Christians who act one way at church and another way elsewhere. The way we live for God should permeate all areas of life. The workplace is no exception.

The way we act reflects our faith. So if we claim to be Christians, our coworkers, bosses, and employees will equate our attitudes and actions with Jesus. Do those around you at the office see a positive reflection of God in your work ethic?
Let’s look at a scriptural model for the believer to follow. For one thing, we should view ourselves as servants. Next, our true boss is Christ; therefore, we work diligently and with integrity, knowing that our reward is from Him. Then, since all authority on earth is God-given (John 19:11), we should obey our superiors gladly—unless, of course, our boss tells us to do something that goes against Scripture. And finally, all those we work with and for have worth from the Creator, and we should treat them with respect.

Think about how the golden rule—“Do unto others as you’d have others do unto you”—applies here. Putting it a different way, imagine yourself as the boss and ask, How would I like employees to work, even when I wasn’t watching them?
Even when jobs or coworkers are hard to like, we are to work as though God is our boss. That means doing tasks with joy, a servant attitude, respect for others, diligence, and obedience to those in authority. Imagine what the workplace could be if all believers approached their jobs this way.

The opening verses in this post show in capsule form the principles which are to govern the everyday life of a Christian who is an employee and who wants to be a witness for Christ on the job.

A Christian operates on Grace principles. He is gracious. He gives evidence of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. He uses Bible techniques such as Faith-Rest, Walking in Fellowship, Occupation with Christ, to make it through each day producing divine good.

A Christian does his job as though Christ himself were boss – “as unto the Lord.” He does more than a day’s work for a day’s pay. He is the first to arrive and the last to leave. He takes sick leave only when sick. He doesn’t cheat on break time, lunch, etc. He works diligently, cheerfully, enthusiastically, without complaining.

Using Faith-Rest principles, a Christian trusts the Lord for salary, promotion, status. He is aware that only God knows how much prosperity he should have and when he should be promoted. He rejoices when others get ahead as evidence of the grace of God in their lives (even when they don’t deserve it).

A Christian is modest, self-effacing, supportive of others, cooperative. He realizes that he is there to be used by the Lord, not only as an employee, but also as a witness for Christ.

The believer’s personal life, social life, family life are happy and stable so that they enhance his work life rather than hinder him on the job.

He exercises grace principles — recognizes fellow workers as objects of God’s grace, does not bear grudges, forgives readily. Every day is a new day. He does not contribute to office gossip or politics, because he has no need to build his success on someone else’s failure.

He waits patiently for the opportunity for verbal witness, which is almost certain to present itself. The stage has been set for a vital witness by his life witness which others have been able to observe.
Lastly, as we take a break off work today, we should remember that there’s a group of people who should never stop working, no matter what the day is, and that is the members of Christ’s Church when we’re doing His business for the sake of His kingdom. God calls us to be faithful workers for Him, day in and day out, for He has chosen and elected us to be like the one supreme faithful Worker, Jesus Christ our Lord.

This post is dedicated to:
My Super-Fabulous Boss, Mrs F.A… You not only granted me an opportunity to work with you, but you also guided me and made me strengthen my focus on all that I ever wanted to achieve. You make even the most tedious job a lovely learning process. Thank you!

My Amazing kids… They are precious gifts from God. They love me when I am unlovable and I am thankful that I’ve been given the opportunity to love these boys and girls. Here’s a short list of what I love about my kids. I love their: laughs, smiles, singing, hugs, love for music, unique talents, honesty, compassion, sense of humor, the things they say sometimes, ability to be a good friend to others, willingness to forgive me over and over again. They offer me a different perspective on life. A perspective I enjoy looking on in and learning from. I often feel like I learn more from them than they do from me. They teach me to live with passion.