“In all labour there is profit.” Your attitude to work can be changed if you understand what this verse means. The workplace can seem a place of real drudgery. You might think that the only way that you can serve God is outside the workplace. You might throw too much of your time into your work and God gets the leftovers. God takes ordinary people in ordinary places and gives them extraordinary power. You can serve God full-time in your workplace. It doesn’t matter what work you do.

1 – The sacredness of everyday work

You don’t have to be employed in a Christian organisation to serve God. See Ephesians 6:5-9. Daniel is a good example. See Daniel 6:20. Daniel had a secular job, yet his boss had to admit that he was a servant of the living God. We serve the Lord in full-time if we have a secular job.

2 – The sphere of everyday work

You don’t have to work for a Christian organisation to serve God. God puts his people in the secular world to serve Him. Daniel was a servant of God and he worked for the secular government. He was apparently there due to circumstance beyond his control. He was taken captive. God had put him there for a reason. See Jeremiah 29:4. God allowed everyone to be carried away in captivity.

God may call you out of the secular world to work in Christian work. You serve God no matter where you work. We are not to flee from the world. We are not to be taken out of the world. We are to be a good seasoning upon those in the world. We are to confront the world and be a witness. See John 17:15 and 1 Corinthians 5:9-10. We are not to live our lives without coming into contact with the immoral. See Romans 12:21 & 1 John 5:4-5. God has placed us where He wants us to be. There was things that we cannot do. Daniel refused to do what was wrong. See Matthew 5:14-16. For a light to be valuable, it must be visible. God wants us out of the church. See Philippians 2:15. The light is to shine in the darkness of this world. You don’t put a lighthouse somewhere that is safe and bright. See 1 Peter 2:11-12.

Here are four rules on how to witness:-

• Don’t brag – It is to glow not glare. They are to see the light, not the candle. There is nothing worse than self-righteousness.
• Don’t nag – If you are always on someone when they say or do something wrong then you will never win them from Christ. See Colossians 4:5-6. We are to wait for the right time. We need to use God’s wisdom.
• Don’t lag – Do your part of the job. Don’t be a lazy Christian. We should keep good time-keeping. It is a sin to do less than your best. See Ephesians 6:5-6. It won’t be dull if you are doing it for the Lord. See Colossians 3:23. Let that be your motivation.
• Don’t sag – Don’t lapse back into the ways of this world. Don’t complain and become unhappy. You need to have a quiet time before you go to work. You can be different than those who have the wrong attitude. See 1 Peter 3:15. People will come to you, to find out what makes you so content.

3 – The service of everyday work

See Proverbs 14:23. There is profit in all work that we do. It was the Lord who was the first farmer. It was God who planted the garden. He then handed it over to Adam. Work is not punishment for sin. God intended people to work. See Ephesians 6:7-8. God will reward us even if others do not appreciate us. We are to do our work to the best of our ability. God will reward us. We are not to get too heavenly-minded that we are of no earthly use. See Jeremiah 29:4-7. We are to seek to do good while we are still on this earth. We await a better kingdom to come. There is profit in all labour. God help us to be a witness in our workplace.

Categories: Proverbs