Including God in Your Career

While most Christians would say they bring God to work with them, how many really allow God to make a difference in their work life?

My Buddy's Wedding

Years ago, one of my best friends asked me to be the best man at his wedding. It felt like a huge honor and I took my responsibilities very seriously. Myself and the other groomsmen actively followed Christ and the pre-wedding festivities were all G-rated fun. As his life with his new wife began, they launched a couple of businesses and became consumed with 70-hour work weeks.

Business Struggling

A few years into their marriage, I caught up with them (during their quieter time of the year). It became clear to me that they completely left God out of their lives. There was no time for church, morning devotions or even a quick prayer. I challenged them about getting back into fellowship and they tried to implement a couple of my recommendations.

A few years later, I saw them again on a visit to their state and things were going very badly for them. Their business neared bankruptcy as it made almost no money the prior year in spite of all their long hours and hard work. They had again wandered away form church and now began to blame God for their business woes. For twenty years, I saw them stumble and fail through multiple iterations of their various businesses until finally their marriage ran into rocky waters.

Sad Ending

When I asked them specific questions about how they had put God first in their lives, they could not answer in the affirmative to hardly any of the questions. Eventually and tragically, my friend eventually lost his life to an apparent heart attack. Although well known and respected in his field, his life (at least outwardly) seemed to end in shipwreck. No one knows what God might have been doing in his heart, but the things he shared in me via emails did not seem promising.

I bring all this up as a cautionary tale for all of us. As Christians, God doesn't necessarily take a center place in our work lives. We have to intentionally include him by asking for His advice and help, reading His word regularly to get His insights and trying our best to follow God's principles in all we do.

Invite God Into Your Work

Our work is meant to be God's hands extended to a hurting world. The work we do helps God take care of people. Whether we check groceries, build power plants or redecorate homes, God wants to use us to make life better for others. As we yield our work lives to Him, we become more effective at taking care of others. Within ourselves, we tend to become self-centered. When we yield to the Holy Spirit at the start of our work day, we become God-centered and others-focused.

Ask yourself, how much have I involved God in my work life? Purpose to begin each day at work with prayer. Invite Him into each task and meeting. Pray over your work projects and products. Read His word so He has an easy way to respond to your questions. Thank Him at the end of each work day. He loves us so much and wants to be in our work lives.