I’ve Been Thinking…What Does It Mean to Follow Jesus at Work?
Scripture Covered
Genesis 2:15; 2 Thessalonians 3:7–12; Romans 12:1–2; Ephesians 2:8–10; Exodus 3:12; Colossians 3:22–24; Matthew 20:25–28
Key Verse
Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23–24 (LEB)
Work Can Become Worship
Most of us spend a huge portion of our lives working, but we don’t always think of work as something spiritual. We divide life into categories, don’t we? Like… church is spiritual, work is practical, family is personal, and everything else fits somewhere in between. Scripture says, “Nope, nice try.”
Work was part of God’s good design before sin entered the world and messed everything up. Genesis 2 shows Adam working and caring for the garden before the fall. (If you can’t keep anything alive, don’t worry…we’re not all called to be farmers!) Sin made work frustrating, exhausting, and sometimes deeply unfair, but it did not make work meaningless. Whatever your “work” looks like right now… a job, school, raising children, caring for someone, volunteering, retirement, or whatever God has put in front of you…it can become a place where your faith becomes visible.
However, that doesn’t mean your job becomes your identity. Why? Because who we are always matters more than what we do. Yeah, read that again. Ephesians 2 reminds us that we’re saved by grace, not by our accomplishments…that’s identity. We belong to the King of Kings! We are already God’s workmanship in Christ, and we don’t need to work to prove our worth. We work from an identity already given to us: we are children of God. Praise God!
Paul takes the idea one step further in Colossians 3. He tells Christians to approach their work sincerely and wholeheartedly. Why? Because followers of Jesus…serve Jesus! So, instead of asking, “What am I getting out of this job?” a follower of Jesus shifts (slowly?) to, “Who can I serve here?” That’s tough to do when your work environment isn’t so…Christlike. But at some point, you must decide who your model is…your work environment…or Jesus.
But here’s the thing I think we miss: Sometimes following Jesus at work looks a lot less “religious” than we imagine. We can feel pressure to perform a certain way or to lead every person in our company to Jesus. It’s beautiful when God allows us to be a part of that, and we should always strive to be a light in the dark, but bringing our faith to work can also look incredibly practical: showing up on time, keeping your word, doing excellent work when nobody is watching, treating a difficult coworker or customer with dignity, being generous, helping someone else succeed, or having a hard conversation with humility and courage. Jesus taught that greatness is not found in getting more people to serve us, but in becoming servants ourselves. He demonstrated that all the way to the cross.
Changing the way we see work won’t happen overnight. Monday is probably going to feel a lot like…well, Monday. BUT over time, the Holy Spirit can reshape the way we see what’s in front of us. Work can become “workship,” a sacred offering to God and others.
Take It With You
Receive your work as a gift. Ask God to help you recognize both the work in front of you and your ability to do it as gifts from Him.
Offer your work to God. Before you begin, pray: “Jesus, help me do this as though I am doing it for You.”
Use your work to serve people. Ask a simple question every day: “Who can I serve here?”
Questions to Consider
Where are you most tempted to find your identity or worth in what you do?
What would change if you genuinely believed that the work in front of you could be offered to Jesus?
Who is one person God has placed around you that you can intentionally serve this week?
What ordinary work habit like dependability, excellence, generosity, humility, or integrity could better reflect Jesus?
Prayer
Lord, thank You for the work You place in front of me and for the abilities You have given me to do it. Keep me from finding my identity in my job, accomplishments, or productivity. Renew the way I think about my work. Help me do what I do wholeheartedly, with integrity and excellence, remembering that I ultimately serve YOU. Show me the people around me I can serve, encourage, and treat with dignity. Form me into a faithful follower of Jesus wherever You have placed me. Amen.
