Why do you go to work? The first answer that comes to your mind is probably, “Well, for the money.” Is that the only reason that you work?
When I went to work full-time in the professional world, my primary motivation was money. However, I soon realized that receiving a pay check was not a meaningful enough reason for me. Is a lucrative career enough reason for devoting forty hours a week for 40-50 years to a place away from home and family? The answer for me was “No.” I soon committed to God that my job wouldn’t simply be a way to make money, it would be a way to minister.
For those of us who have committed our lives to Jesus Christ, we must do more with our lives than just work a job in order to pay for a comfortable lifestyle. I know that money is essential for providing for our families, but simply accumulating wealth is a shallow existence for a child of God. I began to view going to work, instead, as an opportunity to share my faith with others. I prayed for my coworkers, superiors and subordinates. Instead of discussing work over our lunch breaks, I looked for ways to turn the conversation toward spiritual things. Sometimes it would be as simple as asking, “So, do you go to church anywhere?” or, “Is there anything you’d like me to pray about for you?”
If you go to work only for the money, soon you will resent your job and dread going to it. However, if you see the souls around you as those who need to know Christ as Saviour, and spend time in prayer for them, you will find much deeper meaning and purpose for your time at work.