THE GOSPEL AFFECTS YOUR WORK CULTURE

Let me state my proposition up front. Christians must be the hardest-working, diligent, faithful, honest, organized, and creative workers in their community. When an employee wants to hire people, they should be looking for Christians. When someone wants to go into business with someone, they must be looking for a Christian partner because of their values and ethics. When you want to hire someone to do some work for you, the sheer honesty and uprightness of the Christian plumber, mechanic, contractor or craftsman must force you to want to hire them. 

The attributes Christians list on their CVs must accurately reflect their character and work ethic. And if they were to be true, our work culture and service delivery would be transformational. The reason for this proposition is that the gospel transforms one’s life inside out. When one responds to the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in faith and repentance, they are transformed in thinking, affections, values, actions and even in their attitude and application towards work (Col 3:23-24).

If the Christians in employment are true to their faith and their CVs are anything to go by, then our country's work culture should be unrivalled. Companies and institutions must be brimming with faithful, dedicated, and committed employees, but alas, that is not always the case. Despite the many CVs and people who claim to be Christian, the overall work culture is nothing short of a scandal. It is not uncommon to find people who are desperate for work and willing to go to any length to get a job; however, once they get one, it is pure leisure! How then must Christians work? The Bible has quite a bit to say about the matter.

Work Hard

Christians must be hard working people. They are eager and ready to exert all their energies, skills, and mental faculties to their responsibilities to a point of exhortation. Hard work is a bare minimum for the Christian. We ignore the warning in Proverbs to our own peril. The wise man declares: The sluggard says, There is a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets! As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly (Proverbs 26:13-16).

Lazy people always have a reason or an excuse not to fulfil their responsibilities. They always want to put off their work until tomorrow and end up doing nothing. Lazy people are also always in action but never accomplish anything; they are like a door on its hinges that keeps moving but never gets anywhere. Furthermore, though ever-busy lazy people are far from productive and always leave work half done. And this is clearly evident in companies, organizations, and, worse off, government institutions. The amount of time it takes to get someone to append their signature and date stamp to a paper makes you wonder what they do in the offices. When you walk into some offices, the files are up to the roof! And to make matters worse, people are constantly demanding money for services they are already paid for! This behavior is not just laziness but also criminal.

Work heartily for the Lord

That is the charge in Colossians 3:24. The idea is that you should put all your heart into whatever work you are doing. It must not be halfhearted or just merely going through the motions. And this is where attitude comes in. The attitudes and facial expressions of people in workplaces are frightening. They are not interested in what they are doing and appear upset that you walked in to buy their service or product. And when they do get round to attending to your needs, it’s as good as having done it yourself. No heart, no conviction and no joy in the work. The other thing Paul says in Colossians is the fact that for Christians their labor is to the Lord and not to man. They are to remember that they are stewards who will give an account for the work they do. And the fact that their service is to the Lord who sees the heart and all things, it means we need to have a biblical view and attitude towards work and remember to be faithful at all times.

Work Honestly

Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Your word must be your bond. If you commit to do something, do it. If you promise to deliver on a particular day, fulfill your promise. When people give you a task, they must be assured that it is as good as done. To commit to things or make promises that you do not fulfill without the courtesy of getting back to the people you promised is lying. You my friend, are a liar.

Another aspect of honesty is your dealings with money. Quote fairly for the work to be done. Do not use your problems in life as the basis for how much you are going to quote for a job. And when you are dealing with someone’s money, be a good steward. Taking or using someone’s money without their permission is stealing. You my friend, are a thief.

Work Joyfully

For the Christian, work is a joyful blessing. Exertion of energy, application of mental faculties, creation of order and beauty, delivery of service, meeting needs, serving people, bringing insight, collaborating with colleagues, learning from teammates, these should all bring a settled satisfaction. The Christian must be the best workmate to have, because they are not only hardworking, humble and honest, they are also joyful. They have an easing effect on others. They have this natural ability to put a smile on your face unlike the grumbling, ever whining and complaining workmate. The type that does not want to get work done. Their ideal work situation is not to work, not to produce, but to get paid.

Rest from Work

Christians, value work and they value rest. They put in their best and go sleep. The talk of hassling and working 99 jobs, sounds all well and good but it only ends one way; you crash and burn. Those who are humble enough to know that they are made of flesh and blood and need rest, value rest. The Lord commanded us to work and he also commanded us to rest.

There are Christians who frown and look down on the concept of rest, and believe in going hard morning, afternoon and evening, seven days a week. Those people are not great to work with, their bodies eventually shut down. But most importantly, their families are greatly affected. Dear friend, be humble, rest.

Conclusion

What does your work culture say about your Christianity? What does your work ethic say about your Christianity? Friend, the gospel transforms every aspect of your life. Biblical Christianity is lived out and applied to the totality of your life. One such area is your attitude and application to and towards work. May those of us who are Christians, impact our communities with our work culture.