Do you hate your job? Do you dread going to work each day? Do you sometimes fantasize about striking your boss in the face with a blunt object? Then this is the place for you!
Many people feel unsatisfied in the work place. I have had several jobs in several different industries and I have felt unsatisfied in each and every one of those positions. One morning many moons ago, I went through my morning ritual, drove to work at the crack of dawn, parked my car and looked up at that building where I was expected to work. I stared at it for a while then I started my car, drove back home and called in sick. I just didn't have the motivation or the desire to perform my duties that day.
We all want to work someplace that makes us feel fulfilled, accomplished and appreciated. We all want to work someplace that will give us the means to support ourselves and our families financially. Unfortunately, life is not perfect and sometimes we are forced to do work that we don't like to do. And work with people we don't get along with. And receive a paycheck that doesn't cover all our bills. And go home feeling stressed and the opposite of blessed...
Though I love my current profession, there have been times when I wanted to just walk out and go fill out an application at Walmart. I actually applied to several different minimum wage jobs at one point and considered working them. Eventually, I did what I should have done a long time ago. I turned to God's word and looked for some wisdom on how to find satisfaction in the workplace. The results were definitely not what I expected...
During my "Read the Bible in a Year" challenge, I read Exodus 25-40. To be quite honest, I found it to be tedious work, reading how God gave such detailed instructions on how to build The Tabernacle and the steps the Israelites took to build The Tabernacle. I had to read it several times to really focus on the words because it isn't the most action-packed segment of the Bible. In the end, I got some pretty good insight into the type of employee I need to be.
The Israelites were being idiots, as usual, so God, through Moses, gave them a bunch of rules and regulations to live by to help them get on God's good side. One of the things God wanted them to do was build The Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was intended to be God's earthly dwelling place. God gave Moses specific instructions for the measurements, the materials to be used, the people He wanted to be involved in its construction, the whole nine yards. By the time God was finished with the instructions, there was no question how He wanted it to look. He laid it all out for the Israelites from top to bottom and expected His instructions to be followed exactly from start to finish.
After The Tabernacle had been built, Moses inspected the work and saw it had been completed just as God instructed. The Tabernacle was set up and God dwelled among the Israelites for the duration of their travels. It made me wonder, if the Israelites had not followed God's exact instructions, how would that impact their relationship with God? What if they had they gone about their work in a lackadaisical manner, complaining or taking long lunch breaks, would God have found The Tabernacle a suitable dwelling place? Or would God want to deal with them at all?
Then I began to think about Genesis 6-9, a less tedious portion of scripture to read. When God gave Noah the task of building the ark, He was not as long winded however He did give detailed instructions. What if Noah failed to follow God's instructions? What if Noah simply refused to complete the work because he found it too difficult, too time consuming or above his "pay grade"? I would assume that all of creation would have been dead and there would be only one book with six chapters in The Bible!
After God created Adam, He put Adam in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Adam's job was to care for God's creation. From the very beginning, we see God at work then we see He put His creation to work. We were made to work! Not exclusively of course, we were made for other things as well but we definitely weren't made to spend our lives on vacation...
Spending time in prayer and reading God's Word has helped me develop a better work ethic. Reading scriptures has helped me see what God wants me to be in all areas of my life, even an employee. God has called us to work for our earthly bosses with the same enthusiasm as the Israelites worked for God's Tabernacle. God wants us to perform our duties in the workplace without grumbling and complaining. How can we be a beacon of light to a dark world if we act like those who are in the dark? We must take inventory on how we behave in every aspect of our lives to ensure we are behaving in a godly manner. God calls us to be model citizens, model employees, model examples of godly living. If you don't like your job, find one that you do like. If you can't find another job, ask God to help you improve your mindset so your dislike of the job doesn't reflect negatively in your work. Whatever you do, work like God is your boss because in all actuality, He is!
