By Rick Warren, in his January 10, 2020 Daily Hope blog, posted at: http://www.pastorrick.com
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“Don’t just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ’s servants doing what God wants you to do” (Ephesians 6:6 The Message)
If you’re a believer, no matter who your boss is at work, ultimately, you’re working for God. Whether or not anyone else sees what you do, God sees—and he doesn’t want you to waste the time and resources of your employer.
Maybe you hate your job. Maybe you think you’re underpaid. It really doesn’t matter. The Bible says to do more than just the minimum required. God calls you to give your best. That’s what integrity looks like.
You may know someone who only works hard when the boss is watching. Or you may see someone who takes company supplies home from the office, which is a form of stealing. Or you may work with someone who takes extra long breaks every day—or consistently comes in late and leaves early.
Would you believe God compares this kind of work ethic to vandalism? Proverbs 18:9 says, “Slack habits and sloppy work are as bad as vandalism” (The Message). The Living Bible translates the verse this way: “A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things”.
God considers it a serious sin when we don’t give a full day’s work for a full day’s pay. Even if no one else at work gives their all, followers of Jesus should.
When you work as if you’re working for God, he will bless your integrity. Yes, your employer most likely will notice your commitment to the success of the company or organization, and that may lead to financial blessings. But more importantly, you will grow spiritually as you work in obedience to God.
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If it falls to your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: “Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”
–Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Colossians 3:23 — Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
I Corinthians 10:31 — Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Ephesians 4:1b — …I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
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Almighty God, you have so linked our lives with one another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good: and, as we seek a proper return for our labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
–Book of Common Prayer