Jesus In The Workplace

John14:9

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Can you see Jesus at your workplace?

The emphatic answer is “yes”.

That Jesus to be seen at work is you.

The Bible is a book with clear emphasis and it has said categorically that you are the ambassador of Christ. That means everywhere you and I go; Jesus is there and must be seen. We carry Him in our body, in our actions, how we speak, in our mannerisms, in the things we chose to do and the things we chose to like. Jesus colours our lives and as such, His fragrance must not be far from us, seeing that we are the aroma of Christ.

So how do we do this on a daily basis?

It is in being a good boss. It is in not wasting people’s time because you are the boss. It is in not joining the office gossip. It is not joining the cartel to do evil. It is in looking out for that teammate that is struggling. It is in being a cheerful giver of your time and resources to those around you. It is in the delivery of exceptional service. It is doing your job well. It is in the modesty of your dressing. It is in relying on the Holy Spirit to solve knotty issues at work. It is in asking yourself “What would Jesus do?” in this circumstance. We can say a lot on what to do and what not to do but the most important thing is to see your work as a gift from God through which you serve humanity. In so doing you are representing God well.

One of the things that made the protestants stand out in their days was their attitude to work. It was popularly termed “The Protestant Work Ethic”. Let me give you a recap of what they did — The Protestants attached spiritual importance to their jobs. They did their work (whatever it is — from cleaning the street to serving the king) with their best. Their work ethic placed a high value on productivity and frugality. It also condemned and placed a negative value on those who do not work hard and try to succeed at their job.

They conceptualized secular / regular work as a duty which benefits both the individual and society as a whole. As such, if they could serve man and society, they served God also. The Protestants took Colossians 3:23–24 to heart and lived it out.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

They took this scripture literally and lived it out. It made people notice. Because fraud was far from them. Lying was far from them. Same also issues like taking advantage of people and deceit. They lived it out even to their own hurt. They were excellent workmen. People noticed because they easily stood out without trying. People started asking questions and with that they pointed men unto Jesus.

The told whosoever asked — “Jesus is powering my life”. I am sure they said “ He gave me the grace to endure and serve even in conditions that were not optimal”. They did what they needed to do with joy, gladness and without murmuring. How could you not notice them?

Child of God, I know the economy is not smiling and people around you are stealing to make ends meet. It even seems that their reasoning makes sense to you. It is logical and reasonable. And the hunger is biting you hard. Thou shall not steal is still a commandment we have to obey despite the situation at hand.

Persevere. Stay with God. He will see you through. Ask for grace in the place of prayers. Declare His promises even in down times. He has promised and He will deliver. The enemy will come as a flood, and He will be your wall of defence. He will raise a standard. For the name of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous run into it and they are safe.

The fear of tomorrow must not rule our lives. That is because we heed the words of Jesus. The words He speaks are spirit to energise you back to life (John 6:63). We take no thought of tomorrow, not because we are not careful panners but because we are people of faith and have committed our lives and our care to Jesus.

Do not allow people to look further and farther for Jesus because when they meet you, they should meet Him. The role of a Christian in the society to both be a salt (to preserve the community by righteous acts) and a light (to lead men unto righteousness). A Christian is one who delibarely makes it easy for others to become one. By living out our faith, even in these perilous times, we show men that following Jesus is possible.

With this, Jesus can boldly say to the man looking for Him — look no farther — my son and my daughter are in your midst. And we, in turn, can boldly reply to our colleagues like Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1 “Follow me as I follow Christ”. Amen.

• Gabriel Omin