May/June 2001
Your Job
...Curse, Career or Calling?
by Stephen Lim
Beep! Beep! Beep! Monday's alarm signals another week of work. Do you eagerly jump out of bed, or roll over with a groan? Suppose the awards team from Publisher's Clearing House knocks at your door and announces that you have won $200,000 a year for life. Would you keep going to work? It depends on whether you consider your job a curse, career or calling.
Your Job as Curse
A Gallup survey found that 34 percent of workers ages 18 to 29 would quit their jobs if they could. Among those ages 30 to 49, 44 percent would resign. These individuals see their work as a necessary evil to support themselves and their families, and they live for 5:00 p.m. and the weekend.
Work was not meant to be a curse, but a gift. Besides meeting our needs, God intended work to provide a creative and satisfying way for us to use the abilities he has given us. Our fallen nature has corrupted work, however, as it has every area of human life. Consequently, work often brings boredom, stress and exploitation.
Lack of job security adds anxiety. Jen received a watch from her company for 20 years of service. A few weeks later, the company replaced her with an entry-level worker at lower pay. Today, nearly half of all workers in the United States are being hired on a "contingent" basis -- meaning no benefits or assurance of continued employment. No wonder Time magazine calls our era "the age of the disposable worker."
Your Job as Career
Others embrace their jobs as part of a career that provides what they want in life. Benefits include increasing possessions, financial security and status. Most importantly, through their careers they can achieve the success by which they define their self-worth. This view encourages a positive attitude toward our jobs. The more we give to our work, the more fulfillment we gain.
But this outlook holds dangers. First, we are tempted to let our careers control us in order to achieve the good life. Our job can determine where we live, when we move, how many hours we work and how much time we give to family and to serving God. This usurps God's lordship of our lives.
Mike Holmgren once served as an assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers football team. After the 49ers won the Super Bowl, two other teams offered him their head coaching position. Since his twin daughters were juniors in high school, Holmgren felt it unwise to uproot his family. Though he didn't know when another opportunity would arise, he chose to stay put for two more years. As a Christian, he did not want career success to control his decisions.
Another danger of careerism is unbalanced living and the neglect of our families or personal and spiritual nurture. Best-selling business author Tom Peters writes, "We are frequently asked if it is possible to 'have it all' -- a full and satisfying personal life and a full and satisfying, hardworking professional one. One answer is: No. The price of excellence is time, energy, attention and focus."
Most people view their jobs as either a curse or a career. Christians have a better option.
Your Job as Calling
When we serve God, we do not work just to make a living or primarily to achieve success. Instead, our jobs become arenas for honoring him and accomplishing his purposes. Seeing our job as God's calling dignifies it. The work itself may still be menial and wearisome, but through our attitudes and actions we honor God.
Excellence. Suppose we are underpaid and unappreciated, and our job has no future. Shouldn't we just get by with the least effort? Not as Christians. Whatever we do, we offer it as an act of worship to God, who is worthy of our best. The apostle Paul instructs, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.... It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (Colossians 3:23-24).
Integrity. Dave worked as an electronics technician for a company that repaired equipment for other businesses. He tested equipment for accuracy before returning it to customers. One day his supervisor told him, "We're running behind schedule. Why don't you just sign off on this one so we can get to other projects?" As a Christian, Dave declined.
In a poll by Industry Week magazine, 25 percent of workers said that during the previous year their supervisors had asked them to do something dishonest. Of these, 64 percent felt that the alternative was to lose their job.
As employees, we also face the common temptations to stretch breaks, use company time to handle personal business and call in "sick" when we're not. Or we may embellish facts to make a sale.
Jesus tells us, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). In the work world, maintaining integrity is difficult. It requires spiritual commitment, prayer, the support and counsel of other believers and sometimes the sacrifice of a raise, promotion or even the job itself.
Compassion. Regardless of what we do, our work can make a difference in the lives of others. Part of our income should be devoted to helping the materially and spiritually needy. The Bible instructs each Christian to do honest work, "that he may have something to share with those in need" (Ephesians 4:28).
Loving Our Neighbor. The neighbors that God calls us to love (Matthew 22:39) include those who occupy the desks or work spaces around us. We bless them with a friendly and thoughtful spirit. In turbulent times calm and good cheer ease the tension. For those with problems, we can offer encouragement, a listening ear and practical help.
Sharing the Good News. Author Jacques Ellul states, "The only place theological truth reaches the world is through action of the lay people in the marketplace." Because of the time we spend there, work is the most strategic sphere for relating with unbelievers. Without infringing on company time, through caring relationships we discover others' needs -- whether for peace of mind, fulfillment, healing for brokenness or eternal life. We can share how Jesus meets those needs.
In a fallen world, no job satisfies completely. Ours may be mostly fulfilling or only minimally so. When we sense God's calling, it doesn't matter. For through our jobs we honor him and accomplish his purposes.
Writer and speaker Stephen Lim is the Senior Pastor of the Full Life Christian Center in San Francisco.
Seven Spiritual Disciplines for the Workplace
by Victor Parachin
One recent morning, 8-year-old Mario was going door to door asking neighbors in the inner city of South Central Los Angeles for canned food. Although the boy and his family struggle to survive, Mario, a third grader at 52nd Street Elementary school, was not begging for himself. He was proudly participating in a school program.
That program was initiated by teacher Jill McLaughlin. Shortly after starting her new job as a teacher in the depressed South Central Los Angeles area, McLaughlin quickly became aware that many of her students' families lived in poverty and that even providing food was a challenge. Rather than ask outsiders to help meet the need, she organized a school wide food drive. Participating are some 40 inner-city third, fourth and fifth graders who collect canned and dry food for distribution to needy families. The result has been personally rewarding for teacher McLaughlin who says: "I saw the students get a sense of empowerment. They came to the realization that the community belongs to them."
Jill McLaughlin is a person who knows how to bring a spiritual discipline to bear at her workplace. Rather than simply do her job teaching and then return to the comfort of her own home, she applied the spiritual discipline of compassion to the needs she discovered in her place of work.
When people hear the phrase "spiritual discipline" they immediately think of a tranquil retreat where one has ample time to pray, study and reflect. Yet, spiritual disciplines must not be relegated to a few weekends a year or to an hour on Sunday morning. The disciplines of spirituality can be brought to bear at our places of work, places where most people spend forty or more hours every week. Here are seven spiritual disciplines you can apply in the workplace.
1. The spiritual discipline of the Golden Rule. The place of work would be more harmonious if every worker applied this -- "Do to others what you would have them do to you" (Matthew 7:12). Simply paraphrased, the Golden Rule tells us: "Treat others the way you want to be treated." One who applied this spiritual discipline at his place of work was Marshall Field, the legendary founder of the Chicago department store that bears his name.
Field was once approached by a frightened but courageous youth who worked in the shipping department. The young man pleaded with Field for an opportunity to do more important work. He explained he had asked his supervisor but had been turned down three times. The department store owner was impressed by the youth's initiative and his desire to learn other aspects of retailing, so he investigated. "Why don't you advance him?" he asked the supervisor. "Because he's the best wrapper I have," the man replied. "I need him and want him to stay on that job."
Field gave the boy his promotion. The young man's name was Harry Selfridge. At 30, he became a partner in Field's company. Later he went on to found the famous Selfridge Department Store in London, England.
2. The spiritual discipline of respect toward all others. We must exhibit an honest respect toward all others regardless of their race, religion, color or ethnic origin. We must view each one of our work colleagues as our neighbor. In biblical terms we are commanded to: "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18).
S. Truett Cathy founded Chick-fil-A restaurants, which today number nearly 1,000 across 35 states. Born in 1921, Cathy grew up in deeply segregated southern Georgia. Yet, as he was developing his chain of restaurants, Cathy was also willing to defy social conventions by employing African Americans. He did this long before the advent of Civil Rights. In 1948, he hired Eddie J. White, a 12-year-old African American youth. "You have to understand," says White. "This was the time of segregation. But he was like a second father to me. He didn't even think about it."
White was the oldest of seven children in a poor family, and he was planning to drop out of high school to help support the family. "That didn't fly with Mr. Cathy," he says. "He came and talked to my parents and arranged for me to be able to work and stay in school." Later when Cathy learned that White would not go to his senior prom for lack of money, Cathy paid for White's tuxedo and gave him spending money. "He also let me drive his spanking new Mercury," White delightfully remembers.
3. The spiritual discipline of self-respect. "Whatever
your hand finds to do, do it with all your might," is the command of
scripture (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Work is honorable and by working we contribute
to the common good. This truth is made abundantly clear in these words written
by construction worker Peter Terzick. In the book, Of Human Hands: A
Reader in the Spirituality of Work, he eloquently summarizes his work
in construction this way:
I am a building tradesman. My predecessors created the Hanging Gardens
of Nebuchadnezzar and patiently put together the Parthenon. My successors
will construct platforms in space and way stations on the stars. I harness
the rivers, bridge the inlets, disembowel the mountains, and level the valleys
to make the nation strong in war and prosperous in peace. The mightiest
skyscraper begins with a stake I drive in the ground and ends with the turn
of the owner's key in a lock I install.
4. The spiritual discipline of praise and giving thanks. This discipline has been somewhat "formalized" through special days: Secretaries' Day, Boss's Day, Labor Day, birthdays, annual performance review and various anniversaries such as 25th, 30th and 50th. However, there are many days in between when others need to be praised and thanked for their contribution. Praise is desirable, pleasing, warming, encouraging, energizing, empowering and reassuring. Humans crave it and live on it like bread.
5. The spiritual discipline of listening. Too many workers, supervisors, managers and executives are guilty of not truly listening when others speak and share concerns. Listening is a serious responsibility which must be raised in the consciousness of today's workers.
A nineteenth century Jewish story tells of two Eastern European rabbis who were traveling together and ate a meal at an inn owned by a pious widow. While eating, one rabbi engaged in a long, detailed conversation with the rather talkative woman. The other rabbi sat quietly, and when not eating, turned his attention to a holy text he was studying.
When they rose to leave, the widow refused to let the rabbis pay for the meal. Outside, the more welcoming of the two turned to his friend, commenting: "It seems to me that you are guilty of stealing a meal from that woman." His friend looked up in astonishment. "She herself told us that we didn't have to pay." The first rabbi responded: "The woman didn't want us to pay money, but the payment she wanted was that we listen and talk to her. This you didn't do."
6. The spiritual discipline of serving. In the workplace, the natural tendency to be on the receiving end -- bonuses, salaries, promotions -- must be balanced by serving. If someone in your workplace is suffering, reach out with compassion. If someone in your workplace has become chronically ill, offer practical aid. If someone in your workplace has been downsized, connect them to other potential job opportunities. If a family member of a work colleague has been diagnosed with a life threatening illness, do whatever you can to ease the heavy load your colleague will be carrying.
7. The spiritual discipline of personal integrity. Integrity -- honesty and sincerity -- is a quality much needed in today's workplace. Duplicity, hypocrisy and insincerity among work colleagues is a major source of discouragement and disillusionment in the work place. An inspiring example of the spiritual discipline of integrity was demonstrated during the 1996 U.S. Amateur Golf Championship. The two leading competitors were Tiger Woods and Steve Scott. On the green of the final hole, Steve, one up, was putting first. Tiger's ball was in Steve's putting line, so Tiger spotted his ball a club head's length and marked it. Steve putted and missed.
If Tiger sank his next putt, the match would go into sudden death. Tiger carefully circled the green, viewed every possible angle and had lined up to putt when Steve reminded him that he hadn't moved his ball back to the original spot. After making the correction, Tiger sank the putt. Tiger won the match in sudden death, giving him an unprecedented third straight
U.S. Amateur Championship and catapulting him into the pro ranks with $60 million in guaranteed endorsements.
Had Steve Scott not reminded Tiger to reposition his ball, and had Tiger then putted from where it lay, Tiger would have been penalized two strokes and lost the championship. Steve would have won the championship but would have lost something of more value -- his integrity.
Freelance writer and author, Victor Parachin is an ordained minister who lives with his family in Tulsa, Oklahoma.