"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).
Your work can be an act of worship. No matter what you do, it's never just a job if you are a believer. This is because God designed you with talents, gifts, and interests that He wants used for His glory.
You are custom-made. There's nobody like you in the whole world. And the gifts, the abilities, the talents, even the interests you have, they were genetically encoded into you by God. You didn't have a say in what you were going to be interested in, what you are naturally good at. God made you with a specific mission in mind and He wants you to use the gifts He's given you in your work.
The Bible says that you are God's workmanship. The Greek word used for workmanship is poema; that's where our word for "poem" comes from. You are God's poem! You are God's work of art. You are God's masterpiece.
Your work is part of God's plan for your life and that is why, as you work, you worship God.
You are custom-made. There's nobody like you in the whole world. And the gifts, the abilities, the talents, even the interests you have, they were genetically encoded into you by God. You didn't have a say in what you were going to be interested in, what you are naturally good at. God made you with a specific mission in mind and He wants you to use the gifts He's given you in your work.
The Bible says that you are God's workmanship. The Greek word used for workmanship is poema; that's where our word for "poem" comes from. You are God's poem! You are God's work of art. You are God's masterpiece.
Your work is part of God's plan for your life and that is why, as you work, you worship God.
"Each of you should go on living according to the Lord's gift to you, and as you were when God called you. This is the rule I teach in all the churches" (1 Corinthians 7:17).
We worship God when we give Him our lives every time we pray. Jesus says when we pray, we should commit ourselves to God's will. After I give God my love, I give Him my life.
Notice the prayer says, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10 NIV). Did you know God has a specific will for your life? The Bible says in Romans 12 that His will is good and perfect and it fits you. Part of connecting with God is saying, "God, what is Your will for me today? I want to do Your will."
In heaven, God's will is done perfectly. The problem on earth is God's will is not always done. That's why we're to pray, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We're saying, "God, I want to submit to You. I want to do what You want me to do." True success in life is knowing the will of God and getting right in the center of it.
You can pray "Your will be done" in three different ways. You can say it in resentment: "Your will be done, but I don't like it." You can say it in resignation: "Your will be done, because I can't help it." Or you can say it in anticipation: "Your will be done, because I know it is the best and that's what I want for my life today!"
When I was a kid, we watched a popular TV show entitled, Father Knows Best. Your earthly father may not always know what's best, but your heavenly Father does. That's what it means to say, "Your will be done."
Pray this prayer: "God, I know Your will for my life is better than anything I can dream up. I want to give You my life. I want Your will done in my life."
Notice the prayer says, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10 NIV). Did you know God has a specific will for your life? The Bible says in Romans 12 that His will is good and perfect and it fits you. Part of connecting with God is saying, "God, what is Your will for me today? I want to do Your will."
In heaven, God's will is done perfectly. The problem on earth is God's will is not always done. That's why we're to pray, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We're saying, "God, I want to submit to You. I want to do what You want me to do." True success in life is knowing the will of God and getting right in the center of it.
You can pray "Your will be done" in three different ways. You can say it in resentment: "Your will be done, but I don't like it." You can say it in resignation: "Your will be done, because I can't help it." Or you can say it in anticipation: "Your will be done, because I know it is the best and that's what I want for my life today!"
When I was a kid, we watched a popular TV show entitled, Father Knows Best. Your earthly father may not always know what's best, but your heavenly Father does. That's what it means to say, "Your will be done."
Pray this prayer: "God, I know Your will for my life is better than anything I can dream up. I want to give You my life. I want Your will done in my life."
"May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:17).
God establishes the work of our hands by giving us gifts that will make a difference in the lives of others. That's what success is—being what God meant for you to be. Jesus said, "My purpose is to give [you] a rich and satisfying life" (John 10:10).
You may be thinking, "Well, Rick, what about work that needs to be done but doesn't express my gifts; it just has to be done?" Any homemaker knows exactly what I'm talking about. I would say to you that every job, even the one you are suited for, has mundane parts. Every job has some parts to it that you won't like, but you can still worship God through those parts of the job.
And I would suggest you adopt this attitude: "Maybe this job that I'm in right now is a phase of my life and I'm not going to be here the rest of my life. But this is where I am for now; therefore, I will worship God right now." The apostle Paul says, "Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering" (Romans 12:1).
"Lord our God, may your blessings be with us. Give us success in all we do!" (Psalm 90:17).
You may be thinking, "Well, Rick, what about work that needs to be done but doesn't express my gifts; it just has to be done?" Any homemaker knows exactly what I'm talking about. I would say to you that every job, even the one you are suited for, has mundane parts. Every job has some parts to it that you won't like, but you can still worship God through those parts of the job.
And I would suggest you adopt this attitude: "Maybe this job that I'm in right now is a phase of my life and I'm not going to be here the rest of my life. But this is where I am for now; therefore, I will worship God right now." The apostle Paul says, "Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering" (Romans 12:1).
"Lord our God, may your blessings be with us. Give us success in all we do!" (Psalm 90:17).
"It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, He had His eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose He is working out in everything and everyone" (Ephesians 1:11-12).
Many Christians don't make the connection between Sunday and Monday. They compartmentalize their life. They think, "Well, I've got a spiritual life and I've got a secular life. My spiritual life is when I read the Bible, when I pray, when I go to church, when I do good things for others. That's my spiritual life." And that's over in one compartment.
So then, they think, over in another compartment: "This is my secular life. That's my work, my job, my career, my business decisions, my finances, my pension plan; all these things are my secular life."
God says, "No, that's wrong. All of life is spiritual." The word secular isn't in the Bible. It all matters to God; everything in your life is important to God. God is as interested in your work as He is in your prayers. In fact, I would suggest that He might be more interested in your job because you spend more time working than you do praying.
The fact is, your relationship to Christ is like marriage. Marriage is a full-time relationship, and so is your relationship with Christ. What do you think would happen if I came up to my wife and said, "Honey, I'm going to act married only when I'm at home"?
The fact is, all of life is important to God, and you can't separate your Christianity from your work, just as you can't separate your Christianity from your life.
So then, they think, over in another compartment: "This is my secular life. That's my work, my job, my career, my business decisions, my finances, my pension plan; all these things are my secular life."
God says, "No, that's wrong. All of life is spiritual." The word secular isn't in the Bible. It all matters to God; everything in your life is important to God. God is as interested in your work as He is in your prayers. In fact, I would suggest that He might be more interested in your job because you spend more time working than you do praying.
The fact is, your relationship to Christ is like marriage. Marriage is a full-time relationship, and so is your relationship with Christ. What do you think would happen if I came up to my wife and said, "Honey, I'm going to act married only when I'm at home"?
The fact is, all of life is important to God, and you can't separate your Christianity from your work, just as you can't separate your Christianity from your life.
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people" (Colossians 3:23).
The apostle Paul teaches that we are to work as though we are "working for the Lord and not for people." He's saying that no job is too small; no job is too menial; no job is too insignificant when you have the right motive and perspective. We should think, "I'm doing it for God; I'm doing this job as if I'm doing it for the Lord." I used to clean meat lockers in a butcher shop, and I would clean them as unto the Lord.
Now, how do I know if I'm doing my work for the Lord? Two characteristics will show up in your attitude: excellence and enthusiasm.
First, if I'm doing my work, not for the boss but for the Lord, I'll do it with excellence. That means I give it my best shot—I do the best I can because I'm not doing it for anyone's approval, except God's. I do it with excellence, being the best I can be.
Second, I do my work with enthusiasm. I'm working for God, therefore, I do it with a cheerful attitude. "Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically" (Romans 12:11).
When you are working with all your heart, motivated by the love of Christ, your work is transformed into an act of worship for God.
Now, how do I know if I'm doing my work for the Lord? Two characteristics will show up in your attitude: excellence and enthusiasm.
First, if I'm doing my work, not for the boss but for the Lord, I'll do it with excellence. That means I give it my best shot—I do the best I can because I'm not doing it for anyone's approval, except God's. I do it with excellence, being the best I can be.
Second, I do my work with enthusiasm. I'm working for God, therefore, I do it with a cheerful attitude. "Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically" (Romans 12:11).
When you are working with all your heart, motivated by the love of Christ, your work is transformed into an act of worship for God.
"Do all your work in love" (1 Corinthians 16:14).
The apostle Paul says, "Do all your work in love." He doesn't say some of your work, but all of your work. He also says "no matter . . . what I do, I'm bankrupt without love" (1 Corinthians 13:3).
The point is, any job can be turned into worship when it is built on the model of Christ's love; that love is expressed to co-workers, clients, and customers. Mother Teresa said, "It's not what you do so much that matters, but how much love you put into it."
Think about it like this. Two-thirds of the word career is "care": C-A-R-E. John Rushcan once said, "When love and skill come together, expect a masterpiece."
So, I want you to pray a prayer every day this week. When you get up to go work—whether it's at home or at school, in your backyard or at an office or wherever you work—I want you to pray, "Father, today I want to worship You through my work. I want to express my gifts, I want to do it as if I'm doing it for You, and I want to do it in love."
"So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. This is the true worship that you should offer" (Romans 12:1).
The point is, any job can be turned into worship when it is built on the model of Christ's love; that love is expressed to co-workers, clients, and customers. Mother Teresa said, "It's not what you do so much that matters, but how much love you put into it."
Think about it like this. Two-thirds of the word career is "care": C-A-R-E. John Rushcan once said, "When love and skill come together, expect a masterpiece."
So, I want you to pray a prayer every day this week. When you get up to go work—whether it's at home or at school, in your backyard or at an office or wherever you work—I want you to pray, "Father, today I want to worship You through my work. I want to express my gifts, I want to do it as if I'm doing it for You, and I want to do it in love."
"So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. This is the true worship that you should offer" (Romans 12:1).
PurposeDriven.com by Rick Warren
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