Do You Love Your Job?

I recently saw a sign in a co-worker’s office that said,

“Pick a job you love and you will never work a day in your life.”

Wow! Just the thought of having a job that you love to go to every morning seems like a fantasy to many. This was not the first time I had heard this saying and I must say I have to believe that it is not true. While the thought of doing something you love every day may seem like heaven on earth, no job is without challenges.

For years I thought I wanted to be a Spanish teacher or interpreter. I dreamed of the day I could get up every morning and go to a classroom and teach. I felt like all would be well in my world if I could just do what I wanted to do every day. Naturally, this was an unrealistic thought process. Once I finally landed a job using my Spanish skills I realized that many days were less than perfect.

The biggest challenge of any job is the fact that we have to work with other people who are as imperfect as we are. There are people to deal with on any job. No matter what I do, I will have a supervisor to answer to and co-workers to get along with. Often my co-workers ideas will conflict with my own. If I am not willing to compromise and work at reaching an agreement that everyone can live with I will always be frustrated.

I remember when I used to think that I would be happy if I could just be in charge. I laugh at such thoughts now that I am in management. When one is in an entry-level position, he has to concern himself with what his superiors think. When one is in management, he has to balance what his superiors think with what his subordinates think. Often those at lower positions in a company feel that management could change things if they would. What they fail to understand is that everyone answers to someone and their immediate supervisor is probably following orders in the decisions she makes. It is easy to say what needs to be done until one is responsible for getting it done.

For years I worked in lower skilled, low paying jobs, not feeling like I could do anymore. I had skills but did not have confidence in myself (or in God) to believe that I could do more. I often knew that I was not happy with my current position but I did not know what to do about it. I had an ideal job in mind and thought that all would be well if I could obtain that job.

In time and through God’s blessing I obtained a better paying position. I had a job that matched my skill level and I should have been content. But I was not content; I lacked the confidence that I needed to do my job and felt that my opinion was not valued. I will never forget the moment during a church service when the Spirit of God spoke these words to my heart: “I have promoted you but you are still thinking like a janitor.”

I was stunned because I realized in that moment how true these words were. I was still walking around like someone that had a minimum wage job. I had to stop thinking like someone with a low paying job and no skill set. I had to behave myself like a professional and understand that my opinion mattered. I hesitated in using this example because there is nothing wrong with being a janitor. However, there is something wrong with believing that one’s work is meaningless. (We all know that the custodial staff is one of the most important positions in any place of business.)

With time I have come to believe that the most important thing in any job is one’s attitude about that job. One can have the best job in the world and still not want to be there. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the grass is always greener on the other side. No job is without its challenges and one must face those challenges each day with the mindset that he will do his best.

I do believe it is important to pick a job that one will enjoy when possible. I am a people person and I love languages. I enjoy talking to people and learning about their cultures and lifestyles. I consider myself a fairly intelligent person but I do recognize one thing about myself; I do not enjoy math. I would not be good at crunching numbers all day and could not imagine being a bookkeeper or accountant. My own aversion to numbers let me know not to study accounting or anything remotely related to it while in college.

If one has the ability to study and pick a job s/he will like, by all means do it. Just remember that the best job in the world will still have its challenges because nothing in this world is perfect. The sooner one learns that lesson in life, the more content s/he will be. If one finds one’s self in the place where he has to take whatever job he can get at the moment, he should do that job to the best of his ability. Nothing stays the same and chances are that a better job will come along eventually. In the mean time, he should see the job as an opportunity to better himself. There is always something that can be learned from any job, even if the lesson is more about human nature than skill set.

While it may sound good to say that a job you love will turn everyday into play, this is simply not reality. While I am not saying that one should not try to find a job he will enjoy, I am saying that even the best job will have things about it that one does not enjoy. One has to make the most of those things and give every day to the Lord. Remember, we should be doing everything as unto the Lord; He gets no glory out of a job half done. Give your best to every situation and you may be surprised to find out that you do love your job after all.

Blessings,

Pastor Sullivan Jones

The Jewish New Year

Today is the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The festival begins at sundown today and will continue until Friday at sundown. This is a time when Jewish people the world over will celebrate the creation of the world. They will offer prayers of thanksgiving for life, health, and blessing; many will make New Year’s resolutions. Some will use the time to renew their consecration to God and ask for his forgiveness for wrongdoing. They will seek to make amends for any wrong done to someone else. For this season also marks the beginning of the Days of Awe in Judaism, a period which begins with Rosh Hashanah and ends with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

As I contemplated the Jewish New Year this afternoon I realized how appropriate it would be for me to take time to join my Jewish friends in celebrating Rosh Hashanah. There is so much going on in our world, from hurricanes to terrorist attacks to earthquakes. I realize that God has been very good to me and my family. I have a good job, a house to live in, two vehicles to drive, and the list goes on. I have a host of family and friends who love me and I am in relatively good health. So far I have been spared the devastation from which so many are presently suffering.

This is also a time for me to pause and say a prayer for others. I am no better than another. I cannot say for sure why some are suffering so while I was spared. Though I am thankful that my home and community have been spared this time, I must not take that for granted. None of us is secure in this world and our only hope is in God. Perhaps I have been spared tragedy so that I can be of help to someone else in need.

I also think it appropriate to use this time as a time of repentance. It is easy to point fingers at the things that are wrong in my country and my world. Rather than point fingers, I must allow God’s word to judge my heart. What have I done to help the situation? Surely someone else’s sin is no greater to God than my own sins have been. Perhaps I need to evaluate my own life and see if I am living up to the standards I say I believe in.

Rosh Hashanah is a time of soul searching and reminding ourselves that all we have comes from the Giver of Life. I find this particularly beneficial now, coming just before the American holidays. In a few weeks we will all be rushing around making “holiday” preparations. We will spend a lot of time, and often too much money, on things that are not needed. Many will buy extravagant gifts on credit, wishing in January that they had not done so. Though we may enjoy the Christmas music and the lights, most of us are just glad when the fast-paced holiday season is finally over. I often wonder how many of us even stop to consider the religious meanings behind the holiday. To many the holiday season is only a time for gaiety with little contemplation for spiritual matters.

So I find it particularly useful to stop now and reevaluate my own life. What is most important to me? Are my own relationships in order? Am I at peace with God and in my own soul? Are there family matters that I need to attend to? When my family gathers this holiday season will there be peace or strife? What can I do to mend a broken relationship or right a wrong? Above all, am I aware that Christmas is supposed to be a time for celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace? If there is a lack of peace in my heart perhaps I should realign some priorities.

As a Christian I do not feel that I am bound to celebrate any certain day above another. Yet I am free to celebrate any holiday I wish, as long as it is for the right reason (Romans 14:5-6). So I have chosen to reevaluate my own priorities during this time our Jewish friends call Rosh Hashanah, the New Year. I make a renewed pledge to God to keep him first. I determine to make the most of family relationship and cherished friendships during the upcoming holidays. Above all, I choose to have a thankful attitude for God’s continued blessings on my life. Would you join me in this time of rededication to God? The benefits are more than you can imagine!

Blessings,

Pastor Jones 

Who Will I Serve?

I awoke this morning thinking about slavery. Perhaps that seems like a negative subject to think about early in the morning but bear with me. The thought came to me that we are never really free from bondage until we are bound to something else. What! Yes, you read that right. It is impossible for human beings to be completely free from bondage.

The same law that sets the slave free demands that all citizens pay income tax. The law demands that all of its drivers obey the speed limit and refrain from stealing, killing, and cheating. The penalties for each crime or different but there are punishments for breaking each rule. If a person thinks that he is completely free from the law, let him fail to pay income tax. Eventually he will wind up in trouble with the law and might actually wind up in jail. One could see the law as unfair or unreasonably binding. I think most would agree, however, that they would prefer the constraints of the law to anarchy.

It would be easy to decide that we don’t want to pay income tax and do away with such laws. It sounds good on the surface, but the government could not operate without revenue. Without taxes, the government would shut down. Then where would we be? There would be no laws to say that one couldn’t kill his neighbor or even enslave another person. While income tax might seem to be an undue burden, it is better to pay taxes and have the protection of the law than to live without it.

Many people look at the laws of God as if they are unjust burdens. Some would even say that Christians are not bound to the laws of God since we are under an era of grace. The question I would ask is, “has God’s nature changed?” We know that God’s word is forever settled in heaven and it does not change (Psalm 119:89). Thankfully, Jesus paid the penalty for every lawbreaker when he went to Calvary, but this does not mean that there are no rules for Christian living.  

Romans chapter eight talks about two contrasting laws. They are the Law of Sin and Death and The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. (Notice that the Law of the Spirit of Life does not exist apart from abiding in Jesus Christ.)The law of sin and death is the old law that says, “If I sin I will die”. None of us can escape this law. We were all born with an inherently sinful nature that drives us to do things we do not even want to do. This law enslaves us to our sinful passions. This law will drive an alcoholic to drink, though he has come to hate the alcohol. It causes people to lie, steal, cheat, and all sorts of things they are ashamed of. It is truly a law of sin and death.

The only way to escape this law is to embrace the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. This new law says that I can embrace a new life when I am born again.  I have traded a life of bondage in servitude to sin for a life of joy in the service of Christ. Some are uncomfortable with the terminology of service in a relationship with Christ; this language is absolutely Biblical. Paul referred to himself as the slave of Jesus Christ many times. Though the King James usually translates the word “doulos” as servant, its primary meaning is slave (Romans 1:1). Paul clearly understood that serving Christ meant giving us his own desires to live according to God’s word.

Jesus himself said that no one can serve two masters; a person must love one master and hate the other (Matthew 6:24). Notice that Jesus did not say a person could be free from service. The terminology here implies that we must all serve someone. We humans were not created to be free from any rule. In God’s original order we were created to serve God. Because of man’s disobedience the cruel taskmaster called sin entered the picture. Since Adam and Eve’s failure, man has constantly cried out from freedom for his sin. God provided the means to that freedom through Jesus Christ by allowing us to His services. One mistake that people make is in thinking that salvation sets one free to do as one pleases; this is simply not so. Salvation returns one to a place of rightful service under the first master and owner, the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are some who see all the constraints of Christianity as too difficult. They desire to formulate a Christianity that requires nothing of its followers; it was the same in Biblical times. The earliest Christians were Jews who previously had known only the Law of Moses. This law was strict and required complete disobedience or swift judgment. It is unthinkable that some of the early Christians would chose to return to the Law of Moses after having tasted freedom in Christ, yet some of them did. Paul warned against this Galatians 4:21. It was folly to think that the old law, with its uncompromising mandate for punishment, could be better than Christ’s Law of Love.

Sometimes Christians think they can walk away from their relationship with Christ, returning to their old lifestyles with no thought of the consequences. The person who does such a thing has forgotten what his life was like before Christ set him or her free. S/he is only looking at what s/he sees as bondage under the rules of Christian living. He thinks it will be better to live without any constraints. He has not considered that returning to the world returns him to a life of servitude to sin.

Slavery is an evil word in today’s world. Subjugated peoples of the past fought long and hard to earn their rightful freedom. The problem with slavery is that we humans were not meant by God to be in bondage to any another person. The institution of slavery exploits one person for the good of another. Theoretically, masters were supposed to provide for their servants. A slave did not have to worry about paying bills, supplying his own food or clothing, or anything else. What a slave needed, the master was obligated to supply. We all know this didn’t happen. Slaves instinctively knew that they would be far better making their own way in the world; it would be better to starve than to spend a lifetime in bondage to a cruel master who did not care about his servants’ needs.

Our master, Jesus Christ, is not like the taskmasters of the past. He is a wonderful master who provides everything that we need. His laws have made provision for his servants and he keeps his promises. There are promises in his word for the supplying of needs, for the healing of sickness, for peace of mind and anything else we could possibly imagine. The Christian has the best master imaginable because Jesus Christ cares for his servants and always provides for their needs. I know some see the restraints of the Christian life as bondage. Personally, I would rather be bound to Jesus and enjoy the benefits of being his servant than be responsible for myself and be in servitude to sin.

The only real freedom is in Christ!

Blessings,

Pastor Sullivan Jones