Who Do You Work For?

By admin

I have been at my current job for about 5 months after possibly one of the most trying times in my life as a Christian. So Im utterly grateful to have work because I went through a a lot and lost a lot not having one last year. So once I got this new job I reflected back on what I did great at my last Job; Walmart, which ironically sits right next door to my new job 0_O. I came to grips with my lack of integrity in certain areas as an employee and worked on strengthening those as well as perfecting good habits. I sat down and wrote out some goals I would focus on.  I wrote Goals and questions to myself like, “Am I making myself irreplaceable”  then I wrote what I needed to do to ensure I am an irreplaceable  employee. Then I wrote things that entailed being irreplaceable; being on time, performing quality work in time, exceeding expectation and so on. For the most part I most certainly exceed my quotas every night but I did seriously oversleep and come to work 2 and half hours late one night…smh. When I came in I rushed to tell my manager right, he looks at me and shrugs his shoulders and I’m speechless…?  There was this awkward 4 second pause where my brains like “no punishment or nothing.”, that was God’s grace. I have a really cool manager he does a great job delegating authority and not micromanaging operations as other managers do.

So… fast forward to our quarterly meeting (I actually have a point to make). Our head of Florida operation was in for our quarterly meeting to talk about production and goals and all that jazz. He gives a crisp to the point presentation and even adds in some smiley faces under the influence of our new HR manager It gets time for wonderful Q & A and as is the custom people are lost for words and there is awkward silence the speaker attempts to fill. So I had jotted down question on my napkin (I ate chocolate chip cookies) during the presentation in which I begin to ask. As I broke the silence I drew attention to myself, I asked about 3 or 4 questions which were answered by our HR manager as well as the head of Fl operations manager. I asked one question neither was sure of so they had to take my name to get back to me on it. Nonetheless, concluding out meeting I was commended by our presenter and a few managers. I was approached by a lead technician that commended my ability to distinguish myself from the rest. He asked me my educational background and told me to contact him if I were interested in possibly entering the technical field.

I stayed longer to talk with the HR manager to give her my information and such then it dawned on me I had indeed distinguished  myself. I didn’t do it to be seen or get ahead, inquiring is just an indispensable quality of my personality since I can remember. You know how when baby’s reach that age where they continually ask “what’s that or what’s this” then they repeat it and grab something else. Well lets just say I never really exited this stage of continual  inquiry since childhood and I’m glad I didn’t. Plus always asking questions keeps my head from inflating and being transformed into a know it all. As a result of my inquiry in this meeting I somehow created gossip at work among fellow employees and I could feel it. I got the feeling people assumed I thought I was better than them because I asked some questions. I was told “I see you trying to move up” and overheard jokes that I’m trying to be the new Ceo of the company. Thankfully I’m not given to gossip nor does gossip aimed in my direction offend me.

I just begin to converse with God over the matter, that I don’t want to be noticed I just want to be the best I can, cause I’m working for Him. So I let the peace of God transcend my understanding and realized that I wasn’t working for mortal man alone anyway. I understood my ambitions may alienate me from some co-workers and I definitely felt it after that meeting. Nonetheless I decided not to give in to the pressure of being “the average worker” to appease others consciences and neither should you. Those who believe in Jesus Christ should exceed the efforts of those around them who don’t, why? We should because our productivity and effort is not only judged in the light of the natural realm but also the spiritual/eternal realm as stewards of Christ. We owe ultimate allegiance to God yet in the course of our devotion we must submit to earthly authority without losing focus of the basis of our service.

In efforts to keep this writing under 1,000 words #1 Don’t just work for a paycheck. Realize God is the ultimate source of life and your job falls under the plan  of His provision. Money can be printed by the boat loads but you have one soul be wise with it. Secondly, don’t attempt to dim your light or snuff out your ambitions because it makes others around you feel insecure, it should motivate them to action. Be a catalyst for projects and such without being annoying and overly authoritative, but shine nonetheless wherever you are. Daniel and his friends are a prime example,they all  had men attempt to kill them just to snuff out their light yet, they remained distinguished.

“And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm.”

Ensure your set apart and distinguished for all the right reasons, being you display the attributes of God, thus drawing men unto Him cause they want to mimic you. Plus you realize the qualities that set you above the rest are God given for His glory, so your life becomes a revolving door with God. You work for Him, produce good works, He’s glorified, your blessed, thus you give back more, He blesses you more and it never stops.

Basically this passage is the gist of all I just said, plus I exceeded 1,000 words…

“Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.”  (Colossians 3:23-25)

Perspective: Are you truly being the best at what you do?
Working as unto the Lord?

Have You Not Known?

By admin

Anytime I feel as though my honor towards God is beginning to wane I realize its a lack of perspective which is gained through His presence as well as His word. So I put on some Jesus Culture and just gave Him praise using the most descriptive words to attribute greatness to His name that the english language  could offer. Then progressed into my holy language until my heart and mind connected to what was taking place in my spirit. When this happens you usually go from just saying God your are good to realizing,  ”wow God you really are good!” David was great at encouraging Himself in the Lord. The passage I know I needed was Isaiah 40, one of my top scriptures I rely on for reseting my mind back on track with Gods spirit. So I read it over and over then wrote out key passages that stuck out to me on my dry erase board (no I don’t write like a girl! shut up!)

The phrase that consistently popped out to me was “Have you not known?.”  In this chapter God continually calls the people of Israel into remembrance of what He has done for them and most importantly who He is. He exclaims His mighty wonders in creating the earth in verse 12;

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?”(12)

God continues to proclaim His excellence and stature through the mouth of Isaiah the prophet as he shouted to a stubborn and thick headed people. Israel was prone to losing focus due to a lack of applying what they had heard through instructors time and time again. Its just something about the tone in which God implores “Have you not known” that I infer He is pleading with them to call to mind his previous works.

Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?(18)

Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.(28)

God seems to earnestly beg through Isaiah “remember, remember, hear, and understand!” I feel this pattern is consistent throughout scripture as even Paul reminds us that Israel’s journey was recorded for our present day example (1 Corinthians 10:11). They were written for our example to hear, understand, and most importantly apply what we have knowledge of so we are not deceived and unbelieving . As I revolved this thought it just naturally progressed into the understanding we will be judge on all we know and the application of that knowledge. As a just judge God holds us accountable to the knowledge we attain and the actions produced from it. Just as a tree that is positioned at the river bank by a farmer is expected to grow more vigorously than the rest and as a result of growth produce more fruit than the other trees. In the same I believe God will judge us in accordance to what we hear, see, and know. Its vital we continually ask ourselves, “what do I know?” or what do I know that I am not  presently acting on? What have I heard, what have I been exposed to?

It is such a trend in our culture and even Christian circles to know the deepest revelations and theological positions. Unfortunately I don’t think many understand the implications and responsibility of knowing. This is why in James it reminds us that not all should presume to be teachers for the fact teachers usually know more and are thus judged on a stricter level (James 3:1). It is also interesting in the aforementioned passage James progresses to speak on the tongue and how illusive it can be. He says that with the same tongue we can bless God and curse our brother, these actions are a production of what we know and understand†. Nonetheless, there are several avenues I can travel down with such a broad topic but the focus is to understand and know. Read Isaiah and hear God’s heart to his people. I interpret it as God pleading, “listen I have told you this before and even showed you, get an image of me and you won’t be faint hearted, because I am your God!”

Perspective: What have you known, what has been told to you, and what are you doing with it?

†We also have inherent traits that alter actions from the fall as well as being created by God.(big topic to discuss another time)