Have a great start of the week fellow toastmasters and friends of Area 83! I want to share with you this inspiring article from Soulfood, a weekly newsletter from Bo Sanchez.

Let Your Work Be Your Worship

 

I have a simple message for you today: Let your profession be your preaching and your work be your worship.

 

Preach In Your Profession

 

One day, my friend told me, “Once upon a time, I used to complain about my crummy job.  Until I met people with worse jobs.  Like I heard of this wife who complained how her husband kept on bringing home work.”

 

“Huh?”  I didn’t get it.

 

“The wife was so irritated that her husband kept bringing his work home and working on the dinner table.  Finally, she gave him an ultimatum and told him to stop doing that or else.”

 

“But isn’t that… uh… normal?”  I asked.

 

“Not if your husband is an embalmer.”

 

“Suuuuure,” I chuckled.

 

“Seriously, I really thank God I’ve got the job that I have.  Even if it’s difficult.”

 

“Absolutely.”

 

In fact, I believe our job is where God wants us to share His Love to others.  Yes, even if you’re an embalmer.

 

St. Francis of Assisi said, It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.

 

       Announcement: I don’t know what your job is, but I believe you’re also a preacher.

 

       But with a big difference.  If my audience doesn’t like what I say, they stand and leave the room.  You however have a captive audience.  In your workplace, people are listening to you eight hours a day, five days a week.  If your audience doesn’t like what you preach, they’re stuck with you, and they’ll have to listen to your preaching whether they like it or not.

 

       Sadly, if you live a life of materialism, selfishness, and pride—you’re preaching a life of Hell.

 

       But if you live a life of love, forgiveness, and humility, then you preach God’s Love—and you bring your officemates closer to Heaven.

 

       Friend, the choice is yours.  Today, will you preach Heaven or Hell?

 

Do your officemates become better persons because of knowing you and being with you?  Find out how you can bless them more.

 

Worship In Your Work

 

       Your job should worship God.

 

       Because you’re not employed by your boss or company, but by God Himself.

 

The guy who you call Boss isn’t your Boss.

 

The Almighty is your real Boss.

 

St. Paul says, 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)

 

       So when you give sloppy work, you give sloppy worship to God.

 

       I remember Joseph in the Old Testament.

 

       Wherever he was working in—as a slave in Potiphar’s house, or a jailbird in an Egyptian prison, or as Vice-Pharaoh, he was always Star Employee of the year.

 

       No, he didn’t do these for the awards.

 

He just did a fine job everywhere he went because he was faithful to God.

 

       This is what I learned: If you work for God, you bloom wherever you’re planted.

 

       So respect and honor that obese guy with the bad breath behind the desk in front of you.  He doesn’t look it, but he’s God’s representative.

 

       Again, St. Paul says, Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men… (Ephesians 6:5-7).

 

       Will you be embarrassed when you present your work to the Lord as your worship?  Or will you be proudly offering your work to Him?  What can you do to make your work more pleasing to God?  List down the ways.

 

Martin Luther King said, If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep even as Michaelangelo painted, or Beethhoven composed music, or Shakespear wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will pause to say, Here lived a streetsweeper who did his job well.” 

 

Let your work be worship.