Many people start on a wrong note when it comes to choosing a job. We put ourselves first but as far as the kingdom of God is concerned, we come last in the three categories of people to be considered. These three are; God, Others and Self.
We could fall into two potential types of error when choosing our job. The first is the error of idolatry when we base the criteria for choosing the right job on bringing glory and honour to ourselves rather than to God.
The second is the error of idleness when we fail to seek God’s advice in our job search making it possible to fall into a type of job that does not lend itself to fulfilling God’s purpose. Many may even secure a job that takes them far away from serving God the way they used to.
These two errors will be possible when we embark on the job search with a focus on self rather than God first, followed by others and self coming last.
Jesus taught us to think in line with the greatest commandment;
““Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” And Jesus replied to him, “ ‘Y OU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].’”
Matthew 22:36-39 AMP
Starting with God and others does not in anyway agree with what we are used to when seeking for a job but this is what God wants. Recall my last piece on “For what purpose?” Where I established that our singular purpose on earth is to please God just like Jesus Christ was about His Father’s business.
This is why He comes first in your choice of job.
There are six questions you need to ask yourself when considering potential job opportunities and in keeping God first in your decision making. They are;
- Does this job glorify God? There are certain jobs that clearly does not glorify God, not morally accepted and evil to the society, they are not in this category. Examples are working in an abortion clinic, as a hit man etc. these types are not subject to any debate. There are others where the lines are not clear, for example, have had a question where someone asked if it’s okay to take up a function in a brewery. This is what we need to sort out with God but the bottom line remains that we want to do work that glorifies God
- Does this job permit me to live a godly life? Will you have to sacrifice obedience to God’s word on the altar of lies because of this job? As a side business, I sell cars and I know the lies that go on in that business especially when it comes to adjusting high mileage cars to low mileages so it can be attractive to potential buyers. It could be very tempting because you can get to buy a high mileage car from the lot cheaper, which means you could maximize your profit, but I have made up my mind that I will not compromise on this as being right before God is better than making some financial gains that will soon varnish
- Does this job provide for my needs and allow me to be a blessing to others? This is still very important because the word of God says anyone who doesn’t provide for those of their household has denied the faith and worse than an unbeliever. So we see that this factor is still very relevant but doesn’t come before putting God first and others. Moreover, if you are doing a job that uses your talents but doesn’t provide for your household, you are living in sin because you have denied the faith.
- Does the job benefit the society in some way? Again, this is another question that may not be as straight forward when deciding which of two jobs benefit the society more, but we should still consider the question
- Does the job take advantage of my skills and talents? This question like questions 4 and 6 that will come after are nice to haves unlike questions 1-3 which are must haves. It may not be straight forward to say all the jobs should take advantage of your skills and talents because some jobs might just be means to an end. You should therefore consider the end in mind after evaluating the first 3 questions carefully.
- Is this job something I want to do? This isn’t just about you enjoying the job (if that is the focus, you might be putting yourself first) but knowing that you would need to apply yourself fully to the job because as God’s word says, whatever job you do, do it with all your heart (Colossians 3:23)
It is important I point out here that we should not chase fantasy and refuse to take advantage of the opportunities we have now.
“A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies has no sense.”
Proverbs 12:11 NLT
“A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty.”
Proverbs 28:19 NLT
God saying this twice means it is a sign of caution we mustn’t ignore. These questions are to provide a framework for us to think about what is important and what opportunities to rule out. Jobs are temporal but God is eternal. Both the dream job and the imperfect job will pass away but make sure none denies you of your right standing with God.
God bless you
Akindele Afolabi
Christian Employee Series.