Recently, I’ve been thinking about and pursuing application of scriptural principle and mindsets when it comes to my day-to-day, mundane activities; those activities which do not seem to fall into the “spiritual” category.
I don’t know about you, but once I get in a routine (get up, eat, go to work, get home, eat, go to bed; get up, eat, go to work, get home, eat, go to bed… etc.) which only varies on weekends, it’s easy for me to get into a “float through the week” mentality where I just half-heartedly “do my duty” Monday through Friday and “live for the weekends”. I lose my eternal perspective, and wind up questioning, when I am weary: “Why am I here? Does this really matter?”
This perspective does not honor the Lord.
Col. 3:17 “and whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Col. 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”
Eph 6:8 “Serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord, not men.”
A study of these verses and some commentaries has led me to infer the following:
1. Our work, as Christians, is set apart for the Lord. Many of us work to support ourselves or others, but our work really is meant to be more than just a practical step to provide for physical needs. Work is an opportunity for us to bring glory to God, and to enjoy Him. (The two essential things which make up our purpose in life as Christians!)
2. A certain type of work is not specified. In other words, there isn’t a distinction between “spiritual” work (i.e. working in a church, in missions, or something along those lines…) and secular work. If we are motivated to serve the Lord, all work is “full-time Christian work”. In our choice of career, God desires that we seek to best use the gifts and talents he has given us, rather than pursue a certain field because we believe it to be more “spiritual” than another.
In other words, we can “sanctify the ordinary” by purposing to recognize and use what the Lord has given us (think the parable of the talents…) in creative, diligent, and faithful ways.
Another important thing to realize is that if all Christians worked in strictly religious work environments, we would not be serving the purpose stated in Matthew – there would be no salt and light in the world. Working in a secular environment puts us in an opportune position to witness and minister to unbelievers. When God calls you to work, that is good work. Your perspective of what may be worthwhile must be dictated by how you have sought God and seen his call on your life.
In secular work environments, you also have the opportunity to be responsible, to treat employees and supervisors and students with righteousness and fairness; these are opportunities to represent God’s character to a world that is blind to who He is.
Col. 4:1. “Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.“
It is obvious that our work is one area where we must pursue a spiritual mindset, which lends significance and purpose to our activities and relationships in those atmospheres.
But our call to keep our perspective focused in this way includes more than just our work.
“Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16).
“Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – which is your spiritual worship.” (Rom 12:1)
Work is definitely a part of this call, but these verses and many others speak of a life that brings glory to God through a service to the Lord that extends over all of our life: demonstrating an excellence of character and commitment in our relationships as well as integrity and diligence in all we do. “In short, the call to serve the Lord requires a life where faith and career and faith and relationships are integrated, not isolated.”
As a Christian, you are called to examine what being excellent means for you.
Excellence, as the world defines it, is associated with superiority, competition, and sinful striving for recognition and “self-esteem”. Verification of this type of excellence comes from comparisons made between people, things, or institutions using some external standard.
Excellence as defined biblically can be described as “being of the highest quality” or exceptionally good. Here, the standard is still external, (and must be determined according to scripture) but is non-competitive and not secular in nature or outworking.
Phil. 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
We could also note that 1 Cor 12 speaks of the many parts of the body, of spiritual gifts, and is followed by 1 Cor 13, the famous love chapter, which is introduced by “and now I will show you the most excellent way.”
These verses speak of seeking to integrate excellence into one’s life as defined by God’s standards, not according to men.
Our pursuit of excellence for God’s glory forces us to establish priorities and make choices concerning how we are to best spend our time so that we can be excellent in the most important areas of our life. As Christians, we must be careful not to sacrifice relationships for ambition. We must establish a balance in our pursuit of excellence in work, relationships, and extracurricular activities which is informed by God’s standards laid out in His word, as well as by the counsel and wisdom of others.
“It must be clear that we can neither neglect our work, as we are working unto the Lord, not unto men, nor become one-dimensional perfectionists at the expense of the rest of our responsibilities. We must never use our Christianity as a rationalization for poor quality work. Also, we should never use our work as an excuse for neglecting our relationships with family, friends, and students.”
We want the world to see what we value. This must be purposefully and specifically defined by each of us; we must seek to determine how best to set an example, to be ambassadors for Christ in every area of our lives. Do your coworkers and fellow students know that you have a different perspective on life: different goals and priorities? They may know you are a Christian by the more blatantly “religious” actions and words which characterize you, but do they know more of God by their observation of you in the “secular” or “ordinary” elements of your life?
Paul said: “Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last. But we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”
Is our pursuit of glorifying and enjoying God limited to our religious activities? Or is it obvious that in all we do others can see that our vision and purpose is fixed upon and motivated by an awareness of God’s call and the joy we take in using our gifts and talents to pursue true excellence?
As Christian we should see excellence “as the state of being of the highest quality as measured by the standards of God. There is no necessity for superiority of one person over others and no particular virtue in being labeled No. 1.” We need to see our lives as the integration of faith with work and relationships and day-to-day activities.
Your spiritual life may shine, but “being No. 1 in one area alone does not justify being a zero in everything else.” We are called to do all things as unto the Lord.
Do you have eyes to see the “spiritual” side of all you do? You will know by two things: a) your joy (or lack thereof) in every area and activity of your life, and b) your definition and prioritization of excellence.
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