On this episode:
This episode discusses some of the pitfalls we need to avoid when it comes to our work.
Episode Transcript
Opening
On this week’s episode, some potential pitfalls that we want to avoid when it comes to our faith at work.
You’re listening to Your Faith At Work with Dr. Ryan S. Howard, a podcast to inspire and equip you to partner with God in your daily work. Visit your YourFaithAtWork.org to learn more and download your free copy of 21 Days to a New Workplace You.
Episode
Now at Your Faith At Work, we want to help you focus on your work the way God designed you to work. He created us to work and His image and we were created to work and engage with Him in our work and with this focus on work. However, there are simply potential pitfalls, some dangers that can come up that we want to make sure we’re aware of and that we avoid and we’re careful about.
In 1 Corinthians 10:31 it says, “…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,” and that certainly includes our work. God wants to use your work for your benefit. He wants to use it to develop you. He wants to use it to expand His kingdom. He wants to use it to develop people around you to bring about His will and His influence and to bring He glory through your work.
Pitfalls
Now this can’t be accomplished if work is not kept in its proper place. So what are a few of the pitfalls that we can have? Some potential dangers that can come through not having work in its right place? Well, one is that we can have a wrong motivation or a wrong approach to work. If our goal is just to get more, get more, get more, earn, earn, earn and it’s just to have more, that may not be the best motivation.
Now, if we have a wrong attitude and negative attitude or an “I deserve” attitude, a me kind of self-absorbed all about me and my work or that kind of mindset, that’s just about you. That’s also a pitfall that we could fall into and we want to make sure that’s not the case. While God certainly involves us in our work, it’s not about us.
Our work is about Him and about what He wants to do. And He wants us to serve Him, to serve others and to be a His representative to those around us and to bring Him into our work with us.
Another issue is overworking. You know, we can certainly work too much. We can spend too much time on our work. We can get that out of balance. A lot of times people think about work life balance, but really it’s more of a work life management, where it may be that we spend more time at work in one season of life. But we want to make sure we’re aware of that and that we’re aware of the potential issues with that and that we are conscious of it. And of course, we never want to sacrifice family or anything for the sake of work. God would not do that. God will keep everything in the right level to where we can work the way that God wants us to.
Now work can also become an idol where it becomes too important. It would just put it on this pedestal and that one job or that one a career or that one project or person. It is really going after it and focusing too much on that and not focusing on the Lord. Now certainly we can go after those things and God wants us to do that and to go hard after those things, but we have to have it in its right place. We need to pursue it with Christ in the middle of everything we’re doing and making sure that it’s about Him, which brings us to one final pitfall to talk about today.
Our identity must be in Christ. It cannot be in our work.
So do any of these potential pitfalls grab your attention this week. If they do, I want to encourage you to get alone with the Lord. Reflect on them, let Him work them out so that you can make sure that you are continuing to work with God the way He designed you to.
Closing
Thanks for listening to Your Faith At Work with Dr. Ryan S. Howard, if you enjoyed this podcast, we’d love for you to subscribe, share, and leave us a review. Be sure to visit your YourFaithAtWork.org to download your free copy of 21 Days to a New Workplace You. And remember, God wants to partner with you in your work every day.
