Weekly Message

I Think of Work

By Rev. James

“Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” (Ephesians 6:7-8 NLT).

We all have different feelings about our work. I see that most people complain about their work after staying in the job for some years. Somehow the enthusiasm is gone compared to the days when they first started. Very rarely I meet someone who says he is very happy with his work and find it meaningful and life fulfilling.

Different people are motivated by different things in their career. Here are the four universal dimensions that affect our life, thus our job satisfaction. These four dimensions represent the four basic needs and motivations of all people.

1. Body. This is the physical or economic dimension. We need to live and to survive. Consciously or sub-consciously we will give to our work depending on how we are treated. If you feel that you are not paid fairly or the pay you get does not accurately reflect the level of your contribution you will be ‘riding on a cow while looking for a horse’ attitude. You will leave the job when you have a better opportunity.

2. Heart. This is the dimension of love and relationships. Even though you are paid well but treated unkindly, not respected and treated arbitrarily, dictated by the mood of your superior, you will be very stressed out. The stressful relationship will make you want to leave the job for a better environment.

3. Mind. This is the dimension of learning, growth and development. Some jobs only required you to press the right buttons and your creativity is not valued. You just follow orders and you are required to work within a lot of useless rules and regulations … you will not find satisfaction here.

4. Spirit. This dimension talks about meaning and contribution. Even if you are paid well, treated with love and your creativity is valued but the work is meaningless to you, you will get no satisfaction. If the job is unethical you will choose to leave.

You will be happy in a job that fulfill these universal basic needs of a human being. Such a job may not be available for you yet, but the Bible has some clear teaching about your work. While you may not be able to change your job, you can definitely change and reinvent your attitude towards your job. When you do that, you will reinvent your job. What about stopping to work for your boss, but work as if you are working for the Lord Jesus Christ? This is what the sermon is all about for this week. Stay tuned.