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Living Out Your Faith at Work

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One of the biggest challenges I face as a Christian is Monday morning. Not because I hate my job (I don’t), but because the work environment on Monday morning is at odds with the experience of Sunday morning.

Sunday morning is full of hope, joy and worship. Monday morning is full of traffic, alarm clocks and stress.

Being a Christian is part of who I am, but at the office this aspect of my identity is subdued. I’m not paid to talk about Jesus, pray for people or sing praises. It’s a struggle to navigate the culture shift from Christian to corporate every weekend. Raise your hand if you’ve caught yourself doing either of these:

  1. Signing an email “God bless”
  2. Bowing your head to pray before a meeting

However, while faith isn’t always welcome to be “on display” at work, we can still be a light to the world. Jesus doesn’t call us a sequestered life hidden from the world. Quite the opposite.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:19

We are called to be different. To go.

So, the big question is “How do I live out my faith at work if it isn’t welcome?”. Here are two simple (not easy) guidelines…

1. Love People

Biblical principles are the framework of our faith. They explain what believe and Who we believe in. The catch is we don’t work with principles, we work with people. Principles are black and white on what is sin, but people are a multicolored mess. Just like you and me.

Jesus loved people. Not in concept, but in action. He healed, fed and spent time with people.

When we serve people in love, we serve God.

How are you following Christ’s example and actively loving the people you work with?

2. Do Your Job

Say what?! Hear me out. We are at work to work. We were hired to do a job. We get a paycheck every few weeks for successfully continuing to complete that job. How well are we working? Is our heart in it? It’s easy to think our work has no eternal value, but consider this command from both Colossians and 1 Corinthians:

“Do all things as unto The Lord.”

Ouch. I don’t know about you, but I can rarely look myself in the mirror after a long day at work and say “I did as if I worked for God today.”

Here’s the catch, if we work with the attitude that God is our boss, what’s going to happen to the quality of our work? How about our relationships with coworkers and clients?

If we work “as unto The Lord” we are an ambassador for the Almighty.

What do you think will change if your mindset changes about Who you really work for?”

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This has been a guest post by K.C. Procter. KC Procter is a husband, dad and writer. He’s helplessly addicted to coffee and dependent on God’s grace. KC’s mission is to encourage others on the road from good to great.

6 responses to “Living Out Your Faith at Work”

  1. Jason Vana Avatar
    Jason Vana

    It’s a little different for me now, seeing as I work for my church, but a lot of the principles still apply. While I do work for a church, I am not paid to sit around and pray all day. I have a job – a busy one at that. And I didn’t always work for a church. Living out my faith in the workplace took me a while to learn, but I just was myself and allowed my beliefs to be evident in how I acted. I even did pray for people and talk about Jesus because there was a difference in my life. Some of my coworkers even came to Christ because of who I was on Sunday was the same as who I was on Monday. It makes a difference. Great post, KC.

    Reply
    1. ThatGuyKC Avatar
      ThatGuyKC

      Good stuff, Jason. I try to be authentic during the week as well. If people ask what I did on the weekend I don’t shy away from mentioning church.

      It’s been great to connect with a few believers at work and have that support.

      I imagine working at a church presents it’s own set of unique challenges. :)

      Reply
  2. Hal Baird Avatar
    Hal Baird

    There are so many traps in the office. I think the biggest one is gossip. How many times have I had to courage to tell a co-worker, “I really don’t want to hear that”? Not enough, I’m afraid. Another pet peeve is nonproductive people. I can’t count how many times I’ve had to finish a task that a co-worker didn’t do even though he/she is making the SAME pay as I am. It is really irritating. I think we need to take a “Jesus break” every so often during the business day, a few seconds to shut out everything around us, and remember our Christian faith and how we are supposed to act. It certainly would help us to refocus on the tasks at hand and be a better person in the workplace.

    Reply
    1. ThatGuyKC Avatar
      ThatGuyKC

      The gossip one is difficult to avoid. Another challenge I struggle with is attitude. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of complaining about work and being negative. It’s something I’ve got to battle daily.

      Trying to be genuinely positive and share a grateful heart can be a bright light for Christ.

      Reply
  3. Jon Stallings Avatar
    Jon Stallings

    Huge key for me at my “paid” job is being a positive influence. It is so easy for negativity to become contagious. I try to make sure I am not a carrier. However, on the other side I am authentic with my co-workers. They all know I am a Pastor but they see that I also struggle at times. Being real helps build trust.

    Reply
  4. Living out your faith at work

    […] Today, I have the honor of guest posting over at Jonathan Pearson’s place on living out faith at work. Below is an excerpt, but you can read the whole article here. […]

    Reply

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