Work – Still Learning

Do it all for the Glory of God

In his first letter to the church in Corinth the apostle Paul said the following words: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Whatever and all are big words! They seem to cover everything. Surely there must be some areas that they do not cover?

I spend my day at work looking at boring spreadsheets. It can be very difficult to motivate myself sometimes.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

I work in a supermarket serving customers all day, some of whom are rude to me. I do not enjoy my work.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

I work in a factory on a production line doing a mundane task for the whole day.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

I am a manager at work and I get grief from both my team and the senior management team. I am stuck in the middle and have had enough.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

I serve coffee at church each Sunday after the service. I do not think anyone appreciates what I do,

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

I spend all week preparing the bible study for my housegroup and people often do not show up. I have had enough.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

I have spend several hours learning how to operate the software so that we can stream our church services as we cannot fully open yet due to the coronavirus restrictions. However, all people do is complain when anything goes wrong.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

I am a youth leader at church and have become disillusioned that a number of our young people have stopped coming along. I have just found out that they are now going to the trendy church on the other side of town. I wonder why I bother?

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

I am a pastor at a struggling church. It is really hard work and I am feeling that I have failed the church.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

I open up our church building each Sunday and get all the chairs out. I then stay afterwards and put them all away. No-one else offers to help. I feel unappreciated.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

I have been cleaning our church for 25 years and never get a word of thanks.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

I give up several hours each week to run the local scout group. I am not sure people understand or appreciate my commitment to the group.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

I make no apology by finishing with the same verse used throughout:

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Remote Work The new normal

Many of us have been working from home for the last few months and I expect that some are now considering this as a permanent option. If this is you, then Gren Gale’s latest book: “Remote Work The new normal” will interest you.

The author has worked remotely for several years and has a great deal of experience in this area. Interestingly, he was writing this book at the beginning of 2020 and completed it in the middle of the coronavirus epidemic. Thus making this a very topical book for 2020.

Remote Work The new normal has seven chapters. The first chapter is the introduction and looks at why you might need the book. Chapter two addresses the important issue of whether you can handle working remotely. The author draws out the plus and minus points of remote working and how one might find remote work. In chapter three he looks at how to build successful remote teams, which managers will find helpful. Chapter four is about technology and tools that are important for communication, project management and knowledge bases. One thing that must never be overlooked with remote working is security and this is covered in chapter five. The next chapter is about legal points and the author speaks about publishing a home working policy. The final chapter is the conclusion in which Gren Gale describes briefly some advantages of remote working. Remote Work The new normal is approximately 170 pages and can be read through in under 2 hours.

If you are someone who is interested in working from home then it is important to research the matter thoroughly. Due to his vast experience of remote working, the author will raise issues for you to ponder which you may not have previously considered. Most would agree that it is sensible to take advice from such a person. This book will prove to be a very helpful tool for you to use and I highly recommend it.

Thank God it’s Monday by Mark Greene

This is a well written and easy to read book for anyone struggling with what it means to be a Christian in today’s workplace. Greene believes that it is God’s will for Christians to work, although he makes no distinction between those in paid employment, such as the CEO of a large multi-national organization or the stay at home mum. He states that, whatever we do, we should seek first to honour God rather than our earthly bosses. Indeed he even suggests that, as all authority comes from God, our earthly bosses have been empowered by God to transform us and make us more Christ-like – a real challenge if you struggle to get on with your immediate supervisor!

Greene asks why there is generally so little preaching and teaching on workplace evangelism (although this may be due in some instances to the make-up of a congregation if it comprises mainly retired Christians or folk who may have little hope of gaining paid employment in particularly deprived areas). He reminds us that the success of any outreach is winning people for God not increasing individual congregations. Greene also addresses some of moral dilemmas particular to the workplace with practical examples dealing with such things as using office equipment and being asked to lie by your superiors.

Even since the first publication of this book the working environment has changed significantly with a long hour’s culture now almost the norm in many jobs. The author looks at this issue and the impact that it has on our lives. The book avoids offering any easy solutions but does challenge our attitudes to work, and those we work with, and warns against compartmentalising our lives.

I particularly like the fact that he is not afraid to share examples of when he has made mistakes and I am sure many of us can identify with him in this respect. This is certainly a book that I would recommend.

Adverts for Christ

I was reading a devotional book a while age which challenged me with the question: what sort of advert am I for Christ? Many of us can ‘talk the talk’ and quote Bible verses off the top of our head on various subjects but how many of us ‘walk the talk’ in our daily life?

When our non-Christian friends and family members look at us what sort of advert do they see for Christ? Do they see someone who genuinely reflects Christ, or do they see someone who is no difference from them?

Are we one thing for an hour on Sunday and a couple of hours at housegroup, but a different thing at home and work? Do we have a reputation at work for being a gossip or as someone who speaks well of others? Do we use holy language at church but coarse language at work?

If we manage people at work do we treat them fairly and speak to them politely, or are we rude to people and treat them like dirt? Do we tread on other people, so we can get to the top or treat everyone respectively?

What about at home? Do we speak to our families in a Christ like manner or are we rude and horrible to them?

If a film was shown of everything we had said, done and thought over the last 24 hours would anyone be able to say yes that is a good advert for Christ or would everyone say no that is a bad advert for Christ?

Of course, none of us are perfect and still have areas in our life where we need to change. However increasingly we should reflect Christ and be a better advert for Him as time goes on. If this is not the case, then something is wrong.

What Job Should I do?

Some people seem to know from an early age what job they want to do. If you ask them they answer confidently and tell you what job they hope to do after leaving school / university. However others have never really been able to answer that question. They seem to fall into a job and then several years later are still not sure what they should be doing.

There are some who feel that so called “full-time Christian work” is more important than working in a “secular job”. They might have set their heart on being a pastor or missionary and are very disappointed if they then end up working for the local retail outlet / insurance company / garage etc. For those who have this mindset it’s good to remember the following verse from Colossians 3v23:

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters”

For anyone who might be wrestling with the question “what job should I do?” the following articles are well worth reading and pondering:

The Theology of Work

There are many different areas of life where it is very challenging and difficult to live out our Christian faith. One of these is the workplace. Many people feel under pressure from the long hour culture that is prevalent today. Additionally with the advances in technology some feel an expectation of always being “on-call” to their bosses.

Not to mention the challenge of our working relationships with our work colleagues and managers. If we are honest there are probably some colleagues who we prefer not to work with! All of us at times at work have lost our cool with people and then felt embarrassed about it afterwards.

Why do we work? Is it just to earn enough money to pay the bills and to go on holiday occasionally? Should we be sharing our faith at work or is that not appropriate? Is God really interested in what we do at work? What does the bible say about work?

If you are interested in looking more in depth at this subject then you may find The Theology of Work website helpful.

On their website they say the vision of the Theology of Work Project is that every Christian be equipped and committed for work as God intends

Considering how much time many of us spend at work it’s certainly worth looking more closely at this subject from a Christian prospective.

Checking work emails when on holiday

I received an email at work on Monday, concerning some new research undertaken by LinkedIn about British workers checking their work emails whilst on holiday. The following results caught my attention:

24% of British workers say they can’t relax if they don’t check their work emails while on annual leave.
37% feel more positive about their return to work if they’ve been checking in on work while out of the office.
68% of those questioned don’t mind checking their work emails while their out of office is on.
60% admitted opening in their inbox at least once a day.
48% say that they check their emails as they don’t want to fall behind.
84% of those questioned confessed that they actually respond to work emails while they’re on holiday.

I find it incredible that people are unable to switch off from looking at emails and enjoy their summer holidays.

Whilst work is important it is also essential for our own well-being that we relax and take a break from the pressures of it. If you are on your summer holidays then you should not be working but rather enjoying your holiday. Instead of looking at work emails why not switch off your smartphone / tablet and do one or more of the following:

Go for a walk
Go for a run
Go for a swim
Play tennis
Read a book (make sure it’s not work related!)
Take a boat trip
Visit a museum
Go sightseeing
Enjoy the company of those you have gone on holiday with!

We spend so much time at work that we should at least try to enjoy our holidays and forget about work. Go on give it a go!

No One Likes Change

Let’s be honest we don’t really like change do we? Most of us are normally quite happy with the status quo and like things to remain exactly as they have always been. We like what we are comfortable with.

I’m reminded of the character Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory who always has the same food on a set night each week e.g. Monday night is Thai takeaway, Friday night is Chinese takeaway etc. If anyone attempts to change this routine then they meet fierce resistance from him.

I find myself worryingly adopting similar tendencies when I visit local restaurants. In each restaurant I always have a favourite that I select each time I visit. If a restaurant removes my favourite item from the menu it throws me into total confusion! In fact I stop going to that particular restaurant. How dare they change the menu!

CHANGE AT WORK

There have been many changes in the working world over the last few years. The world of work has changed beyond recognition during the time I have been working. When I first started work we did not have PC’s. We recorded the number of transactions we did by hand in a big ledger. I wonder what today’s young people would make of that.

I remember a number of years ago when I first encountered spreadsheets. Back in those days we used Lotus 1-2-3 and my initial reaction was resistance to them. One of my colleagues was very good at writing formulas in Lotus 1-2-3 and I was not. This was a change I did not like!

Now fast forward to the present day and I really enjoy working with Excel spreadsheets and trying to find quicker ways to complete tasks! I couldn’t imagine a world without spreadsheets now.

Technology has brought many changes to the workplace over the last 20 years. I suspect that there will be many more to come. How will I embrace these changes? Will I be willing to change and be adaptable or will I yearn for a return to the old ways?

CHANGE AT CHURCH

The following story of a conversation between a new vicar and a church warden illustrates the problem we have with change in churches:

Vicar: “How long have you been coming to this church Fred?

Church Warden: “I’ve been coming here for over 20 years.”

Vicar: “You must have seen a lot of changes over those 20 years.”

Church Warden: “Yes I have and I have resisted all of them!”

This year my church will be merging with one of our sister churches to form one new church. Both churches currently have very different styles of worship. The plan is to hold two services which will reflect the differing styles of worship that both congregations have at present.

Both churches at the moment meet for worship at 10am. However, going forward that is going to have to change, probably for both churches, as we will need to fit in two services during the morning. I personally like worshiping at 10am. It’s very convenient for me! I would rather we kept worship at 10am but that is unlikely to happen and I will have to accept this change.

We are in the process of advertising for a leader for our new merged church. Whoever gets this position will be responsible for ensuring that this merger goes ahead and planning how this is done.

There will no doubt be a number of changes over the forthcoming months and years. Some of these changes will be well received and some I expect will probably be resisted. What will my response be going forward? Will I resist every change and long for a return to the ways things are now? Or will I embrace change and prayerfully accept changes including those that I do not like?

As Christians we must always be open to embrace any changes that God wants to do in us. In John’s 15: 1-2 Jesus says

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

Jesus will prune the branches. Change is both good and necessary.

Change is for us. Don’t let yearnings for the past hold us back from change