Let’s start with some basic definitions between our job and our work: Our job is what we do day-in and day-out to bring in income. It is the duties we perform, most often for an employer, sometimes as our own employer, for which we receive money. A company’s job descriptions are written for whoever happens to have the job. Once the job description is written, the search begins to find a person who will do the job well.
Our work, on the other hand, is what God has designed us to do. It is our purpose for being here, what we are uniquely created for. It is distinctly linked to the gifts, talents, passions, and assets we have been given by God. While many people may have identical jobs, no two people have the same work, because each of us has a unique plan for our lives.
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).
Those works God has prepared for each of us to do—that is our work.
We must understand the difference. When this is not clear to us, we can encounter many difficulties.
For example, one of our most common mistakes is to expect our job to fulfill us. In the past Americans seemed to have a love affair with their careers, but have you sensed how is changing now and changing rapidly? We see industries shuffling, companies downsizing, and management levels reducing in almost every company and industry. People no longer expect to work for one employer throughout their career and build a family relationship as we have in the past. This passion we’ve had for our careers is becoming more like a fatal attraction.
Yet, because we’ve seen our jobs as our work, many people continue to look to the workplace to find meaning and purpose in their lives. If you don’t know the difference between your job and your work, you can see how frightening and disillusioning this could be for some people. They lose their job, and they lose their identity.
Now, here we are as Christians in the workplace, and we need a biblical perspective of our jobs, don’t we? Let me ask you: As a Christian, is it essential for you to have a job which is personally fulfilling? Is that your right? Should that have a high priority in your life?
I have a feeling if that is true, many of you would stand up right now and say, “My job is not fulfilling,” and we would have to conclude your life is in shambles. But the good news is, you may be able to say, “My job is not terribly fulfilling, but my life is fulfilled because I know the work God has given me to do. That fills my life with meaningful activity.”
Let’s consider some significant differences in our job and our work:
Now, first, do you know what your gifts are? Do you know the spiritual gifts you’ve been endowed with by God? We all have at least one spiritual gift, and many times we have several. Let’s look briefly at Romans 12 to learn a bit about these gifts.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully (Romans 12:6-8).
And again in 1 Corinthians 12, we read:
Now to each one (that means everyone who is a believer) the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7).
The manifestation of the Spirit is your gift or gifts. If you have been born from above, you have blessed with a gift, and the reason you’ve been given a gift
