“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1)
As Christian women, we want to honor God with our actions, attitudes, and speech. We want our behaviors and our encounters to be pleasing to Him. However, how often do we become trapped in the busyness of life and the urgency of the moment and neglect to demonstrate the very Biblical principles dear to our hearts? How often do we forget those principles when dealing with people, making decisions, communicating, or behaving? Like me, they have happened a little (or a lot!) more often than I would like.
Experience is a beautiful educator as I reflect on situations and see where I:
Neglected to pray first
Spoke too much before I listened enough
Did not match a principle to a problem.
Do you feel you are ready to make a move from not only knowing the Bible but applying more of the Bible?
The Bible is rich with wisdom, knowledge, and instruction on everyday life, decisions, challenges, and interactions with others. Every situation we deal with at work has a principle we can depend on for direction and guidance. We can apply the stories, proverbs, verses, commandments, and promises to work situations, problems, behaviors, and decisions. In essence, we can “demonstrate God at Work …at work.”
During a recent lunch with a friend, she shared how her preference was not to go to work. Instead, she wanted to be home with her children, but her financial situation did not allow that. She discussed how difficult it was to be in a workplace where there were not any other Christians. However, as we discussed how she handled situations and comments, she was clearly honoring God, but she did not seem to be consciously aware of this. I asked her if she could change her mindset to look upon her work as a ministry. It was clear from her expression that she had not looked at work in that manner. She looked upon her career as a way to support her family, not considering how it could also be her ministry and an opportunity to display God at work to others. When we next met, she was excited to let me know she had been more aware of His Presence and more aware of honoring Him with her actions and attitudes. In so doing, she is happier about her situation, and her co-workers are able to see God at work in her life in practical ways.
Think of the latest difficult situation you had at work. Do you feel you demonstrated the golden rule? Was Micah 6:8 a guiding principle to help you?:
”To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Do you think you revealed the Fruit of the Spirit during your interaction even though you may have been dealing with a complex problem?
God has provided all we need to ensure our work is pleasing to Him. Our role is to:
Give: Giving our bodies as living sacrifices. We need to come to the place in our lives where we fully and truly give ourselves, which means that we each offer our body, mind, heart, gifts, will, and time. It also reflects our desire to do things God’s way, based on His truth.
Act: this is the way to worship. After the desire to offer ourselves comes the active preparation for living our Christian principles at work, which includes spending time studying His Word and regularly and specifically, praying. In addition, it means we are explicitly studying scripture to ensure we understand and use biblical principles as they apply to a specific work situation.
Romans 12:1 is one of my favorite verses. I hope you continue to grow in the knowledge and grace of demonstrating God at work.
Have a wonderful week! God Bless,
Bonny, Christian Women at Work
PS. I would love to hear from you! Email me directly at bonny@christianwomenatwork