Dear Friends,
After that statement in my last blog that – ‘your job is not of any value to God if it is not directed to Him as an act of worship’, I think it would be good to have a brief personal reflection of our work lives.
An honest, calm, individual reflection, whether on our professional or personal lives is a good predictor of a successful outcome. This has been researched and proven in several academic journals and books and a magazine sample on the importance of self-reflection can be read in https://bit.ly/whyselfreflect.
The Bible, arguably the most comprehensive journal of human understanding also agrees that reflection is good for us. In the book of James, a personal reflection is positively described as looking into the mirror, seeing what needs to be changed, and doing the needful to be blessed in what we do (James 1:22-25).
Work is made to be beautiful and caring
The Bible also warns us not to dwell too much on the past, whether good or bad but to learn from the experience and then press on to our goal. Apostle Paul wrote this perfectly for us in Philippians 3:13-14 ‘Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus’.
As a start point of this reflection, let us consider two extreme positions where an individual can either ‘live to work’ or ‘work to live’. As with any extreme position, we need to quickly move away from any of these if we find ourselves there. The first extreme is worse because the individual does not need work to survive but rather they work to satisfy other desires such as greed or pride. The other extreme describes people who depend on work for their survival such as providing them with necessities like food and accommodation. This is the reality for the majority of the world’s population but this can also become a problem when the person’s hope is solely based on what they can do for themselves without recognising God as the ultimate provider.
It is important to note that anyone in the above two extremes would not be able to live by God’s principles in work and so we need to examine ourselves and move from such a position. The Bible makes it clear in Colossians 3:23-24 that our work must be to the Lord who will reward us. John 6:27 also states that we must not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which Jesus will give us.
I believe a reflection about work should start from our decision about our career choice, how we prepare for work-life, and what drives or motivate us at work. The final part of our reflection should then be on where we are at this time, consolidating the lessons learned, and then moving forward with confidence.
The following is a brief personal reflection based on the above which I hope will inspire you to do the same.
My formative years were a bit difficult in terms of my relationship with God and all ‘authorities’. I was rebelling against the religion of my parents, Islam, but also their wishes for me to go to university, to study medicine, and to become a Doctor. I hated the idea of uniforms and I thought I can never be a Doctor where everybody will be wearing the same white coats. This is true because I still don’t like the idea of uniforms or uniformity but I was wrong in thinking that all Doctors wear the same uniform!
As a result of my rebelliousness, I did not pay much attention to what my future profession or career would be. I was so sure or better, so full of myself that I thought it did not matter whether I go to school, or which course I did, I was born to make big money, and that was the end game as far as I was concerned. I ended up doing a 5-year first degree and another 2 years at the postgraduate level to study Chemistry as a stop-gap until I make that big money! I was so privileged or rather, so spoilt that I did not have to do a single hour of paid work until I was over 25. You can read more of my story in the book ‘Freedom to Choose: a reflection on Father/Son relationship’ https://fmministry.co.uk/fm-publications.
As you can imagine, my first job was a disaster! In a country where many graduates were jobless, I was helped to get a job with a sole proprietor of a food manufacturing company as a quality control supervisor but the job did not last more than a few months. The proprietor came in one day demanding faster production for his suppliers and we were all doing the best we could to meet his request. Then he shouted at me on the production floor, in front of everyone saying, ‘you supervisor, why are you standing around, go and join people parking!’
That was the end of that first job for me, I told him to stick his job somewhere and I walked out. I was too proud to be spoken to like that in front of my subordinates!
My second job was in a different country after I left mine. This time I spent 18months looking for work whilst I was fully dependent on a friend. I was helped to get a Technician job which was well below my qualifications. I was already humbled and would have stayed on the job for life. That was a point in my life when I needed to ‘work to live’. But the country I was puts the employment of its citizens above the need for a foreigner like me and the intention was to terminate my contract as soon as an indigene is available to take the job.
Fortunately, by God’s divine intervention, I managed to get into the UK and stumbled into a new career in Social Care. By this time my idea of going for the big money has dissipated and I had found my ’cause’ in wanting to help as many people as possible. I enrolled in colleges to do the foundation courses and later on completed a degree in Social Care. My exposure to social care made me discover that I have a passion to help people and that I have some natural skills that help me to be very good at the job. I fell in love with my work with vulnerable service users and at that time I could easily be said to ‘live to work’.
I am still in social care and I still love the job. I am not so much in the front line now but I am content with my contributions as long as I can see the impact of support I provide to colleagues who are in direct contact with the people who need our services. I hope I have moved off from the extreme of ‘living to work’ but sometimes I catch myself almost slipping right back into it! I cannot deny that I sometimes log in to work on my days off, weekends, annual leave, etc. but the urge to do this is much reduced.
But despite the above confession, and on balance, I am convinced that I no longer ‘live to work’ but rather, I live and work for God. I now know that serving and obeying God is more important than anything else I do and I cannot see myself in any workplace now if I cannot serve God on the job.
Some 7 years ago I was desperate to move from my last place of work due to what I described then as a persecutory experience but what I now believe God used to move me on to my destined position. I did 2 great interviews but by God’s divine intervention I did not get the jobs until a 3rd interview which took me to where I am now. It is here I quickly found out about a Christian workplace fellowship which is now part and parcel of my work for God.
My reflection of my work life is that God, through his great mercy and divine intervention has provided me with relevant experience and training for my work in His Kingdom. God faithfully molded, moved and guided me from the wilderness where all I cared for was how to make money to when I had to ‘work to live’, to where I ‘live to work’ but now to a stage where I only want to work for His Kingdom. Hallelujah!
Dear Friends, I hope my reflective account has inspired you to think about your work experience so far. I hope you have reflected on the mistakes you made, some good things that you can congratulate yourself and God divine interventions to help you to this stage. I hope all these will help you to then look ahead into the future with a determination to do better especially in the area of living for God in your work life.
If you are still thinking about your life purpose, May I recommend 2 resources I found helpful?
- Findmywhy is run by professional psychologists and can give you meaningful insight and clarity about what you can do for employment https://www.findmywhy.com/
- The book ‘The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?’ by Rick Warren https://bit.ly/goolesearchpurposedrivenlife
We are happy to be of help at FMM, at least for a confidential listening ear if you need to speak to someone about any of the issues raised in your reflection. Please email us at hello@fmministry.co.uk and someone would be in touch with you.
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God bless you and keep growing in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Adesina
Wow great work Bro Suleiman. I testify to your story. It resonated with me. What a journey praise God. God is a humorous God. He is using our perceived negativity and disadvantages and turning them into great use by His grace.. fantastic very well done God bless you and all you do amen.
Thank you Dear Sister and Amen to the prayers. Your family played a big part in my journey and I am very grateful to you and your husband. Let’s continue to give God all the glory!