Created for Work ~ Ch. 6 "The Doorway to a Heart"

Bob Schultz opens Chapter 6 in Created for Work with this wonderful quote by Cecil O. Kemp, Jr.:

"I want to see my business not just as a source of income, but as a way for me to express my love for life and for others."

That should be our goal as well. Our work should be more than just work for us, as followers of Jesus Christ. Our work should be an outlet from which God's abundant love and peace overflow to those around us.

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"God often uses work to put two people side by side," Schultz reminds us. Often, people who might never cross paths in life meet each other through work. They could be strangers at first, but in the end they are firm friends. Thus, work is often a relationship builder. It can also be a relationship strengthener. God might use work as a way to bring together friends who haven't seen each other in years. Their relationship may have grown cold, yet it may be revived as they work side by side.

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"I've often had the privilege," Schultz says, "to sit at tables with lonely, elderly widows.They call, requesting me to install a dead-bolt or repair a door. However, I know the reason for the job: it's a means to cheer up the sorrowful, encourage the downcast, and give confidence to the fearful. Without a a useful trade, I'd be a distrusted stranger.With a skill, I become a reliable friend, in time of need...

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"When the Apostle Paul traveled to Corinth, he teamed up with Jews named Aquila and Priscilla. 'And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought (worked): for by their occupation they were tent makers' (Acts 18:3). God used their common trade of sewing tents to bring these Christians together. I'm confident that God also handpicked their customers, material suppliers, and even their neighboring businesses."

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Yet just as work can create or strengthen relationships, it can also destroy relationships if we aren't careful. We must never let the career or the money become more important than the people. If you let work and the pursuit of wealth become your one aim and focus, you will alienate yourself from others and replace God with mammon. This is by no means the way it ought to be. "Paul liked to work (Acts 20:34-35). During different seasons of his life, he supported himself and others with a working wage. Yet, his eyes weren't on riches or on a career. He was busy warning every man he met and teaching every man he could, all that he knew about Christ. He had a heart for people everywhere he went, meeting whatever physical and spiritual needs he could."

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As we work, we should always be on the lookout to reach out to others and show them the love of Christ. We should not work with closed eyes, blindly, mechanically doing our appointed tasks and nothing. When we open our eyes, work becomes more than just work: it becomes an opportunity.

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"There's no such thing as a dead-end job, no matter how dull and insignificant it seems to be. When God directs us into a job, it's usually for the people He brings into our lives. He's the One responsible for bringing that obnoxious, tobacco-spitting fellow into the shop. It might be a lesson for us, for him, or more likely for both...

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"You already have some talents and skills. As you continue to develop, remember that God plans to use your abilities to provide contacts with people. Customers may need your occupation, but they need what's in your heart even more. They want your encouragement, your perspective on life, and your understanding of God to brighten their way and bring hope. Don't let the cares, riches, and pleasures of your career prevent you from seeing your job as a God's doorway to another's heart."

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"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way." ~ Psalm 37:23

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Persevero,

Scribe