3 Essential Aspects Of Work As Worship

February 22, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner , , , , Leave a comment

Work as WorshipWhen reading about Jesus in the Bible, I find He spent a great deal of His time in the marketplace ministering to all kinds of people. The reason I think Jesus was so often found in the marketplace is because the marketplace is where most people spend each day seeking to fulfill their purpose and destiny in life. Ephesians 2:10 reads, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” This verse tells me that before the creation of the world, God prepared a destiny for each of us to walk in with Christ and bring Him glory. I believe when Jesus came to earth as the Son of Man, He went into the marketplace where people were seeking to fulfill their God-ordained purposes in life with Him. Two thousand years later, I don’t believe anything has changed. Jesus still wants to minister to people in the marketplace where they can be found seeking to fulfill their God-ordained purpose in life with Him. However, for Jesus to do this today, God’s people must embrace the following three essential aspects of “work as worship” in the marketplace with Jesus.

1)      Work As Worship Redeems The Purpose Of Work In The Marketplace

Work as worship in the purest form, fundamentally entreats the redeeming purposes of God in the marketplace; however, the unfortunate reality is that many people view work as a four-letter curse word rather than work as worship. Tragically, such a misconceived view of work causes God’s redeeming purposes for work anywhere in His kingdom to be forfeited to the evil purposes of the kingdom of darkness. If God’s people, His kingdom ambassadors on earth, do not understand God’s redeeming purposes in work, then how will God’s kingdom shine forth in the marketplace arenas of our world as a city that is set on a hill? Sadly, it will not because God has given you and me the personal privilege and responsibility to shine His light through us by our good works glorifying Him in the marketplace. Matthew 5:16 states “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” This admonishment from Jesus applies to good works on Monday through Saturday as much as it applies to good works on Sunday. God can be glorified and worshiped in all of our work when we truthfully embrace our work as worship unto Him and not unto men.

2)      Work As Worship Truly Matters To God In The Marketplace

Colossians 3:23-24 states “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” Please hear the spirit of God in this matter of truth. We serve Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, in all of our work including our work in the marketplace. God cares about our work in the marketplace because He cares about people and He designed our work to help Him take care of people. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God foreshadowed His provision for their spiritual needs by the shedding of blood to cover their sin AND He also foreshadowed His provision for their temporal needs by covering their bodies with clothing. Since then, God has been caring for the spiritual and temporal needs of man and woman – eternal spiritual beings created in His image, living in a temporal and fallen world. This means if you are in the clothing business, you are actually doing work that matters to God by helping Him provide for people’s clothing needs. It’s the same for anyone in the marketplace doing work that helps God care for the temporal needs of people. The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” When you discover the temporal needs of people that God is supplying by your work in the marketplace, you will discover God’s ordained kingdom purpose for your work in the marketplace.

3)      Work As Worship Fulfills The Two Greatest Commandments In The Marketplace

Responding to a lawyer about the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus answers in Matthew 22:37-39, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

When we approach our work as worship, we fulfill these two great commandments of the Lord in the marketplace by doing our work in a manner that glorifies God with wholehearted love for Him and doing our work in a manner that benefits others through our genuine love for others. Loving God and loving people is the cornerstone of true work as worship in the marketplace with Jesus!

Thank you and have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

3 Essential Aspects Of Work As Worship Copyright 2012, Gary J. Borgstede. You have permission to reprint 3 Essential Aspects Of Work As Worship, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved.

The Make It Happen Moment ® Live With Enthusiasm

May 15, 2011

Gary J. Borgstede The Make It Happen Moment ® , , , Leave a comment

Cover of "Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to ...

Cover via Amazon

Quote: “Living your best life now is living with enthusiasm and being excited about the life God has given you!” – Joel Osteen

Being excited about life…can that be a reality?  You might think to yourself, “Well, perhaps at home with family and friends, in my personal life, I can be excited about life, but certainly not in my work life.”  So let me ask you, why not in your work life?  Oh, I can hear the replies already.

“Work? Don’t you know work is a four letter word.”

“I mean work is work.  The less the work, the better the life.”

“Work is just a job so that I can really live life when I’m not at work.”

“Work is nothing but headaches, struggles, and conflicts that I can do without.”

“You want me to be enthusiastic about work…give me a break, then I’ll be enthusiastic.”

“Solve problems for people…yeah right, if you pay me more, then I’ll think about it.”

Although, I don’t know the statistics on how many people dislike their work, I do know instinctively that there are many people who work each day without knowing the true purpose of their work.  As a result, they can live 65 to 75 percent of their waking life unhappy, just getting by until the workday ends.  This is sad to me because I know it doesn’t have to be that way.  In fact, I believe that God created work for people to find passion and purpose in life.  Ephesians 4:12 states, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”  Simply understood, the Lord created us to do His bidding in the earth.  Once you realize that God created you for good works to serve people and solve problems that make a difference in people’s lives, you unlock the door to passion, enthusiasm, and purpose in your work. 

I learned from reading Joel Osteen’s book, Your Best Life Now, that the word “enthusiasm” is a derivative of two Greek words: en theos – which means “inspired by God”.  By adding the word service to enthusiasm, we get “service enthusiasm” which then means “service inspired by God.”  When you are a service enthusiast, you find joy and satisfaction in your work because you are serving others by the inspiration of doing God’s will in whatever work He has called you to do.  In Colossians 3:23, the Apostle Paul writes, “Whatever you do, do it heartily [with passion], as to the Lord and not to men.”  With a spirit of commitment and excellence, serve others with enthusiasm, and you will discover joy and satisfaction in your work as a real gift from God!

The Make It Happen Service Enthusiasm Value: “Make It Happen” People Are Service Enthusiasts!

Have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Edited by The Make It Happen Moment ® Editorial Team

The Make It Happen Moment ® Live With Enthusiasm Copyright 2006, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® Live With Enthusiasm, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

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