Do you see your job/workplace as misery or ministry? Let’s be honest, no job is perfect and it doesn’t matter if you are the chief executive officer or the maintenance engineer. Quiet as it’s kept, both jobs although very different are equally important to the health and vitality of any organization.

Tweet this; ‘WHEN YOU VIEW YOUR WORK AS MISERY, YOU MISS OUT ON MINISTRY’.

Colossians 3:23-25 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Another translation says to “work heartily” (ESV). Yet another says to “work willingly” (NLT). The Amplified Bible adds “from the soul.” Ephesians 6:7-8 shares a similar concept: “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.” In essence, this is the Christian work ethic. We are commanded to put forth our best efforts, to work from our heart and soul at whatever we do. We are accountable to God and stewards of the gifts He has given us. Our work flows out of our gratefulness to Him.

Look at it this way, God didn’t curse man, He cursed the land! At the very beginning of creation and prior to the fall, God integrated work into creation! Genesis 2:15 says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” It was after the fall from grace, work became toil (Genesis 3:17-19), but work itself was instituted in the “very good” part of creation (Genesis 1:31).

Proverbs 6:6-11 says, “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.”

Let’s be clear, it’s our responsibility to ensure whatever we do brings glory to God, but scripture doesn’t condone nor encourage workaholism. We do not work merely to amass worldly wealth (in fact, Matthew 6:19-34 warns about this). As I mentioned, we work to bring glory to God. We also do not work ourselves into the ground or to the extent that our health is damaged or our families suffer—hence the incorporation of the Sabbath day’s rest.

God has raised a standard in all Christians, so it really doesn’t matter if your ‘workplace’ is in an office, on a construction site, in a retail center, in a fast food chain, on an oil-rig, on an offshore boat, in a political office, in a classroom, in a fire station, in a police station, in a hospital, in a church, or in a home cooking, cleaning, and taking care of your family—we are born to serve and called to glorify God with our work!

As Christians we are called to have a strong work ethic and to work diligently at all that we do. We are called by God to our work cheerfully and without complaint because we are working for the Lord who loves us and has redeemed us. Quiet as it’s kept, a solid work ethic witness to others (Matthew 5:16) without ever saying a word because the world takes notice of inspiring efforts and wonders why we do what we do.

In closing and in response to the question above, God can take your misery and make it your ministry!