The workplace today is a cesspool of hurt and bitterness, and many people have negative feelings about their professions.

Offices and work areas are known to be some of the most common sources of stress. You don't normally see a person get stressed out when they're out in the mall or on the beach, but put a person at a desk or in a conference room and it is likely that things will get messy.

I believe that there is a spiritual implication to work because it was God who called man to work. When God made Adam, He made him to work. Genesis 2:15 says, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it."

So if work is stressful and life-draining and God made man to work, does that mean that God meant for man to suffer? No. What has happened is that through the course of time, we have caused work to lose its meaning.

Many people look to work as a source -- a source of meaning, fulfilment and income, and while that's partly true, God never meant for work to be a source. It was only meant to be a channel -- a medium for us to experience the grace of God.

Work hard for God, not for meaning

Work is a privilege from God because it is when we work that we participate in God's redemptive work and it is in work that we worship Him. Work was never meant to be a source of meaning and life.

While we work for money, work is not our ultimate source. God is our ultimate source and work is merely a means for us to honor God. In Romans 15:17, Paul says, "In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God." We must have the same attitude.

Consider the benefits last

When asked to participate in a task, our first thought is usually, "What's in it for me?" Imagine what kind of rut we would be in if Jesus thought the same way when He lived and worked to die on the cross for all of us.

Work is about gaining benefits, yes, but that is not the only and definitely not the ultimate purpose of work. God is the one who meets all our needs according to His glorious riches, and work is how we respond to His grace.

Do what God has made you to do

Everyone has been called into a specific field and has been ordained with specific gifts. If you want to truly feel fulfilled in your profession, honor God by using the gifts He has given you.

Money, fame and success should be the last thing on our mind. What comes first is faith in God's will for us that it is good, pleasing and perfect.