It always gets on my nerves every time I see "Christians" blowing it at work. Of all people, we are the ones who are most empowered by God's grace to excel and work hard, but sometimes we use grace as an excuse to slack off and consequently lose our edge.
Being a Christian at work doesn't naturally make you any better or more favoured than others. Jesus is not a "lucky charm" that gives you more fortune at the office. But God's grace through Christ does empower us to be better and gain an edge in various ways at work.
If there are people who should excel in all things, they're us, Christians. Paul knew this and noticed how the Corinthian church excelled through Christ in various areas when he said in 2 Corinthians 8:7, "But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also."
We can excel in everything if we let Christ work through us. Here's how following Jesus can allow us to grow more competent at work.
Christ Compels Us to Serve
The leadership pattern that Jesus empowers us into is servant leadership. Mark 10:43 tells us, "But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant."
Being of Christ and being empowered by His Spirit causes us to serve others out of love for Him and for people, and that gives us influence.
A God-given influence at work is not one that comes because of our job position or titles, but because we are empowered by God to serve and thus to build the trust and favour of people at work.
God's Way Compels Us to Excellence
God's way can often be unpopular, but we know it works, and it works well. God's way brings favour, blessing and goodness. When we walk in Christ and embrace God's work in us we are empowered to do good works (Ephesians 2:10).
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."
To do things for God and in God causes us to be excellent in all we do, most especially in our vocations. If there are people with greater motivation, they're us, the followers of Christ, because we do things for an eternal purpose—the glory of God. When we treat work as worship to God, we will become better in what we do.
