What does it mean to prioritise God more than our jobs? Does that mean we should spend less time working and more time reading the Bible? Does it mean we should go to church on Sundays even if your boss really needs you in the office? These all may sound like the closest viable thing, but none of these necessarily communicate that God is more important than work.
We all know that we must put Jesus before our jobs, but the concept seems to be such a vague one. Deuteronomy 6:5 tells us, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." But how do we truly show that we love God more than our work? Here are a few questions for you to answer that will help you clarify whether God is really more important than your career.
Is money the only reason why you work?
We often think that we cannot put God first when we're at the office place, but nothing could be further from the truth. 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Our jobs are more than just the means to make a living. They are our way of expressing our worship and gratefulness to God.
We express worship to God through our careers when we do it excellently out of a heart knowing that it was God that put us in that position. Work is a privilege given by God to partner with Him. When we do that, we put Jesus before our jobs.
Do you depend on your career for satisfaction more than Christ?
In our undying quest for success, many times our career now becomes a constant struggle to either make a name for ourselves or to protect our reputation. We work as if our identity depended on it and that the only way to attain satisfaction is to earn a certain pay grade and garner a certain level of position or fame.
Our hearts cannot be satisfied by work and earthly success. True satisfaction comes only through Jesus Christ and doing things for Him. As we seek God first, He will add everything upon us - including the desires of our heart for our career - but Jesus' lordship, pleasure and will must be the first desire.
Has your career path become more important than God's call?
When God calls us to a new season, a new career or a new company even, sometimes we stop and hesitate thinking "Lord, that's not what I had in mind." In our seemingly innocent persistence to have things our way, we shut out God's roadmap for our lives because we have already railroaded our career path for ourselves.
When God says it's time to go or it's time you stayed, we honour and prioritise Him when we obey even if it was not what we originally had in mind.
