Excellence at Work – God demands it!

By Pastor Dennis Legaspi

"Serve wholeheartedly as if you are 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."

Eph 6:7-8 (NIV)

A criticism many hurl at us again and again is that Christianity has destroyed us. They say we have become pompous, self-righteous or that we have become fanatics and simpletons, reducing everything to cut and dried, oversimplified formulas from the Bible.

But one rather serious accusation I often hear is that Christianity destroys us at work. How many of you have had your boss or co-workers say to you, while shaking their heads: "You're pathetic, a shadow of what used to be, a satisfied push-over. You have lost all your competitive edge." Do you see these as valid criticisms? We should shout: "Of course not!" If anything, Christianity should drive us to higher and far more excellent levels of performance. After all, we work for the Lord, not just for our human bosses.

As unbelievers, we were driven by an insatiable lust for money, status or power… and that lust was a powerful motivator, fuelling drives that made us work long and hard at our careers. Now, I ask you, what is it that now drives you at work? What is it that now drives you to stretch to the limits of endurance like you did when you were running after more money? The answer of course should be: "GOD!" Love of God is my motivation and the Spirit of God is my catapult. He launches me to levels of performance no unbeliever driven by the lusts of this world will ever even come near to.

I know some of you literally drag yourselves to work. Given the choice, some of you would stop working altogether. It appears to be a stage new believers inevitably pass through. Most do get over it but many see the same thing overtake them again and again. Does this even trouble you at all? It should!

So why is it that there are so many Born Again Underachievers and Losers? There are 3 likely answers to that question: First, ignorance or lack of understanding what God demands of us at the jobs He has given us to do; Second, many of us have been drawn to believe and act as though our work is a lower calling in God's eyes as opposed to full time ministry; Lastly, we have been drawn to believe that declaring the Gospel and activities pertaining to Christianity should be our preeminent passion and work has to step aside.

In Ephesians 6:5–9 we find two principles pertaining to how God is very much involved in our work. First, God values the work we do. By doing our work, we serve Christ. The work that we have been given to do, from the loftiest master to the lowliest slave… all that is working for God Himself and the Scriptures prove in Ephesians 6 and Colossians 3 that there are no jobs that are of a higher calling than others.

Second, God watches our work – What we do and how we do it. We ought to be people committed to the standards of excellence, a cut above everyone else. We are to stand out from those around us through our ethically distinctive lifestyles. So why do you shamelessly parade your boredom at work? You come in late, lack discipline and submit sloppy projects. I suggest you keep in mind that He is vitally concerned He placed you there, in that workplace to bring Him glory.

My friends, we are to be people known for hard work and excellence in all our efforts, for honesty and unswerving integrity, for concern for the rights and welfare of our people. We are to be known for our compliance with laws, standards and policies, for the quality of our goods and services. We are to be known for the unassailability of our character, for integrity and leadership among our co-workers. In other words, we are to be known for our Christ-likeness, on and off the job.

As Eric Liddel said in the movie Chariots of Fire: "When I run, I feel His pleasure." Feel His pleasure when you work and bring Him glory in everything you do.