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When asked to write about how my faith had influenced my work life, my initial reaction was, "how did it not"?  My approach was not to try to bring God into the workplace, but rather to use my work to honor God and serve him.  Through 40 years of work, I found that I could magnify God in everything I did; as a printing office clerk, teacher, researcher or analyst. The workplace also extended beyond just my desk…it is everywhere I do things including my office, home and school.

Even in heaven, I expect to be working; albeit with a different atmosphere.  For me, work here on earth is just a preview of my eternal life in heaven. I expect that Jesus will give me tasks I can accomplish with joy and grace, working peacefully with others as we eternally praise God in all we do. 

Here are some approaches to consider for whatever workplace you find yourself in.

Enthusiasm: In whatever you do, be enthusiastic, and put your whole heart into the work.  Pursue your passion, for that is an effective tool reflecting Christ.  1 Cor. 10:31 tells us to “... do everything that way, heartily and freely to God's glory.”  

Relationships:  Hold out the love of Christ to all you encounter. Serve others as Jesus did.  Listen to the hardship and hurts others encounter, and show both your own care, and point toward the One who cares divinely. Be of service and take a genuine interest in the lives of others. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Joy:  Let your life reflect the joy of the Lord in your heart.  Don’t be a complainer but draw out the good in all people and situations.  Live out James 1:2-3, “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.  You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.”

Trust:  In all things, remember that it is not you, but God who has control.  Be diligent in all that you do but remember that you are utterly dependent on God for everything as Proverbs 3:5-6 notes: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Integrity:  Our world often encourages people to “get away” with things.  Instead, let’s act in such a way that everyone can see that you are cognizant of the ultimate Judge, and that you rely on Him. Matthew 5: 16 says, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Money:  Work as a steward of God’s money and treat money as a reminder of our ultimate treasure.  Don’t be a slave to the dollar but use it as the tool it is to forward the kingdom of Christ.

Grace:  Just as you received undeserved grace and salvation, treat all others as what they really are: Human beings made in the image and likeness of God. Be a reflection of the love of God.  1 Pet. 3:5 says, “You must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.”

So as you go about your work, whether in an office, your home or somewhere else, remember the words of Proverbs 8:18-19 telling us what happens when we bring our work to God, “Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.”

Now get to work and take God with you!  

We had a six-hour drive ahead of us.  If I’d known what would unfold a few months later, I’d have wished that drive was twice as long.  I was a young sales manager, and spent most of my time feeling in way over my head.  Dan and I were driving from Denver to Casper for a few days of sales calls.  Traveling with Dan was an experience; lots of coffee, not much food, and more meetings than any human should endure.  But that day was different, we just drove and watched the plains of Wyoming drift by. 

As we talked of past jobs, customers, and the latest in shelving technology the conversation switched from the unimportant to a place I never saw coming.  Dan started talking about God, religion, and all the dumb Christians.  In that moment, my life as a sales manager and my life as a Christ follower collided.  I had no time to prep, no time to make a tract to give him, no time for a script.  We talked for a long time about what Jesus really said, what it really means to give your life to him, and how it’s not stereotypical “religion”.  Dan didn’t pray to receive Christ that day, but in the months that followed my dad would get to talk to him, and he and I would share similar conversations.

I wish I had known that it would be less than a year later that Dan would take his own life.  Years of vices and pain would take their toll and end tragically.  I’m not sure where Dan stood with the Lord, but I am constantly reminded that there is immense opportunity in the workplace to be a Christian, to share relationally in ways that are unique to business and careers.  Without being Dan’s coworker, there was no way I would have had the opportunity to have eternally significant conversations with him.  There are things I would do differently if I could talk to Dan again, but I trust that God knows Dan’s heart.

It isn’t always easy to live out your faith at work.  Pressures for performance, to be task oriented and to get ahead at any cost abound. Yet, in only a way that God can do, he creates the opportunity for us to value performance and making money while living out Paul’s words in Colossians 3.

“Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth”.

No matter where you spend your days at work; in your house, in an institution, or a company, the pressure to focus on the temporal will be overwhelming.  To pass car rides talking about the NFL instead of on the things above.  But God calls us to be eternally minded, even in the most temporal of circumstance.

My challenge to you is this: Be about the Eternal in everything you do at work. 

See it as an opportunity beyond just a paycheck or a promotion.  There are many ways to do this, but I offer you three ways to start.

1. Be about People Not Tasks - You will be pressured to be about your task list and your goals. But, if in every interaction you have with a coworker you look for the chance to build a real relationship, God will use that relationship for His purpose. 
2. Serve Above and Beyond - In a world where a servant’s heart is rare, find 1 or 2 things per week to do to serve your coworkers. No strings attached, no hidden agenda.  Be different even in simple ways.
3. Make your prayer life part of your work - God will put people in your life for maybe no other reason than to have you pray for them. Lift them up to God.  IF you’re living #1 above you’ll have specific things to pray about.  How different will your interactions with that difficult person be if you spent the morning lifting them up.

I will never forget Dan, and the chance my job gave me to be in His life. 

For the next few weeks through the MCC blog we’re going to explore what it means to live out our faith in the workplace.  What an incredible opportunity to be agents of transformation for God’s Glory!

The Gray Family: Jake, a paramedic/firefighter, and I, a Suzuki violin instructor, have been married for thirteen years and part of the East Mountain community since childhood. We currently have three children at home (ages 10, 9,and 7) and are in the process of adopting a one-year-old little boy from India. Jake and I enjoy using an eclectic approach in educating our children, who attend an online charter school and select classes at a local private school. Ultimately, our goal is to raise children who love the Lord and love people.

We look back at our own upbringing for clues as to how we might raise our children well. Or, in some cases, how we will do things differently. Jake was raised in a Christian home; I was not. Even with this significant difference. Our childhoods share a pervasive theme, though: loneliness. Relational conflicts weren’t resolved. Friends and churches were set aside repeatedly.

How can we grow from the experience? As a family, we purposefully seek to build relationships with believers and non-believers. We commit to being part of a church family. We cannot dispose of relationships. Our flesh will get uncomfortable at times, but we repeat the Gray Family Mantra:

“Relationships are hard work. Relationships are worth the effort.”

We hold close these scriptures:

Mark 12:30-31

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Proverbs 18:24

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly…

Ephesians 4

³ Endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

¹⁵ Speak the truth in love…

Colossians 3:13

Bear with one another, and forgive one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

And we ask the Holy Spirit to help us handle relationships in a way that we cannot on our own.  

When my son and daughter speak rudely to each other, we challenge them:

“You saw other siblings act that way and were appalled! Do you know you are doing the same? Do you know that you are being selfish? Take a moment. Ask God to help you behave as He would, then apologize and try again.”

When the neighbor kid across the street wants to play, but makes up stories that aren’t true, our children say, “Ugh. I can’t BELIEVE what a liar she is! I can’t stand her!”

Our response is:

“Lying is wrong and it’s frustrating to be lied to. She needs Jesus just like us, doesn’t she? Let’s have her over for a short and pleasant visit. Try not to take her stories too seriously, look for things to appreciate about her, and let’s ask God for opportunities to share His love with her.”

When we are in a new crowd and our daughter thinks no one is being friendly, we encourage her:

Our response is:

“Look around. Is there anyone else who is feeling left out? Can you show yourself friendly? Act toward her the way you want someone to act toward you.”

Relationships are hard, but God will use them to grow each of us. How are you teaching, encouraging and challenging your children to grow through life experiences?

(photos by Jasmine Mostrom)

So glad you joined us for this Part Two of The Sticky Life as MCC member Ashley Procter shares her family’s perspective on living out the sticky life. Part One was posted yesterday and you can find it in our previous post! 

Pastor Jonathan Parnell states that a disciple of Jesus Christ is a worshiper, a servant, and a witness.  On Day 1, we discussed a few ways we live as worshipers with our kids as we attend public school.  Here are some ways we live the sticky life…the one that clings to Jesus…as servants and witnesses.

A servant puts on a towel and washes feet.

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” – Philippians 2:3-4

Public school is a great place to highlight contrast between the ways of the world and the ways of Jesus.  “Every man for himself” is the typical modus operandi you’ll find there (and I find in myself).

Jesus’ m.o. is far different.  Pastor Jonathan Parnell says to Christians, “Go low in acts of love, even when it’s an inconvenience to yourself.”  Go low.

• We play with our kids on the playground, and we invite the ones that seem isolated. It’s fun and it builds compassion and connections.

• We have the kids who aren’t so much like us over for play dates. We attend their birthday parties.  We make friends with their parents. Jesus died for them…they’re worth our willingness to bend.

• We pray for ways to serve the kids who are less than nice to us. We step out in obedience when the opportunity arises.  We pray together that God will cause us to believe that His ways are better than ours.

• We show up when kids, parents, or teachers are hurting or in need, whether they’re Christians or not.

A witness serves as evidence of the truth of God.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” – 2 Corinthians 2:14

As Christians, we are imperfect people being transformed into the image of Christ. Our inner man is being renewed day by day through Him.  Every day that we spend growing in Him, we fit in less in the world.  We stand out more.  It is this standing out…this being set apart…that manifests the truth to the outside world.

So…

• We confess and apologize when we hurt others. I spoke poorly about a teacher behind her back.  It was wrong of me to do.  The Lord allowed the opportunity to confess, which I did, and then had the privilege of sharing the gospel with her.

• We make the kids accountable to God, as we are.  We can’t see their hearts; and even if we could, we don’t have the power to change them. The Lord is able to reach them Himself, as well as make us aware of when there’s a problem we need to address.  Andy made a mistake that cost another child a good grade.  He tried to just let it ride, but the Holy Spirit wouldn’t let him go.  He confessed and worked with the teacher to help the student get the grade he deserved.  We didn’t have to say a word.

• We make deliberate choices to be separate.

• We pray for those who are hurting, and we tell them that we’re doing so.

• We speak up. When the Big Bang theory is taught in class, we discuss facts with cool heads. We’ve been doing so together as a family since Andy was 3.  The fact that people believe differently than we do is not a shock to the kids, and their faith is not threatened by science….it’s enhanced by it.

• We discuss worldview. We speak with compassion because Jesus loves these people. We squash any notion of superiority, reminding the kids that we do not deserve to know Jesus.  We have not earned His favor, His salvation, His hope.  He has given it as a gift. 

• We go out to tell the world. We pray for opportunities to speak of the saving power of Christ at school, and He has brought them.  We fumble, we mis-speak, we mess it up all the time.  But through our participation in school, we have built relationships that have opened doors to speak about our faith.

Though we may fumble with the words, though we model it imperfectly, our friends and acquaintances at school have experienced our faith just by hanging out with us. If they’ve hung out long enough, they’ve even seen us change, as Jesus is constantly transforming us from glory to glory.  What a privilege it is to live the sticky life!

How does your family live the sticky life?

(photos by Jasmine Mostrom)

Matt and Ashley Procter have attended Mountain Christian Church for 30 years and 14 years, respectively.  They are raising 3 boys, 2 of whom attend San Antonito Elementary in Cedar Crest.

Disciple: One who adheres to the teachings of another.

The word “adhere” sounds sticky.  Like glue or tape.  Do you ever wish for divine super glue that would cause your kids to adhere to Jesus?  It’s not that you’re a control freak; rather, you’ve tasted what the world has to offer and have found that what Jesus offers your soul is far superior.  You know that everything your kids will search for…meaning, belonging, security, comfort, peace, and joy…is found in Jesus Christ.

But we can’t force them to stick to Him, can we?  Oh sure, we can force outward obedience while they’re under our care, but we can’t cause their hearts to cling to Him; to adhere to His ways.

Instead, we can live as disciples and teach them what it means…what is theirs…if they trust in Jesus Christ as their savior and take up their crosses to follow Him.  We give them a taste of the sweet, sticky life that clings to Him for life and breath.  Knowing this, when they sample the deceiving delicacies the world has to offer, their bitter taste will be less enticing than the rich fare they’d enjoyed earlier in life.

What comprises a sticky life?  Pastor Jonathan Parnell says that a disciple of Jesus Christ is a worshiper, a servant, and a witness.  In the Procter house, as in many of yours, we live as worshipers, servants, and witnesses together as our kids attend public school.  Here is a little bit about how that works out in our family. 

A worshiper reflects back to God the radiance of His worth.

“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” – Colossians 3:17

• We invite God into every aspect of our school experience. We pray over homework, over bullies, over teachers, over attitudes. We pray that God will remind the kids that He’s with them…that He would interrupt them with His presence throughout the day.  We encourage the kids to speak to Him all day long.  We do these things because God is present, He is a good Father, and He listens when we speak to Him.

• We encourage the kids to do their best academically, and we don’t expect perfection. We do this because we are working for the Lord…not for men. We encourage the kids to lean hard into God’s strength when they struggle, knowing that the points where they fail are the places where they will find their need for Him.

• We don’t solve every problem for them. This is hard, and we are a work in progress. We have seen our faith and that of our kids grow immensely when we have lifted up matters to God and simply left them in His hands. We do this because God is mighty, wise and faithful to His character; and His ways are far above our comprehension.

• We thank God for the things we love about school…recess, P.E., science, and good buddies. We do this because God is a good Father, and the giver of all good gifts.

• We begin every day with an open Bible at the breakfast table. Some days, our discussions are insightful and rich.  Many days, though, everyone struggles to pay attention and we end up reading the same passage all week.  That’s ok.  We do this because God is holy, His word is powerful, and He is worthy of having the first word in our day. 

Since God is present in every part of our day, we can meet Him on the playground, in the classroom, and during our math tests.  We reflect His glory when the truth of His character becomes the motivation for the way we live at home, at school, and everywhere else.

Join us again tomorrow for Part Two of The Sticky Life by Ashley Procter!

(photos by Jasmine Mostrom)