Your Career by the Book Ephesians 2:10 Sermon 2 January 29th, 2012   How many people do you know who really love their job? How many do you know who seem to find meaning and fulfillment in work, in their career?  Most, if they were honest, would tell you that they hate their job, that their job is just a means to get what they really want out of life. Or, they have to work. There are bills to pay, a family to feed. It’s the “I owe, I owe…so it’s off to work I go.”   We spend most of our lives working. And when we're not working, we spend most of that time thinking about it—complaining about it, fretting about it, preparing for it, recovering from it. We feel guilty when we don't do enough, resentful when we do too much.   One of the many books by oral historian, Studs Terkel, is entitled Working. It’s a compilation of interviews with hundreds of people about their jobs. A common theme: "Most people…live somewhere between a grudging acceptance of their job and an active dislike of it.” And yet most people, he found, are obsessed with their jobs. Work consumes them.   There’s no end of advice on how to endure work we don't like. Dilbert, the cartoon lampooner of workplace politics, offers his counsel: "Eat one live toad the first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day."    Or, there's this from someone seeking to add perspective: “When you have had one of those take-this-job-and-shove-it days, try this. On your way home, stop at your pharmacy and go to the section where they have thermometers. You will need to purchase a rectal thermometer made by the Q tip Company. Be sure that you get this brand. When you get home, lock your doors, draw the drapes, and disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed during your therapy. Change into something comfortable, such as a sweat suit, and lie down on your bed. Open the package containing the thermometer, remove it, and carefully place it on the bedside table so that it will not become chipped or broken. Take the written material that accompanies the thermometer. As you read, notice in small print this statement: "Every rectal thermometer made by Q tip is personally tested."   Close your eyes. Say out loud five times, "Thank you, oh thank you, that I do not work in quality control at the Q tip Company.”   Is work part of the curse? Are we really supposed to hate our jobs? Today, we’re talking about work or career. Does the Bible have anything to say about your job? Absolutely! Today we’re working through a life app, a biblical worldview of work, Your Career by the Book.   Work – we all have to do it. If you don’t work, you don’t get paid, and you don’t eat! Work is a necessity of life. Sadly though, most people live by the mantra, “Thank God It’s Friday.” Why? Because they don’t like their jobs. Yet, over the course of an average lifetime, most people spend about 150,000 hours on the job? That’s some 40% to 60% of our waking hours and the percentage is increasing. In 1973 the average American spent 40 hours a week at work. In 1987 that amount increased to 46 hours a week. Today, if you're a professional you work an average of 52 hours a week and if you're a small business owner or operator you work an average of 57 hours a week.   No matter what your job is, you’ll spend more time working, commuting to and from work, and thinking about work more than anything else you do in life. We'll spend a greater number of hours involved in our careers than we will with our family, or with friends, or in leisure, or in spiritual activities. So if we’re going to invest all of this time in work, we need to make sure that we do it well, that we do it God’s way. Turn to Ephesians 2:10 (p. 976) and then over to Colossians 3:23 (p. 985).   The book of Genesis lays out for us that work is part of God’s plan for our lives. God does not want us to dread work or see it as part of the Curse. So how can we change our attitudes so that we stop spending Monday mornings, mourning Monday? How can we make our work really count and be fulfilling? Let me share four suggestions with you today.   1. We need to be sure we are working at the right job. You’ll find that all satisfied, happy workers share one thing in common: They labor in careers day in and day out that are in line with their abilities. For the Christian, the right job is a job that is consistent with their calling.   As Ephesians 2:10 says, you and I were shaped for a specific task. All of us were custom-designed by God to fulfill a specific calling. Phillips paraphrases this text like this: "The fact is...what we are we owe to the hand of God upon us. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do those good works which God planned for us to do." In Psalm 139 David puts it this way: "God...has created our inmost being..." He has carefully and intentionally, "...knit us together in our mother's womb..."   Because this is true, our lives tend to be meaningless and more stress-filled unless we spend them doing the work that God has designed us to do, the tasks He has called us to. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, don’t start with a career test, checking out your personality and skills, you must begin with God. You were born by His purpose and for His purpose. All of us have a calling from God to fulfill.   Many people look at pastors like myself and think things like, "I have a job. But Pastor Carson, he has a calling." Too many believers embrace this misconception because in the early years of the church a distinction was made between the sacred and the secular. Priests, Monks and Missionaries were seen as having a sacred calling from God while everyone else just toiled at worldly, secular jobs. This erroneous mind set continues to this day so much so that we’ve reserved the word "calling" for pastors and missionaries, or for special people like Billy Graham. We've created an artificial hierarchy where only certain jobs are considered "callings."   That’s not what the Bible teaches. No, as texts like Ephesians 2:10 say, God's Word tells us plainly that all Christians have a calling, that God calls people to all kinds of careers. There’s no distinction between sacred and secular. Being a farmer can be just as much a high and holy calling from God as being a pastor. Stocking the shelves in a grocery store can be just as much a calling as serving in Africa as a missionary. Every believer has a sacred calling from God that He has designed them for. God calls people to all kinds of career fields and each of them should be looked on as full time ministry!   So there’s a sense in which all Christians are "Reverends.” Someone said, “You may not wear a collar but that doesn't mean you don't have a calling.” You do! Whatever it is, it is just as sacred a job as pastoring a church.   Remember the movie "The Blues Brothers"? In it a couple of ex-convict-wanna-be-musicians were trying to raise money for an orphanage. Anytime they were asked about their work, they had a standard response. Do you remember what it was? "We're on a mission from God." They said it as if they believed it! Well, the very idea that two inept, unworthy human beings could be on a mission from God was, of course, the central joke of the movie. But, the truth is, as Christians, each of us is on a mission from God, a mission we are custom-designed to fulfill. All of us have a calling! I wish we could say it as if we believe it!   To assist you in grasping this important point let me list a few of the differences between a calling and a career. A calling is something I do for God. A career is something which threatens to become my god. A career is something I choose for myself. A calling is something I receive. A career is something I do for myself. A calling is something I do for God. A career is about upward mobility. A calling generally leads to downward mobility. A career may end with retirement. A calling is not over until the day you die. The rewards of a career may be quite visible but they are only temporary. The rewards of a calling last for eternity.   In the late 1970’s Chuck Colson was in the midst of one of the most high-profile careers in America. As chief legal counsel for President Nixon, he had access to great power with enormous influence and prestige. Then,  Watergate came and he ended up in prison. At this point in his life he thought his career was over…in a way he was right. His former career was finished but his calling was just beginning. He would be called to serve men in prison just like himself. He would be called to serve a whole nation, and really the world, through His gifts and brokenness. Speaking of this, Colson writes, "...the real legacy of my life was my biggest failure, that I was an ex-convict. My great humiliation, being sent to prison, was the beginning of God's great use of my life; He chose the one experience in which I could not glory for His glory."  I'm sure that Chuck Colson would tell you that his calling has been infinitely more rewarding and satisfying than his career.   It’s satisfying and wonderful to know we’re working at the job we were designed by God to do! Only then does our labor bring us the fulfillment and joy we long for. Only then does the stress levels of our jobs decrease. As Calvin Miller writes, "The man who is 'job-centered' has more anxieties about his work than the man who is 'God-centered.'" Isaiah 55:11 says, "Why labor for that which does not satisfy?" Find and fulfill your calling! In fact, it’s foolish not to do so. It’s poor stewardship of your life to remain in a position that you know is not your calling.   a. It’s vital that we find our calling. Okay then, how can we find our calling? The word "vocation" comes from the Latin word for "voice." That should remind us that to find our calling, we have to listen to the still, small voice of God. We also need to listen to others by going to godly friends and family members, especially our parents, and ask their input as to what calling they think best fits us. And then we have to "listen" to our individual gifts and talents. Remember you are custom designed for your calling so whatever it is, it will be something you are good at doing. Also, a calling is often revealed by its enjoyment and sense of reward.   By the way, it’s never too late to find your calling. Dear Abby once received a letter from someone who wrote, "Dear Abby, I'm 38 years old. I'm a secretary and I really don't like my job. I'd love to go back to dental school but it would take 12 years and then I'd be 50. I'm just stuck. What should I do?" Abby wrote back, "How old will you be when you're 50 if you don't go back to dental school? Go for it." And I would agree. God may be using this economic shake up to move some of us out of jobs where we were comfortable to a calling where we can truly serve and honor Him.   b. It may be our calling but it’s not always pleasant. Please don't get the idea that a calling is always fun or pain free. Receiving a calling from God is not the same thing as falling into your dream job. While a dream career generally promises wealth, power, status, security, and great benefits – a calling is often a different story. Remember, God called Moses and said in essence: "Go to Pharaoh, the most powerful man on earth. Tell him to let his labor force leave without compensation to worship a God he doesn't believe in. Then convince timid, stiff-necked people to run away into the desert. That's your calling, Moses." And Moses said, "Here am I, Lord…Send Aaron!"   God called Jonah and said, "Go to Nineveh, the most corrupt and violent city in the world. Tell its inhabitants who don't know you and won't acknowledge Me, to repent or die." And Jonah said, "When's the next boat leaving in the opposite direction?" God called Jeremiah to preach to people who wouldn't listen. It was so hard and Jeremiah cried so much that he became known as the Weeping Prophet.   Doing what God calls you to do can be tough, even painful. If you work through the pages of Scripture, it’s clear that God tends to call us to huge tasks we’re inadequate for. That’s where the fulfillment comes, because a true calling gives us an opportunity to work day in and day out in partnership with God. Natural talent alone is not enough to do your calling. We need ideas, strength, and creativity beyond our own resources to do what God asks of us. In fulfilling a calling then the creation (us) works with the Creator!   And you will be miserable if you do not answer God's call, if you choose career instead of call. Is that you? Are you unhappy and all stressed out at work? It could be because you’re not doing the work that God has called you to, the work He designed you to do. Or, it could be that you’re in the field God has called you to but you don't look at your job as a calling. You don't see your labor as the ministry for God that it really is.   2. We need to do our jobs for the right reason. That means that we have purpose. For the Christian that’s to please and glorify God. 1 Cor. 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” When a Christian walks into their place of employment, he/she should be thinking about much more than making money, impressing the boss, or even how much he/she enjoys his/her work. We should be embracing a mind set in which we constantly strive to honor God through our market place endeavors. Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Wherever we work, whatever our job description, our ultimate boss is Jesus Christ. He's the One we need to please. When we begin to think like this, our work becomes an opportunity to worship. Our job site becomes a temple. Each project we undertake, whether it's defending someone in court or fixing someone's leaky sink, becomes an offering to God.   Look again at Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” That word "walk" suggests our common everyday experience, not the unusual and heroic. We all have a tendency to rise to the special "heroic" occasions of our lives, yet as Jerry Bridges writes, "God has created us to do our good works in the midst of the humdrum of daily living." We need to look at the "humdrum" of our jobs, even the little things we have to do day in and day out, as an opportunity to please God. Hudson Taylor, the great 19th century pioneer missionary to China said, "A little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in a little thing is a big thing...[to God]."   When we do our jobs for the right reason, whatever we do big or small furthers God's purposes, it furthers His kingdom. When we embrace this mindset our work takes on great meaning because we begin to see that if we do everything for God, then we’re part of the Big Picture; we are where the action is...on the front lines, fulfilling God's purposes in this world!   Sir Christopher Wren, the famed English architect who designed St. Paul's Cathedral in London, once wrote about the reactions of construction workers who were asked what they were doing. Some workers said, "I'm laying bricks." Other, "I'm carrying stones." But one worker, who was mixing cement, seemed cheerful and enthusiastic about his work. When asked what he was doing, he replied, "I'm building a magnificent cathedral to the glory of God.” If you’re doing what God designed you to do, you’re building His church. You’re part of God's great plan, drawn up before the dawn of time! Working for money, power or prestige can't touch the deep satisfaction that comes from knowing we are doing something that has eternal significance. Working for God's glory brings praise from Him that satisfies something deep inside, as when a child receives a parent's compliment on a task well done. So, to beat job doldrums another thing we must do is work for the right reason, in order to please our Heavenly Father, our Creator, our Architect!   3. We need to do our jobs the right way. In other words, we enjoy our jobs most when we work hardest, when we constantly strive for excellence in everything we do, big or small! Sadly, an increasing number of people in our country labor according to this principle: "So much work for so much pay." When you boil it down to everyday practice what it really means is something like this: "The least amount of work that I can do for the most pay." The basic idea is, "I'm going to do the minimum, the least that’s expected of me, and I'm going to try to get the greatest payment for it."   That’s not the way to find satisfaction in your work! It’s also totally unbiblical. As Christians, we must be committed to excellence, to quality…to a day’s work for a day’s pay. To do less than your best is a poor testimony and often is stealing.   The story is told of a man years ago in a village who sold wood to his neighbors. He always took advantage of them by cutting his logs a few inches short of the specified four feet. One day the word spread that this woodcutter had become a Christian. No one believed it, saying that he was beyond being reached. One man, however, slipped quietly out of the store where the discussion was going on. He soon came running back in excitement and shouted, "It's true! He has been converted!" Everyone asked, "How do you know?" "Well, I went home and measured the wood he sold me yesterday, and it's a good four feet long!" That convinced the crowd! The quality of a Christian’s work should evidence that they really are a believer.   One of the reasons our economy is in the sorry state that it is in is that too often the average American worker is willing to settle for mediocrity. Often, they want a job but don’t really want to work. It’s the belief system of, “Well, I’ll work but not too hard.” Striving for excellence is just not part of the game plan. They only do the amount of work it takes to get by. But there’s no enjoyment or fulfillment in doing mediocre job instead of seeking to excel. Workers who only do enough to get by miss out on the joy of accomplishment. They never feel the fulfillment, can I say the “pride” that comes from knowing they made their mark on this world by doing their best.    The reason that some companies and businesses fail is that they’re not committed to excellence. If you go to a mechanic and get lousy service or get ripped off, you’re not going to go back. If you go out to eat and the food is mediocre and the service poor, you’re not going to go back.   Some of you are in companies or places of employment where to work with excellence in mind is not going to make you popular. It may even bring persecution. God never promised us that doing the right thing was going to be easy but it’s still the right thing…and it pleases God.   To enjoy our jobs we must obey Ecclesiastes 9:10 where it says, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” There’s no fulfillment in doing something shoddily. We'd enjoy our calling much more if we embraced the work ethic of the Shakers who were apparently called to build some of the world's best furniture. This is what they taught their craftsmen: "Make every product better than it's ever been done before. Make the parts you cannot see as well as the parts you can see. Use only the best of materials even for the most every day items. Give the same attention to the smallest detail as you do the largest. Design every item you make to last forever." It’s been said that every Shaker chair was made fit for an angel to sit on. They were Christians who loved their work because they did it in the right way!   So we need to do the right job, for the right reason and in the right way.   4. If we do this, we will enjoy the right rewards. As I’ve already pointed out, one reward is the intensely satisfying feeling of accomplishment that comes from doing the jobs God calls us to and doing them well.   Some of you may recall when pharmacies used to make deliveries of your prescription. True story – there was an owner of a small drugstore who hated his job, one day though, for some reason, he decided to have fun with his work by striving for excellence in the delivery times. In an effort to get the needed medicines to his customers as soon as possible he came up with the following strategy. When a customer who lived nearby would call an order in on the telephone, the man would repeat each item being ordered and his assistant would listen and fill the order as he spoke. With the order filled, the owner would keep the customer on the line while a delivery boy would dash out the front door. When the delivery boy reached the home of the customer, who was still on the line with the owner of the drugstore, the customer would excuse herself for a minute to answer the door. Coming back to the phone she’d express great surprise at the quickness with which the order was delivered. News got around about the drugstore that filled orders so promptly and soon Charles R. Walgreen, founder of the Walgreen drugstore empire, had more business than he could handle. He found the joy of accomplishment in work he’d once despised because he strove to be the best at what he did!   But there are other rewards to doing the right job in the right way for the right reason. For example, when we team up with God and use the talents and abilities He’s given us, we develop confidence in ourselves and in God. We grow and mature spiritually. If we stay at our jobs until they’re done right, even when it’s frustrating to do so, we begin to develop perseverance. When we resist the temptation to yield to some unethical practice we develop honesty. By working alongside irritating co-workers we learn tolerance and patience. Our jobs can indeed help us to develop as disciples of Jesus. As Bill Hybels writes: “The marketplace can provide graduate-level instruction in character development that can transform our lives and free us to be the men and women God wants us to be." But the best reward of doing the right job in the right way for the right reason is seen in the fact that we are then given an opportunity to share our faith. Sadly, hard workers are so rare that when people see us giving our all we earn their respect and the right to share our faith in Christ with them.   In an article in Discipleship Journal, Jamie Winship, told of his career as a police officer. Knowing that as a policeman he’d often be dealing with people who were faced with extreme crisis, he said that it was his deep desire to share his faith on the job. One of the first fellow workers he talked to about Jesus was his street-hardened police sergeant. He said, "I was barely able to tell him I was a Christian before he interrupted and asked what kind of police officer I would be. Startled by this question, I said that I didn't know yet. 'Neither do I,' the sergeant replied. 'When and if you prove yourself to be a good cop, then you can come talk to me about God.'"    Winship said that at the end of his second year he was named “Officer of the Year” and at the ceremony he gave credit to the training he had received from his superiors. He also explained that he wore his uniform every day in service to Christ. Following the event, that street-hardened sergeant congratulated him and said he was ready to talk about God.   The sad truth is that we’ve often been ineffective in our attempts to make an eternal impact because we’ve neglected two vital elements of honoring God in the marketplace: Either we’ve been careless workers whose shoddy methods and inferior standards offended coworkers, or we’ve been inconsistent Christians whose behavior was shaped more by a marketplace mind-set than the mind of Christ. In either case we've forfeited our credibility and turned an opportunity into a closed door. Jesus never commanded us to engage in theological debates with strangers, flaunt four-inch crosses and Jesus stickers, or throw out Christian catch phrases. But He did tell us to work and live in such a way that when the Holy Spirit orchestrates opportunities to speak about God, we will have earned the right to do so.   As Christians, we must obey the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount when He said, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and praise your Father in Heaven." We must do this because our co-workers are the congregation God has given us – those people He has called us to be salt and light too, and if we do our work in a godly fashion, we will get a "pulpit" from which we can share God's love.   Conclusion: On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus, whose name means “Christ-bearer,” sailed toward the Bahamas. When he landed on the beach, he planted a standard and claimed the territory for Spain and for the glory of God. He recorded his prayer that day in his log. He prayed, “Lord, Almighty, by Your Holy Word You have created the heaven, and earth, and sea; blessed and glorified be Your Name, and praised be Your Majesty, which has designed to use us, Your humble servants, that Your holy Name may be proclaimed in this part of the earth.” Then he named the island San Salvador which means “Holy Savior.”   God has called every believer to be a Columbus at our job and school. We should be a Christ-bearer and we should claim our workplace and school for God. He is calling you to this full-time Christian service.   Today some of us may need to repent of our work ethic, behavior and poor testimony on the job – and then respond by saying to God, “I want to find my calling and fulfill it.” Others may simply need to commit to be God's ministers on the job, fulfilling our calling by working in the right way for the right reason.   My friend, where you work is not an accident. It’s where God has placed you. Are honoring Him by the way that you are working, by your efforts and attitude? Are you living out Your Career by the Book?