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Excellence with Integrity: Four Reasons Why How You Do Your Job Matters

Throughout Scripture, it’s clear that how you do your job matters; the Bible has a lot to say about the importance of work and how Christians should conduct ourselves while performing in the workplace.

Colossians 3:23 reads, “Whatever you do, work at it with all of your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,” and Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

But holding down a 9-5 job isn’t always an easy task. Whatever your vocation, each and every one of us at some point deals with the inevitable difficulties of work. Between frustrating coworkers, demanding bosses, and hectic schedules, maintaining a positive attitude in the workplace can sometimes seem impossible.

As Christians, we are called to exhibit faith, integrity and excellence in the workplace even in the face of adversity. In essence, we are to distinguish ourselves from the world by modeling Christ through a job well done.

Whether you’re a bus driver or beautician, lawyer or doctor, how you do your job matters to God. Here are four things to keep in mind as you strive to demonstrate excellence with integrity in the workplace.

1. God Created Us to Work

In Genesis 1, it is revealed that God worked six days to create the world and all of its inhabitants — and created mankind in His image: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27). After God worked, He delighted in His creation: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”

As image bearers of God, then, we too are created to work.

Tom Nelson, senior pastor of Christ Community Church in Leawood, Kansas, explains: “Being an image-bearer means many things, yet an essential aspect of image-bearing is expressed in and through the work we do each day... The foundation of our creation design and calling is to be productive in our work. This truth is reinforced when Adam is placed in the garden with a twofold vocational job description: to ‘work it and keep it’ (Gen. 2:15). When we work, we live into God’s design as his image-bearers.”

Psalm 19 says that God reveals Himself to the world by His work; thus, understanding that we are made in God’s image helps us to see the purpose for our life and work.

2. The Bible Calls Us to be Enthusiastic in Our Work

According to a new Gallup study on the American workplace, of the country’s approximately 100 million full-time employees, 51 percent aren’t engaged at work, feel no real connection to their jobs, and tend to do the bare minimum. The study found that another 16 percent are “actively disengaged” — they resent their jobs, tend to gripe to co-workers and drag down office morale as a result.... Read More