Work As Worship 

By Joy Cochran

Over the past five years, I have had the opportunity to be a fly on the wall, of sorts. For most of my working life, I had spent far too much time in a Christian bubble. Well, that is no longer the case. Now, as I work as a chaplain, I get to go into the workplace and see what has been out there all along. It has been both convicting and eye-opening. 

As strangers and aliens, we hail from a different kingdom (1 Peter 2:11), and as believers, we are called to be the ambassadors of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). Our lives should be markedly different, because we should be continuously yielding to the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives and being transformed more and more each day into the likeness of Christ. All of these choices should be in direct contrast to the ways of the world. That doesn't mean we look down on them, but rather it should cause us to respond like our Savior did, with compassion and grace. After all, it is His loving-kindness that draws lost people to Him, and just like Jesus, we need to be sinner magnets as well.  

This is where it seems to get tricky for some people. They think that in order to relate, they need to use the same foul language and perhaps engage in the same extracurricular activities on the weekends. What usually happens is that they slowly fade into the woodwork and leave no lasting impact on those who are lost. They may continue to go to church on Sundays when it is convenient for them, but all in all, their witness for Christ is ineffective at best, but more than likely it is a detriment to true Kingdom work. 

So what should work as worship look like? First of all, we must do everything as if we were doing it for God alone (Colossians 3:23-24). When we have this mindset, we embrace excellence in each and every aspect of our lives, and it keeps us from living compartmentalized lives where we act differently depending on the environment in which we find ourselves. Our entire lives should be poured out as an offering to God not out of obligation, but from overflowing, grateful hearts. When we get this right, our perspective shifts to ways we can serve God through the course of the day rather than being preoccupied with ourselves. We become more aware of others and the impact that our words and actions have on them, and we look to serve them, just as Jesus demonstrated when He washed the feet of His disciples (John 13:1-17). 

I can't tell you how discouraging it is when I meet people in the workforce and never have the slightest clue that they identify themselves as “Christians” until months or years have passed. All appearances point to them being just like everyone else who is lost. This breaks my heart. First of all, I feel sorry for them, because they don't appear to be experiencing the abundant life that Jesus came to give us (John 10:10), nor do they seem to be experiencing the joy and freedom that comes from walking with Christ daily (Luke 4:18-21). Secondly, my heart breaks at the mixed signals that those who are lost are receiving. If the life of the “christian” looks just like their lives, they really don't think they are missing anything. This is truly tragic, and when the lost person faces adversity, they may never even think to reach out to the “Christian” because they aren't seeing a faith that makes a difference.

Olympic Athlete Eric Liddell summed up this quandry by reminding us that how we live matters: “We are all missionaries. Wherever we go, we either bring people nearer to Christ or we repel them from Christ.” 

So how are we doing, North Woodbury? Are our lives like a beacon which points people to the light of Jesus Christ? If someone were to encounter you in your work place, would they see the same person they know from Sunday mornings?

Let us live in a way that glorifies God. That doesn't mean we will be perfect, but it does mean that our lives are set apart and that our words and deeds should be used to honor God at all times. May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in God’s sight (Psalm 19:14), and when people see the fruit of the Spirit growing in our lives (Galatians 5:23-24) and ask us where our hope comes from (1 Peter 3:15), may we unashamedly point them to Jesus who has given us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). May we help introduce people to Jesus, and may we fix our eyes on Him (Hebrees 12:2) as we worship Him through work.