Section Three: The Lifestyle Characteristics of a Godly Life.
Our current theme: Characteristic Two: Serving Christ in the Workplace.
Our reading for today: Galatians 6: 4-6 (MsgB)
Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. Be very sure now, you who have been trained to a self-sufficient maturity, that you enter into a generous common life with those who have trained you, sharing all the good things that you have and experience.
If you’ve been with us throughout this blog series, A Journey into 3-C Christian Discipleship, you know that it’s our hope that what we offer here is not just words of encouragement, but also some practical examples you and I can act upon along the way.
Today, as we continue this leg of our journey; learning how to better serve Christ in the workplace, let me offer you some practical examples (30, in fact!) on how we might become more proactive in our Christ-appointed missional assignments found at our workplace. (Much thanks to this creative list as published by The Verge Network):
Many times it’s difficult to find practical ways to be a blessing in your workplace. Rapid pace, mounting deadlines, or co-worker conflict can often derail even the best of intentions to say and show the love of Jesus at work. Here are some very practical ideas for blessing others in the workplace:
- Instead of eating lunch alone, intentionally eat with other co-workers and learn their story.
- Get to work early so you can spend some time praying for your co-workers and the day ahead.
- Make it a daily priority to speak or write encouragement when someone does good work.
- Bring extra snacks when you make your lunch to give away to others.
- Bring breakfast (donuts, burritos, cereal, etc.) once a month for everyone in your department.
- Organize a running/walking group for before or after work hours.
- Have your missional community/small group bring lunch to your workplace once a month.
- Create a regular time to invite coworkers over or out for drinks.
- Make a list of your co-worker’s birthdays and find a way to bless everyone on their birthday.
- Organize and throw office parties as appropriate to your job.
- Make every effort to avoid gossip in the office. Be a voice of thanksgiving not complaining.
- Find others that live near you and create a car pool.
- Offer to throw a shower for a co-worker who is having a baby.
- Offer to cover for a co-worker who needs time off for something.
- Start a regular lunch out with co-workers (don’t be selective on the invites).
- Organize a weekly/monthly pot luck to make lunch a bit more exciting.
- Ask someone who others typically ignore if you can grab them a soda/coffee while you’re out.
- Be the first person to greet and welcome new people.
- Make every effort to know the names of co-workers and clients along with their families.
- Visit coworkers when they are in the hospital.
- Bring sodas or work-appropriate drinks to keep in your break room for coworkers to enjoy. Know what your co-workers like.
- Go out of your way to talk to those who are often overlooked (i.e.: janitors and cleaning people).
- Find out your co-worker’s favorite music and make a playlist that includes as much as you can (if suitable for work).
- Invite your co-workers in to the service projects you are already involved in.
- Start/join a city league team with your co-workers.
- Organize a weekly co-working group for local entrepreneurs at a local coffee shop.
- Start a small business that will bless your community and create space for mission.
- Work hard to reconcile co-workers who are fighting with one another.
- Keep small candy, gum, or little snacks around to offer to others during a long day.
- Lead the charge in organizing others to help co-workers in need.
As I see it, what better way can we proactively act on today’s scripture than putting into place a generous handful of some of these great workplace ideas? As Paul states it, “make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that…sharing all the good things that you have and experience.”
Hey gang…time to get to W-O-R-K!
My prayer: Jesus, it’s obvious that there are many creative ways I can be Your caring servant at my workplace, especially if I take the extra time needed to simply act on Your desire to use me as a blessing to others. Whether it be a larger project of blessing or just a handful of simple acts of kindness, lead me and guide me with Your Holy Spirit. For Your name’s sake. Amen.
My questions to ponder: Which of the thirty acts of blessing suggested here stand out for me as ones I can act on today at work? Which suggestions are simple and sustainable in my workplace, and are consistent with who I am and my on-going desire to bless others?
So what is God speaking to you today as we attempt to live the Christ-centered life?
Over a thirty-six week period, you and I will take a deeper look into twelve key characteristics of a godly life. In other words, we’ll take A Journey into 3-C Christian Discipleship. In order to keep all the blog sessions organized, we suggest you bookmark our Journey home page for ease of use. ENJOY!
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