Let’s take a look at two men on the job. One is a teacher and a coach at a local high school. He feels purposeful and fulfilled most days on the job. He looks forward to seeing young minds develop and being a part of the broader school community. His work makes sense to him. Over the years as he has taught, his students return to see him and he is thankful for how they have each paved their way into college and careers. He has helped instill a love of learning and curiosity into countless students.
Then take another worker. He is a middle manager. He is not excited about his work and just getting by. He spends 60-70 hours a week either on the job or commuting to the job. He labors all day but is caught between a negative upper management culture, high turnover, and fear of losing his job. While he works hard each day, he feels like he has nothing to show for it. He is frustrated, and he dreads Sunday evenings and Monday mornings.
One of these men is energized to work each day. One is worn out. To which one of these workers do you most relate?
If you relate more to the middle manager, you aren’t alone. One-third of Americans say “I don’t like my job.” Two-thirds of Americans are said to be in the wrong career. Many find success in the workplace but no satisfaction. We know that most suicides occur on Sunday nights. And most heart attacks happen on Monday mornings. It’s no secret that the work we do is very much tied to our health and outlook on life.
At first glance, it’s easy to say if you don’t like your job, the fix is just to change it. And maybe that’s a good recommendation for younger workers with less responsibility and more flexibility to change their profession. But for more established workers with families, responsibilities, bills to pay, and obligations to meet, what do you do in the meantime? How do you survive?
Before you change your job or change your career, try changing your heart first.
No matter what job you have found yourself in, where you make your money, where you spend most of your hours each day, it all belongs to Christ. If bosses or coworkers don’t notice, take pleasure in the fact that Jesus sees all that you do. When you’re working hard, that doesn’t go unnoticed.
And if after doing this, you still find yourself stuck, maybe a job or career change is an order for you. But start with changing your heart first.
Col 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Uncommen has been breath of fresh air in my life , my marriage. I thank and praise God for leading me here through a devotional bible study. May God continue to be glorified through your organization.
Lee, Thank you for the encouraging words. Which Uncommen Devotional have you taken?
Hi,
Brief but powerfully insightful. Thank you. My struggle in desiring man’s approval for the work I do has been a lifelong achilles heal. As a overseas worker for the kingdom, there is a lot of toiling and seed sowing exerted before noticeable fruit is often seen. Sometimes I am discouraged by the meager fruit seen for all the labor put out. In the world of instant everything fanned on by technology advances (Devices and Social Media) and the need by many partners to hear AMAZING stories, I need to remind myself more often that: “God sees the situation and my heart”.
I agree, before I consider changing my job I need to look at the attitude of my heart. Perhaps I also need to regularly remind myself of the difference between faithfulness and success. God desires faithfulness; success (in terms of fruit) will come in time and in “sizes / shapes” according to God’s divine plan.
Amen! As a small business owner and someone who runs a Non-profit, I can completely understand the (amount of work vs amount of fruit). The amount of work that goes into each are staggering and sometimes too much to handle. But I hold on to both with an open hand and let God control the amount of fruit. We’ve been called to be willing to serve, but may not be the person who gathers the harvest. I pray God speaks to us all in times of frustration to know that we are right where He needs us to be and this is bigger than our efforts. Stay Uncommen!