“Should I take this job?” Once in a while I am privileged to be privy to the struggles of my friends as they wonder if they should take a new job offer. Of course in the uncertainties of the New Economy some of us are relieved just to be able to put food on the table. Still, some of us have been offered jobs that, among other things, promise more responsibility and better remuneration.
Whenever a friend poses that question to me and wants to spend time with me to struggle through to some clarity as to what God would have him/her do, my respect for that friend takes a quantum leap. Many Christians live dichotomous lives, separating their life in church from their life at work.
More power? More status? More money? What’s there to think about? In the pre-crash boom times I knew of Christians who would skip from job to job often in the space of a few months, for RM50 more per month. After all that’s what everybody was doing. And it wasn’t illegal. So what’s the problem?
To quote a familiar Christian mantra: “Jesus is not Lord at all if He is not Lord of all.” To call Jesus Lord is to acknowledge His Lordship over every area of our lives. Indeed it may very well be our life at work that provides the most important area to exhibit the reality of our life in Christ. For most of us, most of our time is spent in the marketplace, not in the walls of the church. Everyday we face countless decisions, big and small, where the authenticity of our Christian faith is tested. Our attitude towards work and job changes provides one of the most important crucibles for the reality of our faith.
The first thing I want to say is that we should remove the linkage between our jobs and our self worth. If we need money and prestige for our self worth than we would chase the job that give us more of both. But if our self worth is rooted in our relationship with God, and our identity as children of God, then nothing in this world can add on to, or take away from, our self worth. Realizing this frees us to look at job changes more objectively.
The second thing I want to say is that a Christian should be biased to NOT change jobs. Two Christian values that every Christian should bring to their work and workplace are creativity and community. And both require time.
God knows we need more creative out of the box thinking in every discipline in our rapidly changing and needy world. But creativity only emerges when one has been around long enough to learn the ropes of our job. Rushing from job to job would just result in our bringing our same level of competence and creativity from job to job without any growth and development.
Christians are also community builders. We see relationships as fundamental to all human interaction. I would expect Christians to be building appropriate relationships with the people they deal with at work — bosses, colleagues, subordinates, vendors, customers etc. And relationships take time.
There is also the matter of people development. Wherever we have the chance, we would want to develop the people within our sphere of influence. And that definitely takes time. Our first response therefore is to not jump from job to job.
However, there is no legalism in Christianity and definitely we are not proposing any rigid Christian laws of work. There will be times when we need to go. I can think of a few, for example, when the ethical values of the company are totally incompatible with the values of Christ; or when what is required of you at the work place is destroying your life, physically, emotionally, relationally and/or spiritually.
Then there are the times when we should embrace a new challenge when it is more comfortable to stay. I have challenged some friends to think seriously about taking a new job offer because I believed the new position would allow them to be better stewards of their abilities. And I believed that they were not basically tempted by the money or the prestige.
The parable of the talents teaches about the need to be good stewards of whatever resources that God entrusts to us and that includes our abilities. (Matthew 25:14-30) This is obviously a divine principle that applies across the board because we are also to be good stewards of our spiritual gifts as well.
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s various grace:” 1 Peter 4:10 ESV
We need time to know what our talents and abilities are. Usually most of us get a clearer picture after 30 and when we have had a chance to work for some time. Our God given abilities also grow and develop with usage and education.
So there will be times when it is time to take a new position when it would be so much more comfortable to stay. We have a good track record at our present position. We have good relationships with the people at our work place. Our leadership and ability are recognized and respected. The remuneration is fair. But we have taken the role as far as it can go.
Sometimes, at times like these, God opens the door for a job which will be much more stretching, but which gives you much more room to maximize your potential.
Moving can be scary. Therefore it boils down to obedience. Lord, what would you have me do? Seek the mind of the BOSS. Talk it through with trusted friends. Ask them to pray for you and to help you discern. And it just might be time to go for it.
Your brother, Soo-Inn Tan