Full time and part time
I was asked yesterday if I am able to cope with all the stuff that I am handling in church. Actually I believe there are other people who are handling and serving much harder than I am.
But as I am thinking about this, a long-drawn conclusion that I made sometime back just came to mind. I am a full time servant for Christ but only a part time staff in MOH. I serve 24 hours for Christ but work only 42 hours a week as a staff in MOH. Therefore, it is important for me to put into perspective the things that God has entrusted me to do. My work in MOH must and should be a direct consequence of the service I provide for Christ 24 hours a day. If I need to be excellent in my work, it is because I need to be excellent in my service to Christ. What this means is that what standards I apply in my service to Christ must apply to my work.
This may sound strange to people who may think that serving Christ (to some this equates serving in the church) doesn't require a high standard or rather, grace replaces all standards (my years of serving Christ have shown me that people at one point or another hold such a viewpoint). Hence, it is observable and considered acceptable that people can spend more time in work, and yet be inconsistent in the way they serve in church. Take for example, I used to floor manage for service. One thing that I could never stand is that people can tell me that they are late because they have appointments or need to do work. This is something I felt that they wouldn't dare to do in their school or workplace. But why be inconsistent with the standard when in service, we are serving the Boss of all bosses?
That is why even when I work, I apply the standards I set in service to my workplace. God entrusted me with things. And I need to be faithful as a steward of what He has entrusted me with. And this, I guess, forms the basis for my philosophy towards work.
But as I am thinking about this, a long-drawn conclusion that I made sometime back just came to mind. I am a full time servant for Christ but only a part time staff in MOH. I serve 24 hours for Christ but work only 42 hours a week as a staff in MOH. Therefore, it is important for me to put into perspective the things that God has entrusted me to do. My work in MOH must and should be a direct consequence of the service I provide for Christ 24 hours a day. If I need to be excellent in my work, it is because I need to be excellent in my service to Christ. What this means is that what standards I apply in my service to Christ must apply to my work.
This may sound strange to people who may think that serving Christ (to some this equates serving in the church) doesn't require a high standard or rather, grace replaces all standards (my years of serving Christ have shown me that people at one point or another hold such a viewpoint). Hence, it is observable and considered acceptable that people can spend more time in work, and yet be inconsistent in the way they serve in church. Take for example, I used to floor manage for service. One thing that I could never stand is that people can tell me that they are late because they have appointments or need to do work. This is something I felt that they wouldn't dare to do in their school or workplace. But why be inconsistent with the standard when in service, we are serving the Boss of all bosses?
That is why even when I work, I apply the standards I set in service to my workplace. God entrusted me with things. And I need to be faithful as a steward of what He has entrusted me with. And this, I guess, forms the basis for my philosophy towards work.
Huanyan,
ReplyDeleteI am in total agreement with you. There is only one principle: God's. And it applies to all areas, including work.
Interestingly, your words are echoed in Saint Ignatius':
“To give, and not to count the cost
to fight, and not to heed the wounds,
to toil, and not to seek for rest,
to labor, and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do thy will”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola
Kevin