| The experience of some employers with some believers of our day is similar to the experience of Jesus and the fruitless fig tree described in Matthew 21:19 (CEV) – “…and along the way He saw a fig tree. But when He came to it, He found only leaves and no figs. So He told the tree, “You will never again grow any fruit!” Right then the fig tree dried up.”
We see some believers today with captivating ‘leaves’. They look responsible and attractive from afar. They have fair speeches that can swing any recruitment panel decision in their favour. Take a closer look – after they are employed but you don’t find the fruit of skilfulness, diligence and uprightness. They are not productive and fruitful because they are not skilful. Skilfulness has to do with being excellent at what you do; being an expert because of your distinguishing knowledge and experience. Are you regarded as an expert in your field? Do you consistently strive to improve your knowledge and experience? I find it incredible when some brethren tell me they are desirous of changing their jobs, and when I request their resume, they go through their mail and forward a copy they sent to some other person a year or two ago. I begin to wonder if it means that this person has not acquired any new knowledge or experience in the last year or two! I think a skilful person would consider their resume stale after every 12 months.
The bible says “the righteous is more excellent than his neighbour” (Proverbs 12:26 KJV). The believer has an excellent spirit by nature and therefore we should see the coterminous effect in everything he does. Excellence should be our lifestyle. Skilfulness should make us more productive in our workplace. But what do we see today? You give an unbeliever a target – “I need that report by 2pm tomorrow”. He says “YES SIR!” and before 2pm the next day, the report is ready. You give a believer the same target and his response is – “I will try my best by the grace of God”. Sadly, by 2pm the next day, he hasn’t even gone halfway. Won’t the employer begin to wonder: if he was working by the grace of God and giving his best, why didn’t he get the result in record time? Will the employer not be scared of people who tag their speeches with “by the grace of God”?
No man truly walks with God and remains unproductive. Even in the Old Testament, we see that the men who walked with God were more productive than their peers. We see a man like Daniel delivering exceptional results despite the adverse conditions around him, how much more the believer that has the exact ability of God in him. You who have 24/7 access to the wisdom of God in a mystery that is hidden from even the princes of this world (I Cor. 2:7-10), how then is it a struggle to excel in the vocation relating to this lesser world? Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:13 (AMP) – I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].
The believer should never be found deflating his efficiency with any form of deficiency because he is self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency. It is wrong for the believer to continue to rate himself on the basis of his physical abilities alone, because he is a brand new person in Christ. You should be more conscious of your spiritual ability and this will definitely affect your productivity. The advantage for you is that your employer would generally give you tasks and rate you based on his perception of your physical ability. But if you work based on your spiritual ability there is no way you won’t constantly exceed the legitimate expectations of your employer.
While our major goal in life is not to excel at work but to fulfil our purpose, being skilful and fruitful at work is something that should flow naturally from us because we belong to the lineage where whatsoever thing we do, we do it excellently. I trust that you will determine to always display the fruit of integrity and productivity at all times and in all places even as I leave you with the words of Ralph Brownrig – “trees have their seasons at certain times of the year when they bring forth fruit; but a Christian is for all seasons.”
– Tope Aladenusi
(This piece is an excerpt of the article – “Why some employers don’t want to employ Christians” in Today’s Lifeline Magazine Vol.3No.1) |
