Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man sows that shall he reap. There is a right attitude for believers in the work place. There is an expectation from a Christian while he serves or works for another. It’s a spiritual responsibility because of who we are in Christ Jesus. I love the admonition of Paul in the book of Ephesians;
Eph. 6:5-8 ‘servants be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ. Not with eye service as men pleasers; but as the servant of Christ doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service as to the lord and not to men: knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the lord whether he be bond or free.’
Our financial prosperity also depends on our actions at work and anything we do while we are employed is rewarded by God. So this is dedicated to you if you grumble while you do your job, it’s for the man and woman who does just enough and doesn’t go any extra mile and it’s for the believer whose presence or absence in the work place is not felt.
Jacob served Laban for twenty years and Laban gave this testimony about him ‘’I have learned by experience that the lord had blessed me for thy sake’’. True Jacob had an innate presence because he is of the seed of Abraham, but take nothing from the effort, diligence and skill he brought to his job. Genesis 31:38-40; ‘’this twenty years have I been with thee, thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts I brought unto thee; I bore the loss of it; of my hands didst thou require it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. Thus I was: in the day the drought consumed me and the frost by night; and my sleep departed mine eyes.’’ No wonder Laban asked him to please stay and ask for anything when he tendered his resignation.
To be blessed financially you have to be diligent and skilled in what you do. Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings and not before obscure men.
Work hard, be diligent. You are blessed because of Christ but you have to show forth the excellence of Him that has called you. Jacob worked hard and knew his onions. David was so responsible he never left his sheep unattended to. He could go home and say a lion took a sheep and all will understand. But he was so responsible he made sure that didn’t happen under his watch. He was rewarded with the highest position in Israel! Do you take your job personal? No matter how much you hate it you have a spiritual responsibility to be faithful in it. Jacob was forced into this job in a sense, and even felt his master was unfair, but he gave his best any way. Do all things without murmurings and disputing.
Make yourself obviously responsible, not slothful in business but fervent in spirit serving the Lord. If you are like everyone why will you want something special? Have a great attitude. Be Christ-like. Solve problems, be available. God will reward you with plenty.
Develop multiple skills. One easy way to develop multiple skills is to heed to this scripture; ‘whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with all thy might’. David tended sheep, played the flute with such goodness and was a man of war. His first job was to tend sheep, but he played the flute to calm the flock and keep his time. He also learnt to war protecting his herd from dangerous animals. He had to use a sling and he used it well. Those skills brought him to the palace. You can’t remain relevant just because you have a degree! What can you do? What problems can you solve? How creative are you? Life is dynamic. If you keep doing the same things the same way you will soon be irrelevant. Those born of the Spirit are dynamic.
Be the best employee. Then plan to leave. There is time for everything. A time to be employed and a time to be an employer. Jacob came to that point and asked to go do his own thing. Don’t plan to be an employee forever. Have a plan to leave. Design it while you are employed and if possible, test it. It helps. All the blessing that came to Jacob while he worked for Laban went to Laban. Jacob realized he had to begin to develop personal capacity. So he asked for his portion and began to grow it. He didn’t need much; he knew he had substance inside, a wealth of experience he had gathered while he served to draw on! I love the confidence with which he told Laban ‘thou shall not give me anything’’! He had wealth on the inside. And God blessed him and multiplied him exceedingly; because of the promise and the diligence with which he had served.
Prepare for the outside while inside. You can’t give what you don’t have. The same attitude you display in your work place is the same attitude you bring to the affairs of life. If you are still an average employee you are not ready to launch out on your own. You will simply be average or less than average. Be excellent and you will reap great financial rewards. Excellence is still in high demand and men will pay anything for it. When you are excellent you name your price! Jacobs salary was reduced ten times in twenty years, but he had no complains. He simply trained himself and became excellent. He was finally asked to name his price.
So if you desire financial success while you are employed and after, you know what to do!
-Emmanuel Aladenusi
