Different Nature

Matt.16:²⁵ “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”

The second shift you and I need to make in order to have the right perspective is to work like the Lord. Working like Jesus means putting other people ahead of you and getting excited about making them successful. With God, it really does not matter if your boss is a believer or not, you need to get excited about making your boss successful. Joseph was in Potiphar’s house but was Potiphar a follower of Jehovah? No! Daniel served under different pagan kings and he sacrificed for their success. Joseph was in Pharaoh’s palace; was Pharaoh a follower of Jesus? No! Yet Joseph’s number one objective was to make Pharaoh successful.

Focus on making your colleagues successful; that is how to be a servant worker. I know that this principle runs contrary to how the workplace works. I have been there and I have seen all sorts of shocking things; but you have to be different. I know people that have climbed to the peak of multinationals in the industry by following Jesus and working like Him. In fact, a colleague of one of them said to me, “We know we play politics; this man does not play politics but he never misses a promotion. How did he become number one?” I laughed and said, “The secret is he follows Jesus!” His response was, “I go to church too!”

There is a huge difference between going to church and following Jesus. A lot of Christians get into the workplace and do all sorts of strange things to get ahead. They forget that God’s Word clearly states in Ps.75:⁶ (KJV) “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. ⁷ But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” Better know who you should be sucking up to.

Knowing this truth sets you totally free. Fulfilment comes from giving your life away. Matt.16:²⁵ [MSG] “Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.” When we work for the Lord and we work like the Lord then we should expect our reward from the Lord.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, please help me to not self-help at all but to self-sacrifice God’s way so that I can find my true self and fulfilment in You, in Jesus Name. Amen!