By Rick Warren — 12/14/2022 [1]
“The quality of each person’s work will be seen when the Day of Christ exposes it. For on that Day fire will reveal everyone’s work; the fire will test it and show its real quality.” 1 Corinthians 3:13 (GNT)
God wants to use your job to make you more like Jesus. But learning Christ-like qualities such as responsibility, character, and love is never easy. To learn those things, you have to respond to people the way Jesus would—and that can be particularly difficult at work.
So why should you make such an effort to become like Jesus in your job?
First, because God is going to evaluate your work one day.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:13, “The quality of each person’s work will be seen when the Day of Christ exposes it. For on that Day fire will reveal everyone’s work; the fire will test it and show its real quality” (GNT).
Everything you’ve done in your career eventually will be seen—because Christ is going to inspect it on the day of judgment. On that day, everyone’s work will be tested by fire to show the character and quality of what each person has done.
So much of your work may be done without anyone seeing or watching—but God knows. He is watching, and you will give him an account for your work, no matter how menial it seems. You don’t have to always get it right. And you certainly don’t have to be the best. But you do have to work as if you’re doing it for Christ—because you really are.
Second, you should try to become more like Jesus in your work because God is going to give eternal rewards for whatever is done in love.
Hebrews 6:10 says, “God is fair. He won’t forget what you’ve done or the love you’ve shown for him” (GW). You need to remember that verse every Monday morning. God is not going to forget how hard you work, how you give your best, and how you show love in his name.
Your work matters to God. One of your purposes in life is to become like Christ. And your job could be one of the most important ways God teaches you to be responsible, to develop character, and to love others. And it could be one of the most significant ways he uses you to bring others to him.
Talk It Over
- When you’ve done a good job at work, do you want other people to know that? Why or why not?
- How does it make you feel to know that God is always watching how you work and love others and that everything will be brought into the light one day?
- What other people at your job might be watching to see how you treat others, even when work gets difficult? What do you want them to see in you?
[1] © COPYRIGHT 2022 RICK WARREN. PO BOX 80448 RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA 92688