Working close to or over 40 hours a week for a good part of your life is a hill high enough for you to stand on and shine the light of the lord. I know many have ever asked themselves how can I be a light to my coworkers as the Lord expects of me? If this is you, then you are at the right place. Having a job where I have to spend over 1/3 of my day with people who don’t know God, knew God a long time ago, or even don’t want to know him isn’t somewhere you want to cower under your shell of faith. Humans constantly influence each other, and logically for most of us think odds aren’t on our side.
I would pray the same prayer Elisha prayed for his servant; “may he open his eyes to see that more are they that are on our side than them that are theirs.” If Jesus is in you, then you have the backing of heaven. It’s your willing to be used by the lord that is going to make sure you are not influenced by your colleagues but instead, you will draw them to the kingdom. Jesus advised as you are out there, be as wise a serpent yet as humble a dove. It’s by this humility and obeying the skillful leading of the holy spirit that will guarantee even more results.
A lot of times, as Christians we are pushed against the wall in a lot of matters in life but unless we ask ourselves “what would Jesus do” in the situation we have no clue what to do then there might not be so much hope for us. The holy spirit act as a reminder to pull what is written in our hearts and give us that divine wisdom in time of need. Apostle Peter when advising employees on how to relate with their bosses said in 1St Peter 2;18 “Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate but also to those who are harsh.” It reminds us we all have one master in heaven, Jesus Christ, so it doesn’t matter if you are a master here on earth or not. What we need to do is know what is expected of us in the lord and do exactly that, for he rewards and punishes justly.
As we serve our employers or masters here on earth, we always ought to do so as if we are doing it for the lord. It’s difficult submitting to a harsh boss who is not considerate at all but as Christians, our language should always be, ‘ not my will but your Lord.’ Jesus gave us a good example of suffering for sins he committed not. We are called to walk in his suffering so that we can earn the entitlement of sharing in his glory. Our small cross being our workplace peter in other scriptures in the same chapter goes in-depth to explain how our endurance to suffer for wrongs we didn’t commit earns us an eternal reward not mentioning it makes our light in Christ shine brighter.
We are asked to never pay evil with evil, but with good all the time. This is one virtue which we as a Christian should never compromise.. There are a lot of good opportunities to shine your light through such an action such as if you have a secular job, or even if you live in this beautiful world of god… At times your colleagues will provoke you into a bad attitude or anger, it’s for your glory to overlook an offense as Solomon puts it. At sometimes words that will surround you aren’t words to exhort or glorify God, but words filled with filthy language that shouldn’t fall from lips the holy spirit uses to bless others with. May your fountain stay undefiled by not letting out any offensive or abusive word that will stand against you in the day of judgment.
Subtle ways you can use to fuel your light to shine brighter and longer are things like rocking a t-shirt or hoodie with bible inspired phrase or something promoting the kingdom. A popular forefather of faith went by the slogan, “if it advances the gospel, use it,” I endorse. Another keyway to shine your light is to be the least, just as our master Jesus was. Be a servant of all, go out your way to help a friend. Stay up late to assist the new hire with his project, smile all the time, check on colleagues, don’t underestimate even the small talk. People open up slowly.
Pray for and cultivate friendships with your colleagues. It’s okay to hang out occasionally on your days off. Assist a colleague with a home project, invite a friend to a church special service. Try to build a friendship where they can share their problems, ask for prayers, or pray for them if they don’t. Look for opportunities to share your testimonies to build their faith. We overcome by the blood and the words of our testimonies. Testimonies go a long way; they even shake kingdoms of darkness.
Don’t forget you are also a human. Be real to your coworkers. God hates hypocrisy. If you make a mistake, don’t cover-up. Admit, repent, and be hopeful to be forgiven. We can learn something from David lusting, committing adultery, murdering, and then taking someone’s wife. If we will not break the chain of sin, it will never be able to end. And most importantly also give credit where it’s due. Instead of joining your friends in tearing down the lazy coworker and attacking the mean Team lead, appreciate one another. Thank a brother for help given, tell a sister how much of a backbone she is to the team. It’s by these small things that travel deep into our spirit, stirring the goodness in us for every man craves to be complimented again and again.
I know we can’t exhaust ways the holy spirit can use to help us shine our light just as we can’t limit him to only the above-discussed ways. We are unique for a reason, discuss with brothers and sisters in faith ways that have worked for them or failed as you encourage one another and open up to the holy spirit for he never runs out of new secrets for every situation.
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