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It seems like more people are discontent with their jobs these days than ever before for lots of different reasons. Also, workloads seem to be much higher, and the loyalty between employees and employers seems much lower. So, if you find yourself in a job you really don’t like, you’ve got company.
I can understand your predicament because I’ve had a job or two like that myself. But the Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians:
…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation….I can do everything through him who gives me strength
(Philippians 4:11-12).
So, I want to talk about how to be content in a job you hate. You know, when you and I learn this secret of being content, as Paul learned it, we can’t lose because our fulfillment and satisfaction are not based on circumstances—not based on whether we have a terrific job that we love, or one that we hate!
Keep in mind that Paul had to learn this technique of being content, and so do we. So, are you willing to enroll in Contentment 101, and learn how to be content in your job? That’s where it begins. If you’re not willing to learn to be content, of course, you never will learn it.
If you insist on saying, “I hate this job, I refuse to change my attitude toward this job, I could never be content with this job and furthermore I don’t want to be content with it,” then you’ve already prevented God from changing you and giving you a new heart and a new attitude.
First of all, you have to give up your rights. Most of us think things like, “I don’t deserve this job,” or “I deserve to have a fulfilling job,” or “It’s not right that I have to work at a job that doesn’t utilize my talents,” or “I can’t be expected to endure the kind of treatment I get on my job.” That’s just our normal selfish nature, which has been fed and fired up by our humanistic society, teaching us “We have our rights.”
Dear friend, if you want to be a contented person, you must first of all tell God that you recognize you have no rights to all that you think you have a right to. If you’re a child of God, you belong to him and he is the Master. Are you willing to give up your “rights” to have the job you want, and to allow yourself to be contented where you are? That is step one in being content in a job you hate.
Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, why would God punish me with a job like this?” Let me assure you that God is not trying to make your life miserable. Just the opposite. He has plans for you that are good. But he can’t work those plans for you until you surrender your rights to him. Most of the time God does not deliver us from difficult situations until we have learned to be content and to accept them. That is how we learn to trust God and have faith in him, and without faith it’s impossible to please God.
So, step one in being content in a job you hate is to give up your rights for the perfect job and tell God you are willing to stay there and give him control.
Here’s step two in being content in a job you hate: Change employers. That’s right—just change employers right now, today. But, you say, “You just said be willing to stay in the job you have. Besides, I can’t just change jobs like that.” Oh, I didn’t say change jobs; I said change employers.
Paul wrote to the Colossians: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men.” Did you realize you can change employers without changing jobs? Just say out loud, “I no longer work for that company or that person, I have a new boss. I now work for the Lord.”
Keep that thought in your mind all day long as you’re working and keep telling yourself over and over this truth: “I report to Jesus. Therefore, I must be careful how I act and I need to watch my attitude, because I report to a higher level of management: Jesus himself.”
I don’t care how tough your job is or how much you hate it, if you work for Jesus, if you consider him your boss, if you continually remind yourself that you will give an account to him as to how you have performed in your job, and furthermore, that he will reward you if you do a good job, you can be content right there in that job you hate.
Believe me, I know because I’ve had to practice this myself. For three years I worked in a job I hated and wanted to leave. The first year there I did everything I could to find another job, and nothing happened. Finally I realized God had me there for some purpose, and I decided to work for God, not for that company and not for that impossible boss.
As soon as I changed employers, I was content in that job. And God taught me lessons for the next two years in that job I hated, which I could not have learned anywhere else. He also used me to encourage others who worked there. But nothing good happened until I changed employers.
That doesn’t mean that every day on that job was a joy. No, there were still tough times and situations I had to deal with. But once I began to see that God had a purpose for me right there, going to work wasn’t a painful thing any longer. I had an eternal perspective of that job, and it changed me. Once I changed my attitude and began working for the Lord, it made all the difference in the world.
Maybe the problem is you’ve been working for yourself. I’m not talking about being self-employed, I’m talking about working for your own selfish reasons and purely for self-advancement. When you work for yourself, you’re working for money, advancement, power, recognition—and that is a self-centered, selfish way to work. You could be your own worst boss!
If you’ve been working for an earth-person, including yourself, you’ve been working for the wrong person. Make this biblical principle a reality in your life: Don’t work for people or money or a company, work for Jesus. I promise you, you can be content in a job you hate if you work for the right person.
Step three in being content with a job you hate is: Work for recognition and reward but not earthly recognition and reward!
The reality of most work environments is that expressions of appreciation and recognition are often few and far between. So, if you hate your job because you never get the recognition or appreciation you deserve, I’ve got great news for you. You can be content in that job you hate, because when you work for the Lord, Colossians 3 says that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.
You see, God has a recognition and incentive program better than any employer could ever dream up, and if you perform your everyday work duties as unto him, you’re going to be recognized and rewarded by the Lord, whether your employer ever appreciates you or not.
So, if you feel you’re not receiving the earthly rewards you deserve, rejoice to know that you can be assured of a heavenly reward. If you’re doing a good job and nobody says “thank you,” just remember that someday you’ll get the “well done, good and faithful servant” you deserve from a higher level of management. That is, of course, if you’re working for Jesus and not for people.
In Matthew 6:19-20, Jesus said that if we desire the rewards of men, we may miss out on God’s reward. If our whole motivation is to be recognized and rewarded here on earth, then we’ll hate most jobs we have because rarely is recognition or reward fairly given in this world. And working for earthly rewards will poison our motives and keep us from receiving God’s heavenly rewards.
So, if you’re in a job you hate, you can learn to be content if you will live in the knowledge that your recognition and reward is coming from God. You can know satisfaction and fulfillment even in that miserable job, if you really believe that you work for God and he will reward you. It’s a big change of attitude, but the Holy Spirit has the power to make that change inside of you if you give him that permission.
I’m not excusing bad management, and there is a lot of that around today. Managers should do their job right and give people recognition when they deserve it. It makes it a lot easier to “keep on keepin’ on” when someone shows appreciation.
However, when we become so dependent on the praise and recognition of people, then we become slaves to them. I guess today’s term would be “co-dependent.” At any rate, we look to people for our sense of self-worth instead of to God. That is always risky business, because people will fail us often.
I want to encourage you to work for God’s approval, not people’s. It changes your attitude, lowers your expectations of others and reduces your disappointments; it frees you from the dependency you have for the approval of others. That is real freedom. Make this a matter of serious prayer. God can change this attitude in you if you will give him permission. Pray daily that you will learn to work for God’s recognition and approval, not people’s.
That means, of course, that you have to do good work and not slough off just because the boss doesn’t seem to appreciate what you do. It should mean that the quality of your work improves. Not because God is a hard task-master, but because you want to please him and be found a good and faithful servant. Just live in the knowledge that he has a reward for you for being a good employee, and when you get that reward, you’re going to be so glad that you worked for it instead of the puny rewards of people.