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There’s a slogan from the Boy Scouts that I like a lot: Leave it better than you found it. It’s good for Boy Scouts, but don’t you think that Christians should have that same kind of attitude? I’m going to talk about what we should leave better than we found it.
We should leave our jobs better than we found them. I’m not suggesting you literally leave your job, but rather that because you are doing your job, things should be better where you work. Your presence in that job should be a positive thing, so that if you did leave the job, it would be better than you found it.
Another way to put that is to ask, If everyone in your organization worked like you do, would the organization be better off? For example,
- If everyone worked as hard as you do—put in the same number of hours really working—would productivity go up or down?
- If everyone arrived at work the same time you do, would everyone be on time or late?
- If everyone were as creative as you are, finding new and better ways to do things, would there be new initiatives and new ideas happening—or not?
- If everyone were as willing to go the extra mile like you do, would there be more people exceeding requirements—or less?
- If everyone were as positive and upbeat as you are, would there be a better morale where you work, or would it be worse?
- If everyone were as neat and tidy as you are and cleaned up after themselves like you do, would the work environment be nicer or messier?
- If everyone talked about others in the organization the way you do, would there be lots of positive confirmation going around, or lots of gossip?
You get the idea. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that “if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment” (1 Corinthians 11:31). It’s just smart to check up on ourselves—to judge ourselves—and avoid coming under judgment by others, so ask yourself if you are leaving your job better than you found it!