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Presented by Lisa Bishop
How are you serving your coworkers? We are looking at 5 ways to be on mission at work: checking our attitudes, working with excellence, and acting with integrity. Now, I want to examine another way to be on mission at your place of employment: tending to the needs of your coworkers.
Many of us spend a significant portion of our lives at work. It’s easy to get caught up in our routine, focusing on tasks, deadlines, and career advancement. But as followers of Christ, we are called to a higher purpose.
Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your [willing and humble] slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:26-28).
These powerful words challenge us to rethink our approach to our daily work. Ironically these words are Jesus’s response to two brothers vying for position, trying to snag the highest place of prestige and honor by sitting at the right hand of Jesus. It’s a great lesson for us too. I’m not implying we should not have ambitions to rise through the ranks at work but how and why we do that matters.
If we are out for personal gain, people will see that, and Jesus knows our hearts. Posturing ourselves with pride puts a damper on our influence at work and the level of trust people will have in us. Are we out for our own best interest or do we desire to work for the best interest of others? Jesus had the highest position and yet he took on the attitude of humility, saw the needs of others, and served them.
Serving others in the workplace means looking beyond our own needs and ambitions. It’s about seeing our colleagues as people God loves and has placed in our lives for a reason. Each day presents multiple opportunities for us to demonstrate Christ’s love through simple acts of kindness: lending a listening ear to a coworker, giving of our time and offering to help someone with a difficult project, or even just sharing a word of appreciation and encouragement.
Who can you serve? Your genuine acts of service will model the heart of Jesus and just may open doors for deeper conversations about faith.