Wisdom for God's Worker
- Ronald Thao
- Mar 12
- 4 min read
To my fellow brothers and sisters in the faith,
Like I said, there is bread. God’s Word isn’t just about the big picture of redemption. It’s also about the little details of things like my work and the environment it’s in. For the longest time, some of us have been craving to hear something concrete and actionable for our Christian walk at work. I hope this satisfies your desire for that in part, if not in whole. I hope for my audience this is indeed a good word, and may it not just give you a better job, but a better desire to love God more. God is good, even when I forget that he is. Dear brothers and sisters: Wisdom calls for us to know her and be disciplined by her, will you answer?
Here are 6 principles that I actively use to navigate my professional life:
1. Be able to discern the character of management, especially those you answer directly to. Proverbs 1 talks about how the wicked want to take advantage of the simple. God will judge that either in this life or the next, have little to nothing to do with them. Proverbs 1:10-11, 18-19
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not be willing.
11 If they say, “Come with us,
Let us lie in wait for blood,
Let us ambush the innocent without cause;
18 But they lie in wait for their own blood;
They ambush their own [j]lives.
19 So are the paths of everyone who is greedy for gain;
It takes away the [k]life of its possessors. If my manager is trying to take advantage of people, failing to deliver on promises, does not communicate well the expectations of the job, committing fraud, and avoiding accountability. Spend very little time there at that company. God says in Proverbs 17:12, "Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, Rather than a fool in his folly." The question you need to ask yourself with this verse is, "Do I believe that?" Your job is more than a paycheck, it's an investment of your time that you want to give you a return for the long run. Do not allow your future to be controlled by the hands of the wicked, always have an emergency exit plan.
2. Understand that America pays you based on the demand of your skillset and its uniqueness in the context of its social, political, economic, religious, and cultural vision that INVESTORS/STAKEHOLDERS are pushing forward for example something like Data Analytics or AI. Take time to study industries and why they exist as well as the kind of revenue they drive. Being in Public safety for nearly 4 years, I realized that my industry exists because it's cheaper to hire a security officer, than a fully trained cop. So whatever I would hope to earn is capped by my industry unless I enter into administration of security. As Proverbs 21:5 says, "The thoughts of the diligent lead surely to profit, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty." Leverage your experience and your skills! Yes, pray whole heartedly, but have strategy too!
3. Know yourself and apply yourself diligently. Everyone has an agenda for their job. They want to be lazy, management, weekly pay check, etc. Your agenda is to be an example for Jesus and be great at what you do. Everyone is competing, don't let your laziness be your downfall. Proverbs 12:24 The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.
Knowing yourself is also about the skills you have individually, you need to know what skills you have that you can apply over long periods of time that will produce great results. You need to find those out ASAP. As Proverbs 22:29 says, "Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men."
4. You are made in the image of God, in sin Humanity almost reached heaven Genesis 11:6 "6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them."
Think about what you might be able to do with not just your skills, but with the right people when you want to make a living for love, love of God and love for your loved lones.
5. Know when to rest, you have limitations and that's just part of being human. Proverbs 23:4 "Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Because of your understanding, cease!" At the end of the day God provides, it doesn't stop us from working. It stops us from despairing over work.
6. If you can communicate your value that's relevant to the work you're doing, show that you want to have a long term relationship with your job, and show you can demonstrate results that are relevant to generating revenue for the company and love people. I'm sure many companies will want you.
Yaysh Lehem. There is bread.
Resources:
1. Philip Holmes
2. Susana Alba
3. Grime Time
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