ODJ: People Perspective

November 7, 2018 

READ: Romans 12:1-21 

Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! (v.16).

My co-workers bring me great joy; we’re like family. In large part, it’s the reason I&rrsquo;ve chosen to keep working where I do, even though my organisation has experienced numerous transitions. But I know this isn’t typical; a job often is a difficult place to find strong relationships. For some, work is simply a way to put food on the table.

Christ’s transformational work in us calls us to a new way of thinking, including in our jobs (Romans 12:1-2). Our culture often sees work as primarily a means of serving ourselves, whether through finding our self-worth by reaching goals or by gaining influence. In the midst of a regular workday, we can often see only tasks and deadlines. We easily forget that as believers in Jesus we should be viewing life from a people perspective. When we have a different mindset than the world’s definition of success, we can influence our environment for Jesus.

The pressure to prove we’re not only capable but the most skilled is a tangible tension in the workplace. Because our work ethic is a witness of Christ’s goodness in us, we should value excellence, but we shouldn’t do so at the expense of seeing ourselves as better than others (vv.3,11,16). Instead, we’re to relate to our co-workers in a way that communicates their inherent value and God-given abilities (vv.4-10). Even our response to difficulty and injustice in our jobs can become a witness to how we define hope and triumph differently than those who work only for themselves (vv.12,14,17-21).

Like us, our co-workers live out complicated stories, full of chapters with hopes, challenges and disappointments. May we reach out to them in Jesus’ love—bringing the joy that flows from Him.

—Regina Franklin

365-day plan: Acts 20:1-12