Why Do You Have a Job?

One can’t go very far without hearing about the numerous people who refuse to work and continue to seek to live off of handouts. Not a day goes by that there isn’t nearly every other person, you meet, complaining about how bad their job is or how much they dislike their boss, manager, supervisor, or whatever other name of disgust these people seek to use to describe their employer. So, this prompts me to ask – Why do you work or why do you have a job?

Are you working toward a career, and if so, what do you want out of such a career? Are you working from paycheck to paycheck, just to make ends meet? Are you working to support a bad habit or to fund an extravagant lifestyle? Are you working to make your employer or the company you work for a success? Are you working simply to provide a decent living for you and/or your family, or are you not working, hoping to get by without having to do …too much?

All of these questions describe nearly everyone who works, or chooses not to. So, I again ask you, why do you work or have a job? To me, the answer is easy, but so many people miss the mark on this one. I know I certainly missed the mark for many years doing what I thought I should only to find out I was totally wrong in my approach. I’m guessing your approach, depends a lot on how much you care about people, companies, family, friends, etc. If you are a very caring person, you are likely totally committed to your job and the company that employs you. This was me for many many years. It took a giant slap in the face, to wake me up to the reality, that I cared far more about my company than they ever cared about me.!!! Sound familiar???

I spent nearly 14 years at Allied Signal, where every year, I worked the second most hours, per year, of everyone in the business, averaging 60 hours per week. I worked virtually every weekend for nearly all of those 14 years. One year after Allied closed their Franklin facility, did anyone from that company, any manager or company official contact me about future opportunity’s? Did they no longer need someone who worked as hard as I – heck, did they even remember my name? The answer was NO!!!

I spent nearly the same amount of time at Rolls-Royce. I led a team that took their compliance business from an admitted failure, in the eyes of their most important customer, to a compliance business that was not only world class, but was even endorsed as THE industry leader, by the very same customer that had just 7 years earlier, declared them a failure. The company then put me in a global role, with global accountability, and global responsibilities and a promise to elevate me to the appropriate executive level and pay commensurate to this new role. Two plus years later, no new title or pay, but still the same increased global responsibilities.

Now please don’t feel sorry for me because my intent isn’t sympathy, in fact I don’t blame these companies, I blame myself. I drank the cool aid. I bought into the premise, that hard working successful people are always rewarded by their employers and the better they help make their companies, the more the companies become committed to their very success. I have one word for this – POPPYCOCK, or to be more graphic, bull shivers 😊. I saw the signs, I could see this coming, and yet what did I do…work even harder, become even more committed and yes, you guessed it – I should have been committed, to an institution, for being so gullible.

The stark reality of it all is that God put us on this earth to provide for our families, love and help one another, and honor and serve Him the best we can. No where has God ever set an expectation that if we help lead our employers to success, that these employers must honor us with a role or seat of exaltation. Only God could reward us as we deserve or have earned – no employer can …OR WILL…ever do this – None.

Hard work honors God. Commitment and dedication honors God. Caring for family and others, honors God. Integrity and honesty honors God. Love of all, family and friends, honors God. And God honors and blesses us when we put him first and realize that no matter what we do for an employer, that employer will never…can never…reward us in the way that God can, and will. 2 Chronicles 15:7 says: “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”

So, for those of you leaving high school to take on your first “REAL” job, honor God by doing your best, Honor God by working hard, staying committed, being honest and full of integrity. Because you are not working for an employer, you’re working to honor God, so to provide for you and your family.

If you seek higher education to advance your goals for a career or a trade, do your best. Learn all you can and excel at every opportunity. Just remember to do all of this to honor God and provide for you and your family. There isn’t an employer or career in existence that can return a reward to you for hard work, commitment, integrity, and honestly, like God can. Nor will any employer or career even come close to the blessings God will shower upon you.

In closing I want to emphasize one singular point. My 14 years at Allied Signal, rewarded me with immediate unemployment, when they closed their doors. Then twenty-one years later, Allied Signal rewarded my service with a little over $200 a month retirement. This is a monthly check that I am forever thankful for. But this is actually my money, invested and earned, when I worked those many hours. When I call to talk to them today, if I can even get someone on the phone, I am no longer a name but a number. I ceased being the name of a dedicated employee 25 years ago.

But God knows my name. God loves me, God blesses me, and God helps me and watches over me. Even when I don’t deserve it or do stupid things that don’t honor God, He still loves me and He forgives me. No employer can ever provide for you what God can. Do your best at your jobs, grow your careers, become a leader and a success, but do it all for God. Because without Him, none of your successes could happen. Allied Signal remembers me by returning money I earned, but God will bless me for eternity, with a love and grace, so incredible, that I could never earn, or deserve. He does this for me, and for all of you who believe. The Apostle Paul stated this so well in Colossians 3:23-24: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Why do you have a job? My hope and prayer for you is that you have a job to honor God. To praise Him, to honor him, to bless Him, and to have eternal life with Him. God gave me life, and gives me peace, love, and understanding, which no employer can ever give. I have a job to honor God and provide for my family – it took me too many years to realize this. But now I truly know why, I have a job!!!