Is Your Employment Pleasing to God? - part of a new book

Today I want to touch on a topic that has been burdensome to my mind of late. God has led me to a solution and no doubt He will lead you to one as well. Allow me to plant the seeds today with these thoughts and if you will pray and reflect on them, I have no doubt that you will be led to the same path I am on.

Ask yourself if the company you work for glorifies God. Do they help to feed the hungry? Do they help to ease the suffering of the poor? Do they in any way seek to spread the Gospel? Is their primary goal any of the previous? No?

Why are you giving them the labor of your life?

Is the company you work for ran by Christians? Do they profess Christ? Mandatory ethics training aside, does their corporate culture reflect any Christian ideals at all?

Why are you letting them set your identity when Christ commands you to be separate?

What business does your company engage in? Is it a usury-based banking system? Loans? Do they operate simply by charging extortionate fees to other companies in order to remain compliant with a worldly (and decidedly anti-Christian) government system? Do they manufacture and sell un-Godly products such as worldly luxuries or pornography? So called "entertainment"?

Would Christ approve of what you do for a living?

Building or manufacturing something isn't wrong. Growing something for sale isn't wrong. Teaching isn't wrong, unless of course you find yourself in the anti-Christian public school system. There are many ways to earn a living that are glorifying to God and do not promote the worldly decay of our society.

Did this article make you uncomfortable? Are you questioning your own employment? Good! Now you don't have to quit tomorrow. That's not what I'm saying. God doesn't want you on welfare and unemployment. I started initially by setting in my mind what I would and would not do. I resolved to be a Christian in an unGodly system and hold to my Christian principles first. However, as time went on, I discovered that there was vastly more that I wouldn't do than what I would and ultimately it leads an employer to question why you're there in the first place.

Accept that you may get fired.

God will take care of you if that happens. Right now, probably the biggest problem with your plan towards self-sufficiency is your lack of free time to execute it. Getting fired might just be God's assistance in executing that plan. In addition, holding to your Christian principles is a pretty dang good reason to get fired. You're not at any greater risk than you are now. Your boss could fire you at any time for any reason he pleases. Might as well go out the door with your conscience and soul intact.

Sooner or later your employer is going to ask you to do something against your principles. You're going to have to say no. The boss is going to turn red in the face and threaten to fire you. Tell him, "I accept that." After all, you're taking his coin in exchange for the work he wants done. If he's not going to get that work out of you then you have no right to take his coin.

In my own line of work, I was able to negotiate that out. I won't do this, but I will do that. That bought me some time. All you can ever do is buy yourself some time. Sooner or later that magic moment will come where you are tested: either follow the world or follow Christ.

It would be best to have a plan for when that day comes. How much money do you have in the bank? Do you have a mortgage to worry about? How much food are you producing? Do you have an alternate means of support? Better yet, find a Christian employer who holds to your principles. Start looking now while you still have a paycheck and can afford to be choosy. These types of employers are out there. In my own business, I'd be happy to have a few such employees working for me, could I afford their upkeep.

I urge you, take a good long look at your employment today and ask yourself if it is pleasing to God. If not, start making plans for your own personal exodus. You can't make bricks for pharoah indefinitely. God has a different plan for His people.