FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS, volume 8, number 7, February 12, 2009
But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by
contentment, I Timothy 6:6.
Should You Strive to Make Partner?
I am often asked by younger people in the work place, “How far should I attempt
to go with my company? Should I take this promotion? Should I strive to become
a partner in this firm? Should I take this job transfer?” Should I work to gain
more and more money? Obviously these are important questions for anyone who
wishes to use the gifts and calling God has provided. So how do we approach
this issue?
Paul in his instruction to Timothy gives vital biblical data that any Christian
in the work place ought to master. You need to keep two things in mind. First,
godliness as seen in contentment is a means of great gain. What does Paul mean?
Great gain must mean something more than spiritual gain. That’s because of the
context. Paul is first speaking of those who are looking to gain through
religious exercise, akin to religious charlatans who prey on the unsuspecting,
taking their money in exchange for a prayer cloth. Paul says that true
godliness actually is a means of great gain. So the great gain must be material
in some way. And by godliness he means God likeness, holiness, the fruit of the
Spirit. He means things like being poor in spirit, mourning over sin, hungering
and thirsting after righteousness, being pure in heart, suffering persecution for the
sake of Jesus. And this godliness that brings great gain is made manifest in
contentment. He tells us that contentment is seen by realizing we bring nothing
into the world, and we take nothing out of it either. In Philippians 4 he says
that he has learned contentment, that he knows how to get along with little and
much. Jeremiah
Burroughs, the great Puritan preacher in his The Rare Jewel of
Christian Contentment, says that contentment comes by decreasing our
expectations and increasing our burdens. This is opposite of what we normally
think. You may say, “If only I had a better job, more money, a better house, a
better spouse, then I know I would be content.” So you think more is better,
but actually contentment comes by lowering your expectations. I only need the basics
in food, shelter, and clothing. If I have this, then I am content. You may say,
“If only this burden of a controlling boss, a miserable marriage could be
removed, then I am sure I would be content.” Instead you need a greater burden,
your sin. When you realize the depth of your sin, the way that you continue to
sin against your spouse, your children, your pastor, your business associates,
how you continue to neglect the One who loves you and gave Himself for you,
then you are on the road to more biblical holiness. A broken and contrite heart
God will not despise. Godliness as seen in contentment brings great
gain.
The second is also vital. The pursuit of great gain always leads to temptation
and consequent destruction. Paul says in verses 9, 10 that those who wish to
get rich fall into many temptations and snares and some have wandered away from
the faith, having pierced themselves with many a pang. Jesus said that you do
not gain happiness by seeking it. Instead it comes as a by-product of holiness.
“Blessed (happy) are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed (happy) are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” If you are
seeking the promotion, if your goal is to become a partner by the time you are
thirty-five, if you want to have enough money to retire at fifty, if you want
to be rich, then you are asking for big trouble. Why? Sooner or later you will
be faced with temptation to compromise your integrity, and if you are working
for great gain, then you will succumb to the temptation and bring destruction
to your life. You will be tempted to lie, to make yourself look better in your
year-end report than you should. You will be tempted to put your competitor for
that position in a negative light. You will be tempted to become a sycophant to
the one who holds the key to your promotion. You will be tempted to take the
promotion due to your pride and ego, to take the higher paying job to keep up
with your friends from Business School. You will be tempted to sacrifice the
welfare of your spouse and children on the altar of success by moving from city
to city in search of the higher position of status and power.
My son Jeff has become friends with the great UCLA basketball player and NBA
Hall of Famer, Bill Walton (how this happened is another story for another
time). Recently Jeff had breakfast with Walton at his home in Los Angeles, and
was peppering him with questions about John Wooden, the legendary coach at UCLA. Walton
said that Wooden never talked about winning. He only talked about fundamentals,
conditioning, and execution. He new that winning would come when these
conditions were met. Paul is saying the same thing in the spiritual realm.
Don’t seek promotion. Don’t seek to become a partner. Don’t seek wealth. Your
job is to seek personal holiness. If you do so, then these other things will
come as God wills to give them to you. More about the specifics next week.
Ask yourself this question- has this job promotion, this job transfer come to
me or did I seek it? If the former, then fine. Perhaps you should take it.
Before you do, however, ask yourself a few more questions. What will this job
promotion mean to my soul? What will it do to my family? How will it affect my
life in the covenant community? If the new job requires so much of you that you
allow it to rob your time with God, if it uproots your family and brings
hardship, if it takes you away from a loving, supportive church, then maybe you
ought to think twice before taking it.
Here’s the bottom line- your greatest need in the work place is to pursue
holiness in your personal life. Consider a few practical directives. First, you
must be earnest to maintain fidelity to Christ, and this only comes by a hearty
and vigorous private devotional life. I don’t mean a five minute prayer before
you leave for the office. You must cultivate longer and deeper times with God.
Get up earlier and go to bed earlier. You cannot be godly without time alone
with God. Second, you must maintain a family devotional life. Get home early enough
at night to spend time with your family. Turn your Blackberry off at night.
Honor the entire Lord’s Day. There are plenty of 6 a.m. Monday flights. Don’t
cheat God by leaving at 6 p.m. Sunday night for a business trip. And develop a
physical exercise regimen that helps you maintain physical stamina and
emotional well being. And when you are at work, work. Don’t waste time. Don’t
steal time from your employer by surfing the internet or running personal
errands. Isn’t it true that so little honesty and integrity exists in the work
place? If you are godly, truly godly, then you will prosper and succeed. So few
people have this and companies are always looking for a few good men and women.
FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS is a weekly devotional by Reverend Al Baker, pastor of Christ Community Presbyterian Church in West Hartford, Connecticut.
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