Right relationships

Focus:  Employment

Colossians 3:23 (NKJV) And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

When you have a history of depression and dependency, you might have a history of employment issues, also. It’s hard to do well at a job when you are fighting feelings of despair or having sobriety problems. There are a lot of people who are unhappily employed and quite a few who are not employed at all. It’s actually pretty unusual to find someone who has been employed for a long time and still loves what they do.

Most people go into a new job with the attitude that they will give it their best shot. They want to make a good impression. They start out putting their best foot forward. For a while, they are on the ‘honeymoon’…and then after a while, things might not be so great. They begin to realize the people they work with are real people with a lot of personality quirks and problems.

No matter what the people you work with are like, a job can be exactly what you need for accountability at this time. You might not feel like going in to work, but what happens when you stay home? You feel guilty for not going to work, you lose income that you no doubt need, and being home alone or at odds may not be the best thing for you either.

Just like you need to have people you’re accountable to—you need to take responsibility for your life and be productive. Those may seem like words you’d rather not read, but truthfully, work is healthy for everyone. The Bible says those who don’t work, shouldn’t be entitled to eat. It also says that if someone doesn’t provide for their own—they are worse than an unbeliever. Harsh as it seems—it’s the Word of God.

If you have a hard time facing or keeping a job because of the people—well, that’s something to think about, too. It always comes down to relationships in the conditions of depression and dependency. There is always ‘that person’ or ‘those people’ who make you want to quit, right?

(Read more below)

NOW, YOU CAN LISTEN AND/OR READ!

Having good and lasting relationships with people on this planet is the acid test of life itself. God could have created little pseudo earths for each of us so we wouldn’t have to deal with anyone else—but He didn’t do that. He created lots and lots of species of living beings and made them all reproducible. He wanted to have the earth full of living creatures. He knew we wouldn’t all get along perfectly, that some would get along better than others, and that some would have trouble getting along with anyone period.

There are so many characteristics of behavior in all the various animal kingdoms—just like there are lots of commonalities and conflicts among humans. We aren’t all alike for a reason—yet there are many things we can share. The one thing we all have in common—between animals, people, and all created beings—is that we were made by the same Creator, according to His intelligent design. His plan for us was to co-mingle, socialize, and relate to each other.

When you consider the workplace as a testing ground for your faith in God—work can become much more palatable. When you stop thinking about work in terms of whether you like someone telling you what to do, or what not to do—and start thinking about work as a place where God has placed you to live and learn while showing His love and presence—everything changes.

It’s not that hard for us to say to God, ‘Use me’—or, ‘Send me’. We sing songs that say, ‘Show me your ways that I may walk with You’—and then we wonder why we have to put up with people. Well, that’s what it’s all about, if you want to know God and become more like Him. He made all of us—not just the people you get along with, or the ones who believe what you believe, or who smell good. He made us all. So, if we are going to love God—we have to love who and what He made.

I agree, loving all of God’s people is not that easy to do. Even for two people who seem perfectly matched and are crazy in love—living together in harmony becomes a challenge at times. Divorce is rampant and the courts are full of people who eagerly pledged to stay together for the rest of their lives—and now can’t wait to get away from each other.

The only way we can relate to all people with love is because they are all God’s creation. It’s not up to us to decide if they are lovable. God commanded us to love one another.

Declaration: I will view employment as part of God’s plan for my life. I will find new strength as I do my job as unto the Lord. As I love with His love, instead of mine, I’ll become capable of tolerating others and I’ll learn to enjoy working for a living.