Biblical Joy in the Workplace
“This is the third article in a series about applying the fruit of the Spirit in our workplace….in this third installment we will examine how joy is the result of seeking the presence of God in our work.” - IFWE
The Biblical joy of a paycheck every two weeks … even if the job sucks!
That always helps! :-D
For me, it’s been a good while since I had a job I hated. Probably my work at Optum Health in 2013-2014 would fit that category. The work was mostly mindless and repetitive, but compensation was quite good considering the skills involved in the job. There was joy in knowing God had provided for my family! There was also joy in knowing God wasn’t done with me and something better was likely eventually. There was a lot of joy in moving on to that something better in 2015!
The article takes an overly narrow view of how joy works, in my view. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, but Galatians doesn’t tell us it has no other sources/paths. It’s a good article, but people shouldn’t get the impression that our personal mental discipline has nothing to do with joy. The Spirit doesn’t just zap us with attitudes. He works through our conscience, intuition, and memory of Scripture but also through reason, intellect, and our choosing to have a disciplined mind.
for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Ti 1:7)
“Self-control” translates σωφρονισμός (sophronismos) . It’s used only in 2 Tim 1:7 in the NT, but BGD thinks it has to do with discipline, moderation, prudence, much like it’s cousins σωφροσύνη (Acts 26:25, 1 Tim 2:15) and σωφρονέω (Mark 5:15, Rom 12:3, Tit 2:6), and σωφρόνως (Titus 2:12). Anyway, we tend to think the Holy Spirit is working when reason is not, but this is not a biblical view. We reason to joy by reflection on the facts of who God is and what He is doing in the lives of His own (as we see in the Psalms), and the Spirit helps us do that.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Well-said Aaron. Thank you.
Discussion