This determines what you think about your work …

For most people, the one thing that most determines whether or not they like their job is their attitude about their work.

Many people who have some of the most demanding jobs love what they do because of the attitude they have, while others who have the easiest jobs sometimes thoroughly dislike their work. More often than not, the difference is their attitudes, not the job or even the pay and benefits.

Some people just insist on showing up for work with a bad attitude about their work. In a survey of employers, nine negative attitudes were identified as the attitudes bosses most dislike among their employees. Those bad attitudes are:

NMJ – Not my job.

NMM – Need more money.

WCT – Wastes company time.

PPP – Promises, promises, promises.

NMH – Needs more help.

ACD – Always complaining and disagreeable.

CWS – Clock watcher’s syndrome.

TTM – The trouble maker.

SRM – Supports rumor mill.

The Bible has plenty to say about work, including addressing the attitude we should take toward it. When it comes to our attitude, scripture tells us our mindset should be to do all our work for the glory of God:

“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father,” Colossians 3:17.

“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people,” Colossians 3:23.

Some people mistakenly think there’s a job that’s a “special calling” just for them, and they won’t be happy until they find it. Kevin DeYoung wrote about that false concept in “Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will”:

“God calls His people to lots of different things. Sometimes you feel a sense of calling to your job and, you know what, sometimes you don’t. You just work. I’m extremely thankful that I love what I do for a living. I feel badly for people who only tolerate their jobs, or worse. But we must all serve the Lord with heart, soul, strength, and mind wherever He’s placed us. Unfortunately, we’ve turned the idea of calling or vocation on its head. The Reformers emphasized calling in order to break down the sacred-secular divide. They said, if you are working for the glory of God, you are doing the Lord’s work, no matter whether you’re a priest or a monk or a banker. But we’ve taken this notion of calling and turned it upside down, so instead of finding purpose in every kind of work, we are madly looking for the one job that will fulfill our purpose in life.”

Scripture exhorts us to do everything we do as though we’re working for the Lord. That’s the attitude God wants us to have regarding our labor. What attitude do you take to work with you every day?

Scotty