1 Thessalonians 4:10-12
… you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. Our work can be an expression of love for God and for others. For example, some teachers experience their teaching as a way of loving their students. But there is work which is done at computer screens and crunching numbers. It can be harder to see such work as a way to love people, even if we know the ultimate value of their work. Your daily work seems far removed from love. No matter whether the connection between love and your job is obvious or not, there is a way for you to express love as you work. No matter what you’re doing for a living, or what you’re doing for which you are not paid, you can express love through your work. I learned this lesson from two of the most influential pastors in my life. The first was Lloyd Ogilvie, the former pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood. Pastor Lloyd was a professional who expected a high quality of work from his team. But whenever he had a one-on-one conversation at work, he would always begin by asking how they were doing. He really showed care because he would often ask about specific things shared in an earlier conversation. People knew that Lloyd cared for them personally and that made a world of difference to them. For many years, I served under and worked with Pastor Felix Liu. I experienced with Pastor Felix something very much like I read about Pastor Lloyd. Like Pastor Lloyd, Pastor Felix would always begin by checking in with me personally, before getting down to the business of vision, mission, strategy, etc. He’d ask how I was doing and how my family was doing. Usually, he’d be quite specific: “How is Andrea? How is your mom?” I knew that Pastor Felix cared for me as a person and not simply an employee. This made such a difference to me, both in my work and in my personal life. I observed Pastor Felix as he showed personal concern for all members of his team. I have learned and tried to follow in the footsteps of Pastor Felix, showing personal interest in and care for people with whom I work. Sometimes those conversations are long because I want to check in personally with them. Doing so gives me an opportunity to express love for them. It also helps me to know how to pray for them each morning, which is another way to show love. This way of caring for people with is particularly important during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions upon millions of workers throughout the world do almost all of their digitally, through email, Zoom, and phone calls. You may work closely with others, but rarely be with your colleagues in person. Yet, you can feel personally connected to them because you take time to check in. Make this a regular practice in work with one-on-ones. Even your boss is a get-right-down-to-business person, you can still treat your boss in a loving way, offering respect, appropriate concern, and support. You can pray also daily for your boss. With others, you may have more freedom to act lovingly. We are called to love in imitation of God, who loved us sacrificially through Christ Eph. 5:1). Our call to love isn’t limited to personal relationships, to family, friendship, and church. Rather, we have the opportunity and responsibility to love others in all parts of life, including our daily work. Even as we seek to work with excellence and to be highly productive, we can love those with whom we work, treating them as God has treated us. In every part of life, Lord, may I imitate the love You have shown me in Christ. Amen. Comments are closed.
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