Journey To Finding God At Work
"Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically as something done for the Lord and not for man." Colossians 3: 23
Business was good and God was really blessing our company. We were thought to be among the leaders in our small community in our field of real estate sales, homebuilding and land development. All my life I had called myself a Christian, but in those early days of my career, I lived primarily for the things of the world. Success, possessions, pleasure and pride had ruled my life. Now I was trying to live a life of seeking God and letting Him have control of all areas of my life. I have to admit those new days were some of the best days of my life. God was real and He was really moving in my life.
As I sat at my desk one day, God placed the question into my mind of what the Bible had to say about business. My heart kept telling me there ought to be a way to apply God's principles to everyday business. But that even caused deeper questions. First of all, what was God's purpose for work? Were we suppose to bring God into our business? Did the Bible have anything to say about business? Can you take Jesus's teachings in the New Testament and apply them to business situations? These were heavy questions for me.
The next big question was where did I go to find the answers? I knew of no one who had anything to offer on this subject. Other business people looked dumbfounded at the question and even to why I would ask such a question. Most business people I talked to thought the primary purpose of business was to make a lot of money and you left your spiritual life at church or in the family. Work was something we had to do but not enjoy. It seemed the only principle that applied was church was church and business was business. Unfortunately, my church did not have answers for my pursuit. One business friend said He tried to be honest and fair in business dealings and thought that was enough. I found many like this man who were good solid Christians, but there were non- Christians who were even more honest and fair. What made the Christian different? Many actually exemplified a lot of the teachings of Jesus in their business life. One man even had a Bible in his office. But no one seemed to have God as part of their purpose at work. At that point, I began to wonder if I even had the right questions much less the answers.
It was a few weeks later that I received a pamphlet in the mail announcing a conference led by Howard Hendrix on leadership from a Biblical view. I signed up immediately. I had never heard of Prof. Hendrix, as I later discovered was how he was addressed by folks who knew him. He was a professor of Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary. But that weekend not only introduced me to one of the best speakers and teachers around at the time, but also introduced me to Biblical principles in business. My fire was lit and that weekend began a pursuit of discovering those principles and pursuing opportunities to share and discover, along with others, what God had to say about business.
God began to open up doors where I could find the questions and the answers. People such as Bruce Wilkinson, Larry Burkett and Pat Morley had began a ministry of teaching these principles. And there arose countless of ordinary folks like me who caught the vision and joined in as we all shared our desire and pursuit of living God's principles in business. Ten business men in Atlanta, Ga. started an organization called Fellowship of Companies For Christ which spread across the U.S and eventually into other countries. This organization, more than anything else, gave me my answers and the true purpose for my work.
The journey is not over, even now. I am amazed that after all these years, God is still teaching me and letting others do the same through their thoughts and experiences. For those of you who open this devotion from time to time, I thank you for your support and faithfulness to allow me to share these thoughts. I hope over the next few weeks that you, too, will be blessed by God's word and the words others have shared with me in our journey to discover God in our business.
