I’m glad I work for God!

I don’t know about you but I have worked places that made me feel sick the moment I pulled in the driveway. Like literally, I would pull in and the negative thoughts about how much I hated to walk to the door started. Dragging through the day watching the clock, taking extra looooong (black folk) lunches lol just to get away from misery. Not to mention I’ve never “made enough” money any place I worked. I mean do we ever? So on top of not wanting to get up early, hating to be there, not making enough money and not being appreciated we have all had coworkers or supervisors that can make it pure hell! Yup been there done that but with children depending on me what options do I have? I am not a business oriented person so I am not one of those people who will quit my day job and go into business for myself. I don’t have a husband who could pick up 100% of my slack if I decided on a fly to ditch my job. I had to get another perspective on working in general. I had to get clear on who my boss really was!

Colossians 3:23-24   Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

And that my friends blessed me! I really had to take another approach at working for and with other people. I am a Social Worker and the general consensus is that we are overworked and underpaid. We pour out so much of ourselves and rarely do we ever see compensation comparable to how much we do. I for sure understand that but I do not let that get me bitter about doing my job and trying to do it with excellence. I care about people which is why I am doing what I am doing.

March 31, 2004 was the day my son died. The weather was beautiful outside but my insides were numb and I could have used a little TLC. I stopped at the convenience store on my way home, probably to grab a shell, at the time it was the way I coped with life. I recall going to the cash register and the cashier was so nasty and rude. I still remember the sadness I felt that day and the way she made me feel 12 years later. I literally could have killed her and she would not have known why. Of course she did not know a few hours ago I was cradling a dead toddler and wishing I could breathe breath back into him as he slipped away. But does that matter? Do we always know what someone else is going through? Should that affect the way we treat them? I did not expect her to know he just died but boy what a difference a sweet cashier who made small talk with me about my day would have made. At that moment in time I would have appreciated a caring voice just asking me how I was doing. Instead I got, “What you need?”

We have no idea what others are going through. Our supervisors, coworkers, clients, customers…we all have a life and a story. We put our mask on and walk out into the world. I said all this to say that when I realized I worked for God and not men I cut back on some of the complaining. Do I vent? Yes! Do I still say I need to make more money? Of course!! But I do not let it consume me and I always wake up with a blessing in mind. A blessing for others by my words or actions and a blessing for me for doing what God would want me to do anyways. I firmly believe everything happens for a reason and with so much poverty and I have to believe that if He has blessed me to be employed somewhere that there must be some work that he has me doing. Our work, no matter what our job is, will always consist of doing something for someone else. A bigger purpose in God’s eyes. I make it a point to treat people as I would like to be treated even when it is hard, especially when it is hard. I believe that we are essentially working for God and his paycheck and benefits are enough to sustain us.

Psalm 128:2 You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.

~ogbabymama