Know Where Your Worth Comes From

It’s a difficult task to keep one’s mind from falling into the worldly ideologies that surround us. This is especially true for the Christian who has a secular job. There’s no guarantee that the people who work around you will care or respect your biblical worldviews. This is a difficult situation to navigate for sure, but it is possible to remain in a secular job and fulfill the biblical mandates in Scripture.

Personally, I’m in that exact boat now. I have a full-time secular job and have a few responsibilities at my church. I’ve felt the call to pastor a church, so I’ve been preaching in a couple different places off and on. The demands of my secular job have me on my feet all day. Couple that with ministry needs and my own duty to shepherding my family well, I get overwhelmed at times. Sometimes I do feel like it would be easier to take a step back from some of the ministerial things, but I do think the push of having to study the word to be prepared for things is what has grown me the most.

This is the time where I/we should lean on God and Christ’s finished work to give us strength to persevere when we get discouraged or bogged down with life.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

I also take heart in seeing other men do similar this but to a greater extent. That gives me encouragement that maybe I can do similar things if I continue to work more at it and put all my trust in God.

We should also lean on other godly people in our lives to help guide us. We’re not meant to do all these things alone and we really can’t. Having a strong core group of believers, you can call on in times of trouble is a huge help. Getting help from your pastor or other leaders in the church will benefit you greatly, assuming that they are strong in their faith. Coupling this with regular study will help your progress in the things of God.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The secular people will tell me that I’m foolish for doing all these things because they aren’t making me money. But the other things I do with and for the church are paying me back in ways nothing else can. These words from Jesus sum that up well.

Matthew 6:19-21  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

I’m not doing all these things to work for my salvation, that’s not possible. Only the blood of Jesus is sufficient for our salvation. The works we do after we are saved are for God and the fruit of salvation. Leaning on Scripture and not the worldly ideologies out there will give us the best chance to persevere in times of struggle. We give Glory to God in our struggling to know him better and serve his people in whatever capacity we can.