July 22nd – Hope to Cope in a Hostile Work Environment

Charles Spurgeon had a great perspective about our service to God and others. I want to share his words with you:

“We have worked, we have even worked hard; but the question comes to us – ‘What have we worked for? Who has been our master? With what object have we toiled?’”

When we’re busy, it’s easy to get so caught up in our work that we forget the reason we’re doing it. If we add to that the daily frustrations of working with people, it’s easy to lose hope. But instead of giving up, we need to refocus. Ask yourself, Who am I doing this for? If you’re simply serving to make your boss or co-workers happy, you won’t last when the workplace environment turns hostile. But if you are working for Christ, you can get through office conflicts with the awareness He’s in total control.

Your boss may be demanding and unreasonable and your co-workers might be lazy and manipulative, but you don’t have to get discouraged or quit. Get used to seeing every situation as something you can learn from, not as something God uses to hurt you. Then you’ll really start maturing in your Christian life. Hope in God’s providence will help you cope under the toughest workplace hostility.

As long as I see any thing to be done for God, life is worth having; but O, how vain and unworthy it is to live for any lower end! — David Brainerd

Devotional by Dr. James A. Scudder