Excellence doesn’t just happen. No matter how much you love your job, there are distractions that can keep even the most dedicated employee from performing with excellence consistently. And if you don’t like your job or it’s just a means to an end, you might find it difficult to motivate yourself to perform your job with excellence at all.
Regardless of where you find yourself, as Christians we need to be intentional about doing excellent work. The excellence we bring to our work in our attitude, the way we treat people and the quality we’re committed to matters because we influence others, for better or worse. When we lower our standards, we are not only dishonoring Christ, we send a very strong message that being Christian equates to mediocre standards.
How can you perform your work with excellence when you’re stressed, when you’re unhappy with your work, or if you find yourself somewhere in between? Here are a couple of practical ideas that have helped me.
- Remember who your real boss is. Christians are called to do our work for the glory of God (Matthew 5:16), not ourselves. Keeping this in mind makes a huge difference in perspective. God is the One who provides you with a job, and who makes it possible for you to have success in the first place. I like to see the work I do as God’s assignment for me.
- God rewards obedience. No matter what you’re doing right now, God calls you to do quality work that yields good results. In Matthew 25:14-31, Jesus shared the parable of the talents to help us see that God rewards those who are faithful. Those who invest well and produce a profit will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”
- Surrender to and trust in God’s will. When I focus on what I want and things don’t go my way, it can open the door for negative thinking that clouds my ability to focus. When I trust God and surrender to His will (Proverbs 3:5-6), I hand the difficulties over to Him to handle. I just need to keep doing my part.
- Do everything you do in the name of Jesus. I’ve recently started to kick off each day with the intention to do everything I do that day in the name of Jesus (Colossians 3:17). It helps me take my mind off of myself, my plans, my desires, and my needs and put it where it belongs – on Christ.
Excellence is not only “the currency and credibility of the workplace,” but it also allows you to grow the skills God has given you. So when you feel discouraged in your work or even inadequate in your role, remember that excellence is an opportunity to glorify God and draw closer to Him.
Your work matters,
Catherine Gates
Director of Outreach & Engagement, Workmatters
