Dear BPCWA worshipper, Last month, I conducted a Bible Study with the Y180 group on “Picking a Job”. While this is a pertinent issue for those who are studying or just about to finish their studies, Christian adults should also apply Biblical criteria when they are considering a change of job or are moving on to a new phase in their lives. The video of this message is also available on our church YouTube channel at bpcwa.org.au/youtube.

Why this topic is important. We know “theoretically” the verse that “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31). However, we often think that eating and drinking is so “simple” and “basic” that we don’t give it a second thought, just like we do when it comes to seeking a job in life. 1 Cor 10:31 must certainly apply to your job too, because if God intends for you to work, you’ll be spending many hours a day in your workplace. Your work and job can significantly affect your spiritual walk. It can affect your attendance and responsibilities at church. It can most certainly affect your family too. Surely it must then mean that you must be where God intends you to be.

You can know what job to pick. Picking a course of work or a specific job isn’t something that is mysterious. Even choosing one’s subjects or field of studies must be subject to this overarching principle. Christians who seek and apply God’s known will early will save many wasted hours and years studying something in a field that may not be suitable, or at best may be difficult for Christians. God has many precepts (known teachings) in His word to guide us in making the right spiritual decision. While not comprehensive, we will look at some of them, with the acronym PICK. Though these principles are mainly geared toward picking a job, some can also be applied by parents when picking schools and the course of studies for their children as well.

How does this help parents, students, and working persons? Parents, you must know how to advise your children about their course of study because that normally leads to their course of work. Students, you must know that your choice of courses will inevitably have significant bearings on what choices of work are available to you. Understanding the principles and priorities early will also help you pick the right course of studies. As a working person, you can also use the biblical principles covered to assess your current job to know if you are on the right job. So do read on.

P for Priority. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt 6:33). A job must support Matthew 6:33 and not negatively affect your spiritual life. This is a fundamental Biblical principle for any honest Christian job seeker and indeed must be the most important principle in life in general. Seek means aiming for it, craving, and striving after it. Seeking God’s kingdom first is about prioritizing for your spiritual walk to grow so that you will be a faithful and true witness for God and are able to serve Him in His kingdom’s work on earth through the church. Prioritizing means that if a job will negatively impact these aims, you are willing and ready to seek another. Are you willing to start your search with a clear aim that everything must be about God? Why do I choose the word “job” rather than “career”? A job seeker website defined the difference, “A job can be just going to work to earn a paycheck. A career means that each of your jobs, experiences, and training programs is helping you advance in pay or responsibility”. If we are aiming only for work experiences and training to seek more money and promotions, then we can easily lose our priority of seeking God’s Kingdom. A job is only to help you live the Christian life and be a witness for Christ – for to me to live is Christ. If it is not for Christ alone, you will seek for what you want instead – worldly aims of what you want, advancements, “maximising” my potential in the world ie building your own kingdom on earth. This priority must be non-negotiable if you are sincerely seeking to know and do God’s will. A Christian cannot separate a job from his spiritual walk and wellbeing as if “business is business, but my Christian life is separate from business”.

The Christian job seeker must trust that if you “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Ps 37:4). This does not mean that you will get any job you desire. But if your delight is to prioritize God’s kingdom and His righteousness first, God will lead you to the job that provides for that. You need not fret, panic, or be disappointed after an interview. You will be glad if you did not get a job because you have asked God to give you a job that will enable you to seek His Kingdom first and He has answered what your heart delights in by keeping the wrong job away from you. He knows best and He knows the future, so trust Him.

The rest of the acronym is best covered together next week.

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor