I DON'T LIKE MY JOB

By David Roth

You have elements of your work that you don’t like doing, don’t you? I think it’s safe to say that all of us do. I definitely do. For me, when I have to dig deep into budgets and P&L’s, the air gets really thin.

One day I had a conversation with a friend, who is a leader in his field, that broke my heart. This friend is a doctor and revered as one of the best in his area. He absolutely loves his patients. He invests time in building relationships. He is excellent at his craft, and he views his work as a wonderful mission field. But he confided in me that he has become incredibly frustrated with his work. As a result of the significant changes in healthcare, he now spends a considerable part of each day sitting in front of a computer. To sum it up, he said, “I hate it.”

While I doubt that any of us want to hear that a gifted, relational doctor is pulled away from helping his patients, this is the new reality of his job. Even though he didn’t want to hear it, I couldn’t help saying, “welcome to the real world!” The fact is, each of us has elements of our jobs that we are not good at and don’t like doing.

But there is hope for us in the midst of performing those painful tasks. If you read just these two verses, which are only five verses apart from one another, we have just the encouragement we need in these frustrating moments:

• And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17
• 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. Colossians 3:23-24

So tomorrow, or the next day, or the next … when you stare down that daunting task, reflect on these two powerful bits of wisdom. Though it may not help me manage my budget and P&L better, I do have the opportunity to do it with the right perspective!

Think and Pray

When we shift our perspective and look to God, the giver of patience and strength, we will find hope and encouragement that can help us face the difficult moments in our work.

Father, give me a grateful heart, especially in the frustrating and tedious parts of my job. Let my attitude give me a right perspective on what you’ve given me to do, and also be a testimony to my colleagues. Amen.

David Roth is the president and CEO of Workmatters, a nonprofit organization founded in Northwest Arkansas in 2003 with a mission is to help people pursue God’s purpose for their work. Learn more at workmatters.org.