Work Principles

Christian Working Woman

Tuesday, March 06, 2007 - Work Principles from King David - Part 1

Can you imagine going to work one morning, same ole’-same ole’, and before the day is over you are told that you have been selected to be the next president of the company? That’s a little like what happened to David. He was doing his humble job, tending the sheep, when someone comes for him and the next thing he knows is that he is being anointed by Samuel the Prophet to be the next king. Whoa!

Principle #2: Do more than your job requires.

David was a shepherd, the lowliest of jobs, and he would have had lots of time on his hands in that lonely job, sitting around doing nothing while the sheep grazed. He could have simply wasted that time, daydreamed it away, slept a lot, or he could have allowed self-pity and anger to infiltrate his mind. I can imagine that sitting there all alone day after day, one could start to resent having to do this when all the other brothers are at home, in much nicer circumstances.

But what was David doing in this do-nothing, go-nowhere job? Well, for one thing, he practiced using a slingshot until he became an expert marksman. And he practiced playing the harp until he became quite proficient as a musician. Somewhere he learned to write beautiful poetry. No doubt some of it was written as he sat on those hillsides taking care of the sheep. He didn’t waste his time in that lowly job. Instead of lollygagging his days away, he used that time for good and productive things.

Never could he have guessed how God was going to use those skills in later years. But what his hand found to do, he did with all his heart, and that would pay off in big dividends in days to come.

Are you in a job that seems to be a dead-end? Do you feel under-utilized, maybe under-appreciated? What have you done lately to make good use of your time? What could you do that goes outside of your job description, to improve your own skills and to help others? Have you ever asked God to give you some creative wisdom in how to make your job more meaningful and how to do it with excellence?

It could be that God is withholding the next better job from you until He sees that you are a good steward of the job that you have. Bloom where you’re planted, as the saying goes, and use the job you are now in as an avenue for growth and experience that will be useful to you later on. It’s not mission impossible; pray about it and get creative and see what God will do!