I became a Christian thirty-some years ago through a painful, life-changing event: the loss of our first child. My wife and I were comforted and healed by His mercy and love. We attended church regularly and studied His words faithfully, but I felt something was missing in my spiritual life.
One day, during my daily devotion, I came across James 1:22-25: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says…and continue to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.”
I knew then that my spiritual life was missing the “doing” part. I began praying and asking God to show me how I could serve Him while working as an executive at a major corporation. The Holy Spirit began to show me how to integrate my faith into my workplace and turned it into a “mission field.” I learned to lead with honesty and integrity and manage with compassion. I prayed for my employees and co-workers. I tried to exemplify my Christian faith in every aspect of my profession.
The integration of my Christian faith into my work made my job more meaningful and allowed me opportunities to witness to my employees and co-workers through actions instead of words. I started to provide career coaching freely for anyone interested and used the opportunity to share my faith with them. I met with other employees during my lunch hour, and this hour became a time of ministry. I retired from my job several years ago, but I now use the same approach in my volunteer work and in my social life.
I think all of us, in our unique situations, can make our workplace a mission field, and thus fulfill the Great Commission. It can also make our jobs more meaningful and enjoyable. This is in response to our faith. Having faith in God is important but faith does not just believe something. Real faith is doing things that show our faith to be real.
Reflection Questions
- How would you describe your spiritual life? Does it feel like something’s missing?
- How do you demonstrate your faith in your day-to-day life? Are you an effective ambassador for Christ?
- Where is your mission field?
Written by Gil Tam. Artwork by Jasmine Chan