The Apostle Paul’s Advice for Thriving at Your Job

 My conclusion at the end of spring break: I am … different.

Partly I know this because of the look on my brother’s face when he found out I was listening to Grit: The Power of Passion And Perseverance, by Angela Duckworth on my 12-hour drive to our mom’s house.

“No,” he said. “You should be listening to something fun. You’re on vacation.”

“This is fun,” I said. “I like to learn and think and be challenged.”

Eye roll.

Then there was my niece, who needed to practice her speech on a live audience. So I listened, and I gave feedback. While I was talking to her, my heart picked up speed, and I sat forward in my chair.

“This is so fun,” I thought. “Now this is vacation.”

And also, I know I am different because I have Spanish flashcards by the toothpaste in the bathroom.

This is me, and I rarely do well at pretending I’m like all you normal folks, because of course I think the rest of you must be normal and I am the odd duck.

Teaching is the thing for me. Teaching in front of a class. Teaching one-on-one. Teaching with words on paper. Learning for myself so that I’m equipped to teach others. Thinking about lesson plans at 3:00 a.m. Practicing Spanish explanations in the car on my way to work. Scratching Bible study ideas on the nearest notebook. Throwing pens away because I keep running them out of ink.

So I want to hug Paul when I hear him say, “Whatever you do … “

Whatever.

Whatever is your thing. Whatever your task.

Whatever you do as a servant.

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Col. 3:23).

I know Paul is talking to slaves about having an excellent work ethic, whether they’re being watched or not being watched, and I just love that he doesn’t know exactly what they’ll be doing. One servant’s job will be different than another’s job.

“Whatever it is for you –do it with everything you’ve got,” he tells them.

Sit up. Open your eyes wide. Exert full energy. Push for excellence. Refuse to give up even when it’s hard. Put in overtime. Find ways to improve.

Grit, just like Angela talks about on my nerdy audiobook.

Do whatever work God has put in front of you (probably different work than what he has me doing) with grit, as though you’re doing it for the Lord and not for anyone else. {eoa}

Christy Fitzwater is the author of A Study of Psalm 25: Seven Actions to Take When Life Gets Hard. She is a blogger, pastor’s wife and mom of two teenagers and resides in Montana. Visit christyfitzwater.com for more information about her ministry.