What Kind of Employee Are You? 5 Qualities Every Believer Should Exude

God did not design us to be spiritual hermits who congregate with other spiritual hermits once a week in religious cathedrals.  No, He employs us to live out our Christianity in a world that desperately needs to see His love, His power, and His grace.  The believer is called to a daily, cross-bearing lifestyle, one that overtakes every area of our lives – even our jobs.

God has placed us in secular surroundings for His own glory and purpose in the world. Not everyone mounts a pulpit on a Sunday morning to proclaim an alliterated outline; but all of us, who are saved by grace, live out the message of Christ in our daily activities.  No matter what your profession (a butcher, a baker, or a candle-stick maker), you can, and should, exude the nature of Christ.  With that in mind, what kind of employee are you?

The apostle Paul addressed this subject in his letter to Titus.  He gave five characteristics that every Christian employee (or servants) should demonstrate while serving God on the job.

1. Be Compliant – “Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters.”

Obedience is embraced by our understanding of authority.  God created all authorities in the earth to govern and guide our lives: Authorities in the heavens, in the nations, in the church, in the family, and on the job.  Therefore, we are to fulfill our assignments and tasks as “unto the Lord.”

2. Be Committed – “and to please them well in all things;”

The phrase “please them well” simply means to provide quality and superior work.  With a spirit of excellence the Christian employee labors for the honor and glory of God.  This validates our message of the gospel.  A Christian employee can pass out gospel tracts to everyone in the office, listen to Christian music on a continual basis, and have Christian resources all around him; but if he does so with a lazy and apathetic work ethic, he has discredited his witness.

3. Be Courteous – “not answering again;”

The statement “answering again” means “argumentative” in the Greek.  It is one who is mouthy and contentious; one who insists on getting the last word.  The mouth is the gateway in which our depravity escapes.  If this is true, the Christian employee must guard his lips to secure a proper testimony of grace.

4. Be Clean and Clear – “Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity;”

Purloining is pilfering, setting aside for one’s own gain.  It means to embezzle.  It is the same word used to describe the actions of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.  They “kept back” a part of their gift to God.  They, in essence, stole from the Holy Ghost.  A Christian employee should be the most trustworthy worker on the job.

5. Be Christ-like – “that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.”

Adorn is kosmeo in the Greek, it means to display, to wear, to arrange cosmetically.  The believer is to wear the doctrine of God.  He is to display what he believes through the life he lives.  He is to show Christ in all places, even on the job.