Kelli Trujillo Supporter Minister, Mother, Grandmother, Teacher, Musician

I'm not aware of any place in the Bible in which self worth on the job is specifically addressed, but there are biblical principles that can be applied to our experience in the workplace. I'm also not sure exactly what kind of answer you're looking for, but I'm taking some guesses and approaching your question from a few different angles. Hopefully one or more of these angles will address the core of what you're asking. 

First of all, no matter where we work or live, no matter what our calling or vocation in life, no matter where we find ourselves at any given time, our sense of worth must always come from our identity in Christ. Romans 8:14-17 says,

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Understanding who we are in Christ helps us to accept that no matter what a boss says about us, no matter what coworkers say about us, no matter how we feel about our own performance on the job, we know that we are valuable to God and that He is rooting for us as we represent Him in the workplace, and He wants to help us to succeed as we obey His principles on the job.

Second, if you're concerned about your job performance or how you're being evaluated at work, it's helpful to look at what the scriptures tell us about our attitude toward work. What are God's principles regarding work? Colossians 3:23-25 gives us an idea:

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. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.

Phil. 2:14-16a is also helpful:

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.

Working with the intention to please God in the workplace increases our job satisfaction and our sense of worth on the job because it takes our focus off of the temporal aspects of work and places it on God and our eternal purpose for work. 

Lastly, if your concern has to do with feeling overlooked or unappreciated at times, Psalms 75:7 says,

It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.

Let God raise you up in His timing, and be satisfied with where He has placed you in the meantime.

Joseph is a great example of a man who had a clear sense of identity and who prospered in every place in which God assigned Him to work, including prison. In spite of the great trials and injustice that he endured, he honored God in his work and excelled at whatever he did, and eventually God raised him up in the course of just one day from the position of a lowly prisoner to second in Egypt only to Pharaoh. He never forgot that he was from the family of God's chosen people; his sense of worth came from knowing God and understanding his God-given identity, not from his circumstances or surroundings.

November 10 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report