Hiding Your Treasure at Work

(I was honored to have the following article recently published by my friend Brad at Marketplace Christianity. The blog has a great ministry focus and Brad’s outlook is unique. Check his blog out here and visit often!)

My dresser is probably not unlike yours. It has drawers on two sides, every one of them packed full of clothing.

I have a drawer for my socks, another for my shorts and another for my pants. Shirts and underwear have their own places. Everything has its place, so when I need to, I can go to the drawer and pull out what I require.

In life, I have similar drawers that I open, depending on my need. I have a drawer for family. I open it up, talk to the kids, spend time with my wife, and be a family man. It can close when I open another drawer, such as the recreation one. That’s the one with my golf clubs or fly rod. It’s the drawer I open when I watch a baseball game or go to a concert.

I have a work drawer. When I open this up, I get serious. Customers depend on me. My boss is counting on me. My coworkers need me. I have projects to complete, paperwork to fill out and reports to review.

And then I have the faith drawer. I open this on Sunday morning as I head to church. It’s a nice drawer, but it sometimes gets closed all too quickly, especially if someone else tries to look in it. If I’m honest, I rarely open it the rest of the week. Crowded by commitments to the other drawers, I keep it closed.

To further compound the problem, I often only open one drawer at a time, especially when it comes to work. I’ve been conditioned by peer pressure, court actions, and company policy to keep my faith conveniently tucked away. I’ve been told to have a “personal faith,” and to keep it that way. “Religion and politics” are two subjects that are off-limits.

But the quandary isn’t just talking about it. It’s living it. The truth is that I hardly even think about my faith at work, what God wants me to do, or how to reach my coworker. Ever.

Jesus spoke about the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13:44, likening it to a treasure “hidden in a field.” A man discovered this treasure, and then decided to bury it in a hole and hide it again. What was he afraid of?

That’s just like me. I have a great treasure, but I keep it hidden in tidy compartments. My organization of my life is admirable, but my application of my faith is inadequate.

Sometimes, I think it’s time to dump all the drawers out and start over.

How about you? Care to comment?