God and Money – Labor is the Feeling of Work

Management expects me to act a certain way and say certain things when I am at work, because I am at work and I am getting paid to be there and do that. I will work for money, but God wants me to do things for the right reason. I can break the code of conduct or company policy and employers don’t call that a sin, they call it cause for disciplinary action.

18 What difference does it make, as long as in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed? And in that I rejoice.
Indeed I shall continue to rejoice,
19 for I know that this will result in deliverance for me through your prayers and support from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
20 My eager expectation and hope is that I shall not be put to shame in any way, but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
21 For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.
22 If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose.
Philippians 1:18-22

Labor is a synonym for work. That is not a metaphor. It’s almost as if labor is the feeling of work.

I want to switch jobs, from a job that serves money, to a job that serves the poor. Guess which one will pay more?

Objective #1 : I am motivated to write about what we get paid to do and how we are expected to act or behave in the corporate world, and what is the reward of good works done in Christ’s name.

Objective #2: I am motivated to write about how corporate refers to the body, and Christ refers to the Holy Spirit.

My psyche says something about my motivation and what I am thinking. What you will see is what I am doing. In this way, I can earn lots of money for whatever reason I want, and your truth will be what you think, and my truth will be what I think. God’s judgement is more important than your judgement, or my judgement.

In my opinion, labor refers to the feeling of work. I think that is a pretty good description. I have had plenty of feelings about the work I have done in my past. I resented almost everyone that I considered more fortunate than me when I was a young man.

In order for my work to be holy, it has to be done according to the spirit of Christ. I also have biological imperatives I have to pay attention to. Am I married? How many other people depend on me? Is my stockroom full of food?

The corporation I work for will reward me with money and commission bonus based on my output and performance.

I suppose that God is paying attention to the reason why I stay with my current employer and earn more money, or leave and serve the poor and make less money. Whatever I do will be made good or just through faith and justice. You don’t know my inner reality, but God knows. You can know if you believe.

The good works I do in Christ’s name do not have to be said they are done in Christ’s name. You can think I did them for whatever reason you want, but I will feel good either way. My emotional rewards do not mean that I am one with Christ.

This part is about actually being one with God, Christ, or Church, and feeling like one is united to God’s will, Christ, or Church. I could say the same thing about “being one” with my interpretation with the Holy Bible, or feeling like I am one with the interpretation of the Holy Bible I like most.

The job I have now has a service element to it, and I am paid well, but my job is not serving the poor.

I could stay in the job I have now and make lots of money, and the reason why I do what I do will be fully known to God, and believable to you.

I can imagine Jesus saying money is necessary in this world, so get out there and earn, but God never wanted the reason why you work to be for the love of money.

My heart will be divided if I try to serve the love of money and the love of God at the same time.

“We love because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19

The question becomes who or what am I serving, God or money, and who or what did I start loving first? The Word says, “God loves us first.” The next question is, “when did I stop loving money above everything else, and redirected my love to serving God and my family?”

What about service to God and the human family?

Add that Christian fact to your response to the Christian imperative “I cannot serve God and money” at the same time.

“No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Matthew 6:24

If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
1 John 4:20