One of the artisans that work for me made a statement that did not sit well with me. He said, “Sir, I would not be as available as I used to be. I have accepted Church work now.”

Well, as a pastor, I was excited to hear that, so I probed further; “have you been ordained as a pastor in your Church or what?” He responded, “no, I’m just a worker.” I knew he needed to be counseled on how to maintain balance between working for God and manifesting excellence in the world.

Friend, Christianity is not an excuse for mediocrity. The Kingdom we are in is a Kingdom of excellence. God wants to use us to show the world how to live. This is what it means to disciple the nations; it is to let the world learn how to live from us as we represent the Kingdom correctly in our spheres (Matthew 28:19).

One of the marks of Christian maturity is learning how to balance your relationship with God and excellence in your day to day living. God has not called us out of the world for separation but for penetration. We are meant to be the light of the world, not of the Church (Matthew 5:16, 1 Peter 2:9).

“Not slothful in business, fervent in the Spirit, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11). We are supposed to remain fervent in our devotion to God while exuding excellence at our places of work. Nehemiah was so effective at his place of work that his boss had to notice when all was not well with him (Nehemiah 2:1-4). Joseph and Daniel were also good examples of how to be a sound believer while being relevant at work (Genesis 39:2-3, 23, Daniel 1:19-20, 6:3).

We need to realize that God wants to use us to establish His lordship wherever we find ourselves, and we are not going to do that just by speaking in tongues at work or carrying big bibles around. We would do so by giving our best to what we do (Proverbs 22:29). A Christian shoe maker is not one who inscribes an image of Jesus on the shoe he makes but one who makes excellent shoes that people get to ask, “who did this?”

As you go into this new week, I want you to represent God and His kingdom correctly at your place of work and business. Show commitment. Exude excellence. Be positive in your relationship with people. Do your job well. Meet your targets. Be punctual. Be available. Don’t give Christianity as an excuse for mediocrity. If you truly serve the God of excellence, let people know Him through you (Genesis 41:38-44, Daniel 2:46-47). You will succeed!

© ‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria