Why We Wo rk & How We Ge t Jobs Omega Prog ram Dr. Ryan T. Hartwig February 26, 2013
Today s Seminar 1. Why do we work? What does the Bible have to say about work? What are the implications of the Biblical foundations of work for us in the career development process? 2. How do we get jobs? Networking The Job Application Process After landing the job (Some workshop material drawn from Kenneth Boa and Bill Ibsen s work on the Biblical foundations for work and Crown Financial Ministries Biblical principles of work.)
Principle #1 God is a worker and He made man in His image In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth... Genesis 1:1 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Genesis 2:2 Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the Nish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Genesis 1:25
Implications 1. We are wired by God to work! 2. Because God created it, work should be a holy endeavor! 3. Like God, we are designed to build, create, communicate, and take on challenges in our work. 4. In creative activity, we externalize our identities as people made in the image of God. Work can engage us at a deep level in our being! I go on working for the same reason a hen goes on laying eggs 0 H. L. Mencken
Principle #2 God designed work pre- fall and called work very good Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. Genesis 2:15 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. Genesis 1:31
Implications 1. Work is not a product of sin, but is expressed in the fallen world (the ground, not the work, is what is cursed Genesis 3:17-18)! 2. To assert that work is in any way substandard to God s plan or that work is evil is unbiblical thinking. 3. Working in the marketplace (in spite of being marred by sin) can be considered by God as very good. 4. Work is very good!
Principle #3 God desires us to enjoy our work! What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God s work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. Ecclesiastes 3: 9-13
Implications 1. God designed us to enjoy our labor! 2. We are to rejoice in our labor. Biblically, it is right and good to love our work. 3. Labor is a gift from God, and therefore should elicit our gratitude to God for the ability to work!
Principle #4 God commands us to work! We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: Those unwilling to work will not get to eat. 2 Thessalonians 3:8-10 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. Ephesians 4:28
Workers cultivate, care for, and sustain the created world that God made and loves. We are all ministers (priests) to the human community on God s behalf. Tim Keller
Implications 1. A failure to work represents a breach of God s commandment. 2. The Bible s primary characters, including Jesus, lived out their faith as workers: o Adam, Abraham, Issac, Jacob: farmers and ranchers o Joseph: administrator and ruler o Moses and David: shepherds o Peter: fisherman o Paul: tentmaker o Jesus: carpenter 3. all these forms of work cultivate, care for, and sustain the created world that God made and loves. We are all ministers (priests) to the human community on God s behalf. 4. God can be served as well in the marketplace as at His temple.
Principle #5 God is the boss! Ultimately, He promotes and demotes! Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. Colossians 3:23-24 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. Ephesians 6:7-8 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. I Peter 5:6
Implications 1. God demands that we work exclusively for Him, not for any man, employer, boss, or customer! 2. Left to my flesh, I will serve men and seek their favor, not God s. We must surrender our flesh to God. 3. Working well demands constant spiritual power and focus, as we are serving God. 4. My efforts to impress or to manipulate my superiors to promote me are futile. Instead, I should seek to honor God with my work! 5. I must view hiring, promotion, demotion, and dismissal as from God, not man.
Principle #6 God Gives Us our Abilities, Intelligence, and Wealth! Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly... Romans 12:6 But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth... Deuteronomy 8:18
Implications 1. No skill, no intelligence, no brilliance, and no wealth that I have or will ever have originated with me. All of it is a gift from God. 2. Thus, gratitude and humility (not comparison, envy, or pride) are the correct responses to God s gifts to us! 3. My responsibility is to rejoice in my gifts, talents, and opportunities, and be a good steward of what God has given me.
Principle #7 We should keep work in its proper place! No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. 2 Timothy 2:4 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ and be found in him Philippians 3:8-9
Implications 1. It is unbiblical to: 0 Become addicted to work; 0 Let your work (or lack of work) define you; 0 Be out of balance with work; or 0 Allow work to problematically interfere with the depth or quality of important relationships. 2. If I m entangled in my work, I am not pleasing my Commanding Officer (God). 3. Our significance does not arise from our work! 4. We must remember for whom we work and why!
So, why do we work? 67 18 1. God commands us to work! Work is a primary way we reflect God s nature to our world! 2. Work embeds us in an environment in which we can exhibit kingdom values and hope. 3. Work enables us to provide for ourselves and others. 4. Work provides a context in which we can represent Jesus to the lost by: 0 Building relationships; 0 Demonstrating character, conviction, and integrity; and 0 Doing our work with care and quality.
Practical Application #1 You need to work! If you are not employed, you should be employed in the process of seeking employment! 0 Ask God to give you opportunities to share your gifts and talents. 0 The job application process doesn t start your senior year. If you haven t started yet, today is the day to start.
Practical Application #2 God has endowed you with gifts and talents and strengths that the world needs! By failing to apply yourself, you are robbing others of the blessing God has to offer others through you! 0 Your performance in your job today (including your coursework) is the best indicator of your future work performance. 0 By failing to develop skills now, you rob people down the road of the skill you can offer them. 0 Develop your skills, talents, and abilities. Become excellent at what you do!
You must develop yourself! Wouldn't it be great to be gifted? In fact... 0 It turns out that choices lead to habits. 0 Habits become talents. 0 Talents are labeled gifts. You're not born this way, you get this way. - Seth Godin
Practical Application #3 You must work at getting work! The overall job search process looks like: 0 Determine your passions and interests and work fit 0 Build a network 0 Look for positions that will enable to use and further develop your skills 0 Package your skills, abilities, passions, and talents and showcase them 0 Resumes and Cover Letters 0 Interviews 0 Be a great employee. Always take your current obligations seriously
Finding your Kingdom Niche Af9inity Your Passions Connected to Needs Serve here! Ability Your Talents & Strengths Opportunity Your Community
Networking 0 Start getting to know people 0 Informational Interviews 0 Volunteering (think of close- to- home orgs) 0 Build a network your professors, family friends, pastors, LinkedIn 0 Make yourself useful
Gaining Experience 0 Find ways to contribute whether making money or not. You must build a record of experience and achievement. 0 Take advantage of APU s leadership positions, internships, part- time jobs, etc. 0 Volunteer at your church, non- profits, etc.
Package and Showcase Your Skills 0 Make an argument state your thesis and then support it in both the resume and cover letter. 0 Tailor your resume and cover letter for each position you apply to, always focusing on how you can meet the employer s needs. What you want (a job) is understood, so focus on showing the employer what you can do for them! 0 Realize these materials get about 30-60 seconds that s all! 0 Be Professional! Don t make mistakes, don t be sloppy, do be consistent, etc.! 0 Follow- up!
Be a Great Employee 0 Do what you re asked to do, even if you think it s below you. 0 Embrace paying your dues. 0 Be the first person to raise your hand when volunteers are asked for. 0 Don t talk bad about other employees stay positive! 0 Work hard, but not too hard!
Practical Application #4 Rejoice that you can work! Enjoy your work! 0 Engage the job search with a positive attitude! 0 Then, be a joyful employee, no matter what happens! 0 Avoid the temptation to connect your significance, happiness, and/or worth with your job!
Practical Application #5 Worship God with your work! Work for him! 0 Give your best to your work (and your search for work), but also keep your work in proper perspective. Getting the perfect job is not the end- all- be- all accomplishment. 0 Don t let your work become an idol! 0 Be faithful in the exact place God has called you! 0 Allow God to promote you in His timing!
Are You Stupid or Lazy? (Is it that you can't do it or perhaps you don't want to do the work?) When I was in college, I took a ton of advanced math courses, three or four of them, until one day I hit the wall. Too many dimensions, transformations and toroids for me to keep in my head. I was too stupid to do really hard math so I stopped. Was it that I was too stupid, or did I merely decide that with my priorities, it wasn't worth the work? Isn't it amazing that we'd rather call ourselves stupid than lazy? At least laziness is easy to fix. People say that they are not gifted/talented/smart enough to play the trumpet/ learn to code/write a book. That's crazy. Sure, it may be that they don't possess world- class talent, the sort of stuff that is one in a million. But too stupid to do something that millions and millions of people can do? I'm not buying it. Call it as it is and live with it (or not). I'm just not willing to believe we re as stupid as we pretend to be. - Seth Godin
My Prayer for You
APU s Resources 0 Career Services 0 Help in discovering your gifts and talents 0 Internship and job possibilities 0 Resume and Job Application Resources 0 Support through the process www.apu.edu/careerservices (626)815-2103 Located in Magnolia Court (on the way to Starbucks!) 0 Staff and Faculty 0 People who know you can point you in good directions 0 Investigate different fields