How can Christian women have a positive impact on those around them in the workplace? And how can we balance our work and our home lives, whether married and/or with children, or single?
It might be helpful to start by first looking at what work is. Is the work we do on earth our true purpose, our identity or calling?
We all know our primary purpose – we’re taught this from a young age in the church and at home: to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.
So that should be our ultimate purpose on earth as Christians, to glorify God through our work, and to enjoy the gifts he’s given us now and in heaven.
Work is one of those gifts. In Genesis, we read that God created us to work before sin entered the world. “God said to them [Adam and Eve], ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth’ … And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:28, 31).
It was part of his plan for us, to work and till the soil, to subdue every living thing. After sin entered the world, work became toil. We know this all too well, especially in our culture today. But it’s important to remember that despite being tainted by sin, our work is still a gift and it’s still a means to glorify God.
God uses us all, men and women, to fulfil his purposes on earth. He has given us all many abilities, strengths and skills we can use in different ways to grow and to benefit others.
Women are an important part of God’s plan and we read in the Bible that he gave women many talents and skills: we read of women working in business, in industry, in the home, for the church. Think of Deborah and Miriam the prophetesses (Judges 4:4, Exodus 15:20) Lydia, a seller of purple goods (Acts 16:11) and Priscilla the tentmaker (Acts 18:2-3). And of course, the Proverbs 31 woman, who most of us probably think of as the ultimate female role model in the Bible: she “works with willing hands … she rises while it is still night and provides food for her household … her lamp does not go out at night” (vs 13, 15, 18).
It’s important that we neither look down on another woman’s work, or envy another hers – none are “lesser” or “greater” callings than any other.
In his book Every Good Endeavour, the late Tim Keller writes, “No task is too small a vessel to hold the immense dignity of work given by God” (chapter 2 pg 49) and that “all work has dignity because it reflects God’s image in us, and also because the material creation we are called to care for is good … all jobs – not merely so-called helping professions [my note: often female-dominated] are fundamentally ways of helping your neighbour” (pg51).
So, how can we use our work to bless others around us?
An opportunity to witness
Your workplace might be the home, it might be a daycare centre, it might be in retail, a hospital, a school, an accounting firm … the list goes on.
Whatever your workplace looks like, you’ll come into contact with many people from all walks of life that you might not have met otherwise.
It’s a unique opportunity to show love, to nurture, to build others up and to grow connections that go beyond the workplace.
There’s the opportunity to invite people over for dinner, to offer them help moving house, to offer childcare so they can go out for dinner, to show even small gestures like paying for their coffee, lending them a book or simply listening to them.
When you spend all day, every day with the same people, you get to learn their different cues, what annoys them, what they’re going through. And if you don’t know these things about your colleagues, maybe it’s time to ask more questions and get to know them better.
I’ve found that offering to pray for someone never gets a bad reception. However far they might be from Christ, simply hearing that someone cares enough about them to offer up a prayer can really touch people, and may stay with them longer than you realise.
Christians will face questions in the workplace about their beliefs, whether about politics or how you plan to raise your kids, or even simply why you don’t work on Sundays, and these are all great opportunities to share about your walk with the Lord.
Your work itself can be a witness. Being diligent and competent at what you do, being open to feedback – even if it’s negative – being patient when teaching or training a new colleague, these are all things that your employer and your co-workers will take note of. It’s all part of making Christ and the way you live your life for Him, lovely to others as well.
But if you’re a Christian woman in a secular workplace, you’ll know there are a few pitfalls. It’s easy to become consumed by your work and by things of this world. There’s the risk of neglecting God’s Word, neglecting your husband, your children, your relationships with your friends, coming home too exhausted for church activities or serving. There’s the risk of getting wrapped up in your own achievements and goals.
So, what’s the antidote to this?
Finding the balance
We all know that work-life balance is a struggle, and the Christian woman perhaps more than most, because she inevitably looks at her role as a parent and wife differently than the world does.
The idea of submitting to your husband, or prioritising time with your kids over work, or choosing to homeschool, can sound strange to your colleagues.
But ultimately it’s a question of priorities. Your first priority and responsibility is to God, then your relationship with your husband, and your children if you have them. And for single women, your first priority is also your relationship with the Lord, then with your family, friends and church family. Then comes work.
There are a few practical things that I’ve found helpful for maintaining my spiritual life as a priority over work commitments. When I don’t open my Bible at the beginning or end of my day, when I’m too exhausted to attend Bible Study or women’s fellowship, when I don’t take the time to pray alone or with my husband, I quickly notice the impact on my mindset.
I think most, if not all, Christians would admit that they struggle in this area. But we have God’s Word within arm’s reach. Most of us own many Bibles. So why would we not make the most of the hours we have outside of work to soak up all that we can from the One who made us for that very purpose?
It’s also important to remember that you can’t “do it all” in your own strength. If you work full-time, you need support. You need time to look after things at home and to rest, you need time with your children if you’re a mother, you need time with your husband if you’re a wife. As a household, communicate about how you will balance all these things in a way that honours the Lord. You need to be held up by prayer.
Sometimes even in the church we tend to unintentionally put women who work outside the home and women who work caring for their children or teaching them at home in different boxes. We treat married and single women differently, as if they’re in different clubs.
But your primary identity as a woman of God isn’t that you’re a mother, or that you’re a nurse, or that you’re a lawyer, that you’re single, at university or in a relationship. It’s that you’re created by a loving God, that you’re saved by grace, that you’re called to do the work He has for you.
So take interest in each other’s daily lives, build each other up as women, and support each other with prayer. That’s why we have the church – God brings Christians of all different skills, backgrounds, and talents together to support each other as a community.
Fill your cup with solid Christian friendships and hobbies outside of work, even if your work is your passion. Those hobbies could be simply hospitality, coffee with friends, hosting game nights, exercise, or even rest. Truly resting from our work has never been so difficult, but the Bible emphasises the importance of both physical and mental rest. Like work itself, rest and relaxation is a gift.
Finally, be ready to embrace change in your life as God calls you. You don’t have to be in the workplace to feel a sense of purpose or to be successful – that’s how the world looks at work. God may call you to a different profession, he may call you out of the workforce completely, he may call you to be a stay-at-home mother or to care for ageing parents.
As Paul writes in Colossians, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Col 3:23-24 ESV).
And in Philippians, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:11).
Bethany Haverland is a member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Bucklands Beach and is a journalist at the NZ Herald.
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