Our Job Description

Many of us have jobs which have a written outline of what our day-to-day duties should encompass. For those who are fellow workers with Christ, have you ever thought about the description of that job? The teachings of Jesus, as described in the New Testament, contain the details, but what about a more condensed version? How can we sum up our job as believers?

I invite us all to study the gospels -- the Sermon on the Mount, in particular, would be a good place to start -- and think about this concept. Don't even necessarily think about what you've been taught in church over the years, don't think about what you've read or heard from other sources, merely consider the character and nature of Jesus and what he asks of us. What it really comes down to is very simple, recorded in several places in scripture, including I John 3:23, "This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us." Love and belief are at the very heart of our job and anything else we do must fall in line.

That basic job description can and should be filled out a bit to include: going the extra mile to help others who are in need, being kind and merciful, making peace, providing comfort where we can, not being attached to material possessions, etc. And don't forget an important one: treat people the same way you want them to treat you.

Let us consider for a moment what is NOT included in our job description. Two things which come immediately to mind are "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them..." (Matt. 6:1) and do not judge others (mentioned multiple times in scripture). In other words, the job description of Christianity, as proclaimed by the vast majority of politicians and pundits and many others who are jumping into the fray, doesn't line up with the teachings of Jesus.

Every day there are millions of believers and thousands of church organizations quietly doing the work which Jesus called us to do. And there are others, who are quite vocal and getting considerable attention, who claim to be called by God and/or doing his work. However, based on their attitudes and actions, compared to the example of Jesus, it seems some of the loudest have, perhaps, been reading the wrong job description.