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I’m guessing that, had you asked me during most of my working life, I would have answered like most American man. My priorities would have ranked:

1. God
2. My Family
3. My Career
4. Me

However, also like most American men, if you had looked at what I was actually doing my priorities would probably have looked like this:

1. My Career
2. Me
3. My Family
4. God

I’m sure most of you are the same. How much time do you spend at work? How much time do you spend with your kids (if you’ve got ‘em)? How much of the time you should be spending with your kids are you spending on work?

I should say that I’ve improved my priorities, but they’re still in the process of being straightened out.

But the key is that I can’t live the way God wants me to until I start to move my priorities to align with what He says. And neither can you.

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Our pastor was talking the other day about the “Fruits of the Spirit”. This is a happy verse that children the world over memorize:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
- Galations 5:22-25

Seeing how you’re measuring up to the fruits is a great way to live your life. And it can never hurt to be in a meeting with a clueless boss / co-worker and thinking to yourself, “Self-Control is a Fruit of the Spirit. I will not throw anything at him.”

However, being the odd contrarian that I am, whenever someone talks about the Fruits of the Spirit, I remember the oft-forgotten “Fruits of the Flesh”. Let’s see them and hope that you compare better than I!

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Recently, my pastor has been doing a series on idols. (Just in case you’re wondering - he’s on the “against” side of the argument…)

He’s been talking about what exactly idols are and how many different things can become idols in our lives. Nature has always been popular, for instance. The sun, moon, and stars are also common idols, even today (astrology, anyone?)

But he started to talk about other things that could be idols to us today that we might not think about. Other people, money (also on the all-time biggies list), cars, fashion, electronic gadgets, video games, and sex are all also possibilities. Oh, and your job.

As many of us did, you might be thinking, “A video game can be an idol? Are there people bowing down and worshiping their XBox? I mean, other than the people that wait in line for 3 days to get the first one out the door…”

The answer is yes. Allow me to explain…

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(Just a note - remember, if you feel any burning or itching on Mondays, just come back tomorrow and it’ll be all better.)

Have you ever had a job that you really disliked? I mean one that you just couldn’t wait to get away from at 5:00:01 PM every day? Or maybe that’s your current job.

Perhaps you thanked God when you got a new job - any new job because it couldn’t be worse - only to find out that your new job isn’t too much different than your last job.

Perhaps I’m a slower learner, because it took me a good while to see that most jobs were like most other jobs. Unless I found something really special (say - working for myself?), the next job wasn’t going to be significantly better, if at all.

I remind myself of the Isrealites. Do you remember what happened with the Isrealites in Egypt? It’s relevant to my post today, so let me recap the story. And, while you’re reading it, think about your career and how they story might apply.

Read on for “The Two Minutes Summary of The Isrealites In (and out) Of Egypt”

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As I was in church yesterday, I was thinking about this week’s Monday “God In My Job” posting.

And before you get on me about paying attention, it wasn’t really daydreaming because it was directly related to what the pastor was talking about.

In any case, he touched on Matthew 6:24, where Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money [Mammon].”

And I thought to myself, “Self, how do you serve money?”

While I’m sure I don’t have a complete idea of exactly what serving money looks like, I’m pretty sure of what it looks like in job-seeking.

Are you sure you wanna see?

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Over my career, I’ve asked myself this question time and time again: How is a Godly job search different?

Frankly, I didn’t know that it would be different, but it seemed like, since God has a different standard for everything else, He probably has one for a job search, too.

And then I asked myself this question: If a Godly job search isn’t any / doesn’t look any different than a regular job search, how do I know whether I’m behaving in a Godly manner?

So, I looked around to try to find some places where a godly job search would be different. And, while I’m still not sure that I know what all the differences should be, I have come to know some basics. And I’d love to hear what you have come up with in your search.

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There is a lot of buzz about “The Secret” everywhere I turn. All sorts of people are swearing by it and how it can / has changed their lives.

And, since “The Secret” can get you anything your little heart desires, there are a lot of people using it to get their next / the perfect / a job.

But I’m here to tell you that if you’re at all trying to be a godly person (in the traditional, “Following After God” sense, not the modern “I am my own god!” sense), “The Secret” ain’t for you.

Read on and I’ll try to explain what “The Secret” is (and how it isn’t new at all), how “The Secret” is diametrically opposed to God and why you should run - not walk - when people start to push it on you.

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Today is Memorial Day.

What is Memorial Day?

Unlike many of the modern-day “memorials” that I’ve seen around, this isn’t a day to remember the “horrors of war” and think about how terrible it is that men died.

Today is the day that America remembers and honors those who gave their own lives that we might be free.

Today, let us remember how we got here and why we are free.

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I talk to a lot of people looking for jobs. And I always ask them when they’re looking for in a position.

While I’ve heard a whole lot of “X dollars” and “located within 23 centimeters of my house” and “crown and scepter” in candidates’ answers, I’ve never heard anything about God.

And, frankly, I’ve tended to do the same thing on the other side of the desk. Do I seek God’s answer to my staffing dilemma? Frankly, no. I haven’t.

Does this mean that God has no place in the job search? If He does have a place, what is it?

I certainly don’t have the definitive answer, but I have been thinking about that lately, and here’s what I’ve come up with.

[NOTE: If you feel any itching or burning from this post, check here to see what to do.]
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I’ve been told repeatedly that, “The Bible doesn’t apply to my life today!” The people that tell me this obviously have a better understanding of the world than I do, because I find that it comes in handy on a regular basis.

Let’s take a simple concept like “honesty”. Personally, I’m pretty sure that God is in favor of honesty. But, just to be sure, we’ll check a little later.

There is plenty of “minor dishonesty” practiced every day, though. Even (and, perhaps, especially) in the job search. To see how simple dishonesty that is practiced every day can hurt your job search, read on.
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