Thoughts on my Not-so-Great Job

I've been having some serious frustrations with my new job. The main ones are feeling used, trapped, and minorly persecuted for I know not what reason. After many ups and downs I decided to look for another job.

However, as uncomfortable as this whole experience has been, I have to say that I've never been forced to grow so much in my walk with God as I am now. I am daily put into situations where I have two choices: to sin or surrender my rights. I don't always choose rightly, but I think it's more often than not, and I know it's more often that it has been in the past. I am learning to hold my tongue, to be patient in affliction, to turn the other cheek, not to complain (I have complained, but I promise you it's a lot less than I've wanted to), and to love my enemies.

As I walked out to my car tonight, it struck me clearly that Starbucks is not my job - Christianity is, and sometimes the two conflict with each other. This morning at church, Pastor Mike talked about having the courage to do the right thing without fearing the consequences. I realized tonight, that my job is a ministry. Every day, someone at work asks me something about the Bible, God, church, or my faith; and every time I answer and represent Christ, I am taking a risk.

This perspective has changed the way I look at work in another way too. Sometimes the right thing isn't the best thing for the company. There is a person working there, who, from a business standpoint should be let go immediately, because they are incapable of doing their job. It's my job to make sure that the manager knows this. But this same person continually asks me questions about the Bible, and wants to read through it and talk with me about it. I'm not going to say anything to the manager just yet.

I've also had the privilege of receiving some little reward for my efforts to please God. Sometimes I wonder if I'm succeeding at all. Yesterday, I received the best compliment ever: a customer asked me if the white RAV4 was mine and I said yes. Out of curiosity, I said, "It's kind of a girly car huh?" (meaning, is that how you figured out it was mine?) But she said "No, I thought it was yours because of the Compass Bible Church sticker," and she smiled at me. She said she knows another family that goes to church there, and they invited her to come too. She hadn't gone, but I invited her too (I wish everyone could go there!). Hopefully she'll come sometime soon.

All that to say, God is teaching me to trust in him every day, and I am seeing his sovereignty at work in my circumstances. I still don't like my job and have suffered legitimate injustices, but knowing that God has a good reason for me being there makes it a lot easier to bear. I can see that he loves the lost, and I am slowly taking on some of that love. I am painfully learning to long for the salvation of people who don't love or even like me, for the sake of Christ. It helps me to understand what Paul said in Philippians 1:18-25. He was talking about the choice between laboring for Christ in unpeasant circumstances, and escape from that labor (death). He would rather go to be with Jesus, which is "better by far," but he says in verse 25, "I will remain, and I will comtinue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith..." I am not Paul, but even if God is using me in some small way to glorify his name, all of my discomfort is worth it.