Everyone wants a fulfilling career which satisfies our longings for significance and supplies for all our financial desires. Many have been inspired by quotes like Steve Jobs who said, "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do." Others have aspired towards Mark Twain’s philosophy about work, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

While job satisfaction may be on the tips of our tongues, and the front of our minds, the idea that we need to love our jobs in order to be happy, might actually be making us miserable.

When Paul wrote these following words, he was addressing a group of Christian bondservants (a type of slave. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." - Colossians 3:23-24

Slaves have no choice about what work they do, nor do they receive compensation for their labor. Still, according to Paul, they have a reason to work whole-heartedly, because they are working for the Lord, and the Lord has a reward in store for them in eternity. More important than loving what you do, is loving the one you do it for.

Not every job will satisfy our deepest longings, pay a lot of money, or make our wildest dreams come true, but we do not need those things to be happy or to do our work well. Our joy is not found in our work but in our service to the Lord. The reward we receive in our work is eternal, not material. This does not mean we should not desire a work that provides both deep meaning and ample money, but we should not convince ourselves that meaning and money are necessary for us to experience a reward in the work we do, no matter how menial it may seem.

“There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes. We are to devote our work and callings to Christ and make it our business to glorify Him.” — John Chrisostom

 Are you basing your joy and happiness on your job situation? Do you imagine that a different career or bigger paycheck will give you lasting joy and deeper purpose?

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