Purpose of Work – 2

(continued from the previous post)

So the purpose of my work is to glorify God, is it? I needed to think that one over. The truth is, over the past few months I had been experiencing a bout of career angst that had been driving me nuts. As a side-effect, I was sure that my work wasn’t really glorifying God.

Here’s what had happened to me: Several months before this, I had been offered a very exciting CEO position with a high-visibility, rapid-growth company, but it ended up falling apart because of some “accounting irregularities” that were uncovered at the company. Oops. It sent the business into a tailspin for a while and eventually the owners sold out to an investor group, who of course wanted to choose their own CEO. Thank God the mess came out of the woodwork before I committed to it. But afterwards, I was left with this empty feeling, wondering how I was going to go back to my real, now very boring by comparison, existing job (the one that was still paying me) with any enthusiasm. By comparison, my current job seemed entirely mundane and beneath my capabilities. Maybe, I thought, the job offer was a nudge from God pushing me forward, a sign for me to move on, to start looking for another CEO position somewhere else – a hint that I had outlived the useful life of the current company and position I was in. God does that sometimes, doesn’t He?

I kept ruminating about it, getting more and more disappointed and disgusted with my current station. Yes, I’m sure of it: God has Bigger Plans For Me! This is the Purpose and Direction I had been waiting for! This CEO opportunity must have been God’s leading me towards the next chapter of my life – the one in which I step into some fantastic leadership role and have huge influence and make gobs of money so I could become a well-known philanthropist and God would be so pleased and say “Well done, good and faithful servant!” and I could take the family on expensive European vacations a few times a year, even though the dollar has been at an all-time low, and I could finally start that art collection that I’ve been dreaming about, etc etc etc.

I had big ideas for God’s plan for that particular chapter of my life.

I decided that I must consult with my new British Leadership Coach friend Dr. Payne about this. I desperately needed a spiritual/business advisor to help me make some important career decisions and discern God’s point of view on the whole thing. I cornered Dr. Payne after his next Sunday session with the Men’s group at church and we scheduled some time to talk at my office.

I could hardly wait to get Dr. Payne’s advice and assistance in charting out a roadmap for my new, exciting career path.

To be continued…