Faith integration in a professional context
Does our faith have any connection with our lives from Monday to Saturday? Can my faith inform and influence my professional life?
Many of us have faced similar questions at some point in our lives. God, the creator of the universe, has a purpose for everything, including our careers. In the creation, God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to ‘work it and to take care of it’ (Gen. 1.15). This would mean that one of the very purposes of creation itself is to work.
While exhorting the servants in the context of work, Paul describes what our attitude should be in work. ‘Obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favour, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters’ (Col. 3.22, 23). Here, Paul instructs us to work with:
- Sincerity of heart – We should be sincere in fulfilling all our work.
- All our heart – We should put full devotion in all that we do.
- As working for the Lord – Even as we serve our organisations, our attitude
should be that ultimately, it is God whom we are serving.
If we follow this, our work will become an act of worship (Avodah).
Integrating our faith in our professional context is very significant. Thankfully, in recent times, there are many resources and conversations on this. The theme of CIM’s silver jubilee flagship event, the India Management Summit, is ‘Faith Fuelled Leadership: Building Institutions of Grace and Impact’, reflecting how our faith can influence our institutional leadership. At the summit, CIM will also be launching the International Journal of Faith and Management, a scholarly contribution to this niche area.
Let’s join together and impact our workplaces, fuelled by our faith and be catalysts of transformation in our spheres of influence.
Dr. Aby Alexandar
LinkedIn
