Finding God at Work

Way back in the 400s BC, the Greek playwright Euripides wrote, "For among mortals happy man is none." In other words, nobody's happy. It's easy to feel helpless against the vicissitudes of life. One day things are going our way; the next, tragedy strikes. What would it even look like to experience truly *secure* well-being? When we turn to the teaching of Jesus, we discover good news about what it means to be joyful and well. Joy isn't just pleasure. It isn't just positivity. It isn't just a powerful idea. Joy is an indwelling of the presence of Jesus in our very being. It's a pervasive and constant sense of well-being. And, strangely, it's compatible with suffering. When we turn to Jesus, the same joy that characterized his life can characterize our life. Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Fruit #FruitOfTheSpirit #Joy #Happy #Happiness #Suffering #Pain #Fate #CruelFate #UpAndDown #Euripides #Medea #Pleasure #Positivity #Ideas #Depression #Galatians5 #Psalm126 #SowInTears #ReapInJoy #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

Scholars describe "emotional contagion": the way we feel affects the people around us. You can "catch" anger, cynicism, and despair from the people around you. Emotions like these drive violent conflict all around the world, and the more mundane conflicts in our workplaces. But you can also catch peace. You catch it from the Lord: "I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken" (Psalm 16:8 ESV). When you experience inward peace, it doesn't stay hidden. You get to spread it to everyone around you. Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Fruit #FruitOfTheSpirit #Peace #Conflict #Iraq #Fallujah #CarterSchoolForPeaceAndConflictResolution #GeorgeMason #Power #Emotions #Violence #DanielRothbart #EmotionalContagion #Disengagement #Galatians5 #Psalm16 #3Idiots #AllIsWell #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

When do we get impatient with someone? When they throw a roadblock in our agenda. Rather than pushing ahead to whatever place we want to be, patience allows us to be present right here, right now. Whether we're waiting for the workday to be over, or for a job offer to come through, or for a coworker to finish their part of a project—there's something there for us *now* that we often miss. Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Fruit #FruitOfTheSpirit #Patience #Patient #LongSuffering #Temper #Anger #Galatians5 #Exodus34 #Genesis39 #Joseph #FFBruce #HenriNouwen #NancyOrtberg #SteppingStone #Here #Now #Waiting #Presence #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

Does kindness count at work? The norm at work is being nice: superficial social harmony. But the kindness that the Spirit produces starts in the heart. Going through the work day is an obstacle course. Not just in terms of everything we have to get done, but also in terms of doing each of those things *with kindness* to everyone around us. The Holy Spirit is our coach as we face this obstacle course. If we pay attention to his guidance, we can start to face every work challenge with a genuine, tender concern for others' well-being. Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Fruit #FruitOfTheSpirit #Kindness #Nice #ArtificialHarmony #MinnehaElementarySchool #Wichita #AmericanNinjaWarrior #HolySpirit #Coach #Habit #CharlesDuhigg #HabitLoop #PowerOfHabit #Cue #Routine #Reward #JulianOfNorwich #Passion #Galatians5 #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

It sure seems like certain dogs are better than certain people. But what makes a person "go bad"? Or, to put it positively: What does it mean to be a good person? If we don't have a sense of what it means to be a good person, we don't know how to live. But people who try really hard to "be good"—especially religious people—often end up "going bad" in a different way: They get self-righteous, tribalistic, and stuck up. We really want good people who aren't full of themselves. But how do we get people like *that*? Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Fruit #FruitOfTheSpirit #Goodness #Humility #Religion #Hypocrisy #Pride #Grace #HolySpirit #CSLewis #Competition #Olympics #Jesus #Face #Psalm27 #FiddlerOnTheRoof #Anticipation #Galatians5 #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

If someone is faithful, that means you can count on them. They're sturdy. They're reliable. When the Bible uses the word "faithfulness," it's often talking about the covenant God made with his people. He swore to be true to them. God proves his faithfulness by sending his Holy Spirit to fulfill his covenant in us, from the inside out. We can be true to each other because God is true to us. We can show up–at work and at church–in ways that really matter. We can learn to say, "You can count on me." Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Fruit #FruitOfTheSpirit #Faithfulness #Faith #Sturdy #Stable #Stability #MyVeryFirstBible #RussFlint #YouCanCountOnMe #Covenant #Marriage #Galtians5 #Exodus34 #Torah #Pentecost #HolySpirit #Galatians5 #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

Our working world is often harsh. But gentleness is part of the fruit of the Spirit. What is gentleness? A tender response to the weakness of others. When a coworker shows weakness, how do we respond? With judgment, or with compassion? When we begin to view human beings as precious, like Jesus does, then we begin to respond to their weaknesses differently. If we see Jesus as someone who is truly gentle, then we will find the freedom to be gentle towards others even when they are harsh toward us. Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Fruit #FruitOfTheSpirit #Gentleness #Tender #Weakness #Neurotheology #JimWilder #BruceWillis #Intern #Precious #Harsh #DaneOrtlund #GentleAndLowly #Rembrandt #JewishJesus #CSLewis #Liking #Affection #Galatians5 #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

We kick back against self-control because we want freedom, we want to be able to choose. But self-control is actually all about finally being able to choose. It's the restoration of your will to the C-suite of your life. Often, something else is in charge of our lives: our bodily habits (whether we want them to be or not). The body makes a good servant but a bad master. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God puts your will back in charge so that when you say yes to God, it flows all the way down: Your will says yes to God, your habits say yes to God, and your body says yes to God. The Spirit gives us means of training so that these changes are real and lasting. By grace, you can live out the fruit of the Spirit in your bodily, everyday life. That's real freedom. Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Fruit #FruitOfTheSpirit #ViktorFrankl #Auschwitz #Freedom #SelfControl #Will #Habit #Body #HolySpirit #Galatians5 #OnTheSpot #Gossip #Temptation #Silence #Fasting #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

Religious communities often try to solve their problems with rules. When we think about living out our faith in the workplace, some of us fall into thinking about "following the rules." People do really problematic and destructive things sometimes, so this intuition makes sense. Let's make rules against the problematic and destructive things! But the rules can't heal us. They don't address *why* we're doing the destructive things in the first place. They don't give us life. In Galatians 5, Paul gives us a different approach. When we put our faith in Jesus as Messiah, we receive the Holy Spirit, who can change us from the inside out, transforming how we interact with our coworkers and everyone else at work. Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Fruit #FruitOfTheSpirit #Passions #Mortification #Union #Covenant #Torah #Diagnosis #Prescription #License #Freedom #HolySpirit #Galatians5 #DallasWillard #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral

The Stoic philosophers had some bright ideas. The New Testament both draws on the Stoic tradition and challenges it. The Stoics' key idea was "mind over matter." If you can just *think* about things in the right way, you'll reach a joy that doesn't depend on circumstances. But there's a step missing here. We're not just brains on a stick. We have bodies. If we want to experience deep inner goodness, we need more than information. We need a power beyond ourselves that can help us change our embodied habits for good. Get more resources, including a reflection and study guide for each episode, at https://missioncentral.church. #FindingGodAtWork #FaithAndWork #Fruit #FruitOfTheSpirit #Stoic #Stoics #Seneca #Joy #Embodied #NeuralPathways #Flesh #Habit #HabitChange #Change #HolySpirit #Galatians5 #Interaction #DallasWillard #Mission #SpiritualFormation #ChristianLife #MissionCentral