“Quite often we change jobs, friends and spouses instead of ourselves.”-- Akbarali Jetha
The typical American spends eight or more hours a day at work but that’s just the start of it. Add up the commute time, the time spent in personal preparation, and the time decompressing in the evening and you’ll find that work consumes a majority of your waking hours.It is no wonder that work can invade even our quietest moments. How many nights have you stretched out on your bed, wide awake, replaying the day’s events? You recall the criticisms being thrown around, the personality clashes, the seemingly impossible deadlines, and the overbearing bosses.
Then a thought begins to worm its way in between your ears. An innocent notion that flies in from out of nowhere, just a quiet whisper, “I’ve got to find something better.” And for some of us this errant thought can take on a much darker tone. “I can’t stand this place.”
Many of us can hear Johnny Paycheck singing the chorus of his anti-workplace anthem. "I want to quit my job," you hear the voice say! For many of us, the job feels as if it has become a cruel form of punishment, our own personal prison where we are serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. We’re told what to do and how to do it. We’re told when to take a break and when to eat. The warden with his keys strolls past the cubicle to make sure the work is being done. Deviation from the norm results in punishment. You long for contact with the outside world, for a bit of sunshine, a ray of hope.
So should you quit your job?
For the believer this becomes a tough question. We should never make decisions based just on money – since we know that these decisions are rarely based on giving God honor. And we shouldn’t walk just because we can’t get along, since that destroys the concept of inter-personal relationships that God has redeemed.
What do you think? Post a comment. Let’s talk about when it is appropriate to leave a job.Or, what does it take to ‘take this job and LOVE it?’
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3 Comments so far, click here to add your own:
When should I quit? Most of us underestimate what can be changed in our work situations through good communication, a change of attitude, and prayer. But, the fact remains that a huge percentage of men and women in the workplace have a job misfit issue. What they are required to do just doesn’t fit their giftedness. Rather than bring them energy, their work wears them out. Using out gifts is a matter of obedience as well as joy. Paul tells us that we should be working in jobs that fit our giftedness (Romans 12:6-8). Peter reminds us that every gift comes with a stewardship obligation (1 Peter 4:10). So, the first question a follower of Jesus should ask, is does this job require me to use the gifts God entrusted to my care? The people with whom I’ve worked that experience a poor fit have often been surprised that an employer is willing to work with them to adjust their job for a better fit. Wise employers want to keep good workers. If not, a change should be considered. One important principle though should be noted: I believe a person ought to always be moving toward something rather than away from something. In other words, when a persons chooses to change jobs, it's not about escape, but the pursuit of something a person feels designed by God to do.
I like what you said about escape. Sometimes, its necessary to move into a job to move in a direction. But far too often, people just moved because they are angry.
I was thinking about this question a while back in the following post: http://newbreedofadvertisers.blogspot.com/2008/02/your-calling-is-calling.html
So I like the idea of moving toward fulfillment (and I do so as often as I can), but is it even possible for us to see work outside of the influence of consumerism? In other words, when restaurants and car dealers and architects and mega-churches give us exactly what we want when we want it; when we're raised in a culture where providers of services and products constantly pander to us, are we able to view work accurately, or do we see it as made-to-order just like everything else?
What happens when I don't have the right to call the shots? And what do I do when I'm at the bottom of the ladder and have no say in a particular matter?
If moving on is acceptable, then why do we discourage church hopping and divorce? Are there similarities between these regarding commitment?
I haven't worked out my answers to these questions, but I do wonder about external influences on our discernment.
Thanks for the post. Your question is one that most, if not all of us, face at some point.
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