God in the Corporate World

So being a business major, I couldn't help but think of Genesis 39 as a guideline for how to perform in the workplace and glorify God at the same time. So here are my thoughts, and Lord-willing none of them are heretical in nature:

1. We are called to do well and to succeed at whatever profession we do (all under God's law anyway). In the passage, God made the house prosperous through Jacob, meaning God blessed Joseph with the ability to do really well at whatever he was tasked with doing which in the passage is taking care of the house. And if you read how his work is described, the credit goes to God to the point that even the Potiphar is recognizing God's blessing (verse 3). In doing well, we also earn the trust of boss.

2. We are called to obey God's calling before our work's. In other words, especially in the business environment, know that if you do right by God and you obey His commandments, you will probably be persecuted in the workplace. In fact, we are called to do right by what is God even if it means losing our job. We can't just use the excuse "God gave me this job and I must keep it at all costs in order to glorify him because this is what I am willing to do to show my thanks".

3. Know that God will provide. Even in prison God blessed Joseph by making him favorable in the eyes of the warden, to the point that he was the one looking over the rest of the prisoners. Trust that by obeying God He will provide.

Thinking about it, we don't really do this. We compromise who we answer to by committing ourselves to the job, not the one who gave us the job. Don't be devoted to the calling, but be devoted to the one who called you there. If you doubt this just look at Jesus. As much as he was working towards his ministry, he was devoted to the Father first. Jesus didn't raise up an army to overthrow the Roman government, He didn't focus on living as long as he can to keep the ministry going as long as he can, and he certainly did not avoid death on the cross so that people can keep believing that He will save people either through political or military means.

He was devoted to the father first, and Jesus showed that by dying on the cross. In history, when the leader of a movement dies, it's highly probably everything falls apart. But instead everything came together because Jesus obeyed his Father, knowing that God's plan for him and the world is beyond what any of us perceive. A saving grace that brings us back to God.