After coming to Christ in the summer of ‘89 I worked at a Pizzeria Uno in downtown Springfield. To say it mildly, I was very excited about my new relationship with Jesus and excited to share about it with everyone around me. I’ve worked about 30 different jobs over the years and many of them after becoming a Christian. I’ve attempted to share Christ in these settings, sometimes with success and sometimes not. Pizzeria Uno was one of the more successful experiences.
I’m guessing there were about 20 staff working at Uno each shift, and I remember it being very busy. My position was host. I was responsible to greet people as they came in and to seat them. I also assisted the waitresses as much as possible. This was a perfect setting to shine God’s love. I took advantage of free moments to clear tables. I paid attention to waiters and waitresses that were struggling and came alongside. I did the jobs nobody wanted to do, like cleaning up spills.
If you’ve ever worked in high stress restaurant or retail settings you know that there are tensions. Workers get cranky from overwork and snap at each other. It’s common for workers to get frustrated at one another because coworkers don’t carry their weight or do things that make their job more difficult. I naturally found myself serving as a peacemaker in this environment.
Work ethic
For many of us, we spend a good portion of our week surrounded by non-Christians at our place of work. But too many of us are miserable and have a poor work ethic. We whine and complain about our jobs. We dream about a better job that we’ll get one day. And we miss the fact that God has placed us in this job for this season for His purposes. I’ve worked at Burger King, Paperama, Town Pizza, Berlitz, a BP gas station, and many other random jobs. These less-than-ideal places of employment are the raw material God uses to shape us and advance the Gospel. I confess that I didn’t approach each of these jobs with the same passion I did at Uno. I fell into complacency and missed a lot of opportunities because of it.
What I’m saying is this: Don’t miss it! Come into work ready to give your best. Be early. Stay cheerfully late. Pay attention to ways you can serve your coworkers. Be reliable. Be a person of your word. Have integrity. Be joyful always. Work hard. Work hard especially when the boss isn’t watching you. Work as if you are working for the Lord Himself. Be easy to get along with. Be easy to lead. Be the kind of worker that managers love. Be absolutely trustworthy. I could keep going but you get the idea.
Sparking curiosity
What happens when we work with excellence and passion is that it sparks curiosity. This kind of work ethic is strange and goes against human nature. It stands out. Now, some people are highly motivated because they are looking for a promotion. But most people tend to do the minimum requirement. Someone who goes above and beyond will cause people to wonder what makes them tick. People especially notice when someone works hard out of love for others versus working hard to make money or advance their career.
What I learned at Pizzeria Uno was that by giving my best effort to love and serve my coworkers, people started probing me. They started asking me questions—and I’m sure they talked amongst themselves behind my back to discuss my strange passion for being the best Pizzeria Uno host on the planet for like $5 an hour.
They asked. And I told them. I told them what happened to me. That I was spiraling down into drug addiction, but had a life-changing encounter with Jesus. I told them Jesus flooded my heart with love and that I feel compelled to give this love to others. That’s why I work the way I work. They were really interested. So many good conversations happened that I’m certain would never have happened if I didn’t spend myself on my job.
Reflect
Take a moment to reflect on how you think about work. Do you dread being there? Do you do only the minimum required? Are you the kind of worker that your boss finds easy to manage? What kind of reputation do you have amongst your coworkers? You may not be the most competent worker, but you certainly should be the most diligent. You may not be the most intelligent person on staff, but you should be the most teachable. If there was an award for integrity and selflessness—you should win every year. You should be the employee that sets the bar for “employee of the month” awards. You may not be the coolest person, the most socially gifted person, or the most talented. But you have everything you need to shine the brightest. If you want missional doors to fly open then make every effort possible to be the very best worker you can be. Watch what happens.