My old church in Port Washington, WI, St. John’s Lutheran LCMS, has started putting streaming sermons up on their web page. If you’d like some excellent examples of confessional Lutheran preaching with the proper balance of law and gospel, I urge you to listen.

Their website is: www.stjohns-port.com.  The sermons are found here.  You can subscribe to the RSS feed here.

Anyone else do most of their deep thinking in the shower?  I was contemplating the human body today as I observed my own less than perfect specimen.  How amazing is this machine?  And not just the physical form and function, but all of the internal systems that control, fuel, protect, repair, and keep it running day after day!  It made me long for that time when we will be able to witness this creation in its perfection.  What an insult it is to the Creator when we say that all of this just sort of happened by accident.

What makes a job enjoyable? Is it what you do, or where you do it? Or is it some combination of the two? Or perhaps something else?

If you have a job that is extremely enjoyable, but you’re working for peanuts, is it worth it to change jobs?

I find myself in a quandry where the job that I have now is extremely enjoyable, but the amount of money I’m paid is just shy of embarassing. I enjoy the people that I work with, and I feel a sense of ownership and accomplishment for the work that I do. It’s a strange situation, because while I am enjoying my job more than any job I have had before, I feel underappreciated and taken advantage of (only as it pertains to salary) by my manager and those above him. On the other hand, I hear nothing but good things about the work that I do, even from those same managers, and others that I work closely with. It is a strange perplexity, I know.

The purpose of this post is not to complain about my job, but rather to examine the forces that are keeping me in this job. (1) First, I am reluctant to leave, for fear that a job with more pay may not be as enjoyable. (2) Second, despite my frustration with the management here, God is the one providing and sustaining this job for me, and ultimately I am working for Him. This gives me the peace to be able to look past the shortcomings of those I work for, and keep my focus on doing the best job I can every day. (3) Third, this job was provided to me by God at a time when we had hit rock-bottom, and I’ve gotten no indication that He wants me somewhere else yet.

Point #2 should cancel out point #1. If I truly believe that God provides and sustains my employment and that ultimately I am working for Him, I should be able to be happy whereever I am working, despite the environment. I shouldn’t be afraid to change jobs to better support my family on the chance that I might not be happy. Ultimately God is the giver of peace that will result in happiness. The more I think about it, point #3 is a cop-out. Perhaps the indication is in fact that I am not able to support my family.

So I will spread my wings and begin an all-out job search. I will pray and trust that God will bless my search, and guide me where he would have me go.

The answer to the first series of questions is this: Job satisfaction depends not on what you do, where you do it, or how much money you make. Job satisfaction is a result of a clear understanding of your worth before God through Christ – an understanding that because of Christ, you are perfect in God’s eyes, and he loves and cares for you and will provide for you no matter what your job here on earth. Keep your eyes on the spiritual prize, and let God take care of everything.

UPDATE:  Interestingly, before I was able to publish this post, I received a call from my boss who proceded to offer me a new position with greatly increased responsibility (from what I was able to glean from a whirlwind 10 minute meeting) and slightly increased pay.  This does not change my mind about an all-out job search, but it will help my finances through the rest of the year.  I’ll keep you posted!