One Key Way to Love Others Through Your Work

Scripture—1 Thessalonians 4:10-12

[Y]ou do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, beloved, to do so more and more, to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and be dependent on no one.

Devotion

In yesterday’s Life for Leaders devotion, I talked about how work can be an expression of love for God and for others. I acknowledged that some jobs make it easier to feel this connection. I know teachers, for example, who experience their teaching as a way of loving their students. But I also know people who work in finance. They spend much of their time sitting at computer screens and crunching numbers. It can be harder for them to see their work as a way to love people, even if they know the ultimate value of their work.

Perhaps you work in a job in which it’s difficult to connect what you do for a living with actively loving others. You may be able to figure out how your work ultimately serves people. But what you do each day seems far removed from love.

No matter whether the connection between love and your job is obvious or not, there is a way for you to express love as you work. This way applies to almost any kind of work that is morally good. So, no matter what you’re doing for a living, or what you’re doing for which you are not paid, you can express love through your work.

I learned this lesson from two of the most influential mentors in my life. The first of these was Lloyd Ogilvie, the pastor of the church where I grew up and my first boss (well, boss’s boss) when I was a young pastor. Lloyd was a fine-tuned professional who expected a high quality of work from his team. But whenever he and I had a one-on-one conversation at work, he would always begin by asking me how I was doing. I knew he really cared because he would often ask about specific things I had shared in an earlier conversation. Though we would soon get down to business, I knew that Lloyd cared for me personally and that made a world of difference to me. I also observed how Lloyd showed similar care to others on our staff, no matter their role.

Twenty-five years later I was working for Laity Lodge in Texas, part of the H.E. Butt Foundation. In my position at the Lodge, I had frequent interactions with Howard E. Butt, Jr., the president of the Foundation. He was my boss’s boss. I experienced with Howard something very much like I had experienced with Lloyd so many years earlier. If Howard called me on the phone with some item of business, we’d get to the business, for sure. Sometimes we spent an hour or more discussing details of vision, mission, strategy, relationships, theology, and so forth. But, like Lloyd, Howard would always begin by checking in with me personally. He’d ask how I was doing and how my family was doing. Usually, he’d be quite specific: “How is Linda? How is Nathan? How is Kara? How is your mom?” I knew that Howard cared for me as a person and not simply an employee. This made such a difference to me, both in my work and in my personal life. Plus, as in the case of Lloyd, I observed Howard as he showed personal concern for all members of the Foundation team.

I have tried to follow in the footsteps of Lloyd Ogilvie and Howard Butt, showing personal interest in and care for people with whom I work. I know that my colleagues have sometimes joked about the fact that conversations with me are rarely short because I want to check in personally with them. Doing so gives me an opportunity to express love for them. It also helps me to know how to pray for them each morning, which is another way to show love. (This photo was taken at Laity Lodge in 2015. What a joy it was for me to be with Howard [on the left] and Lloyd [on the right]. Their impact on my life could not be overstated.)

I have found that my practice of caring for people with whom I work has been particularly important during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Like millions upon millions of workers throughout the world, these days I do almost all of my business digitally, through email, Asana (a management platform), Google Drive, Zoom, and phone calls. Though I work closely with members of the De Pree Center team, I am rarely with these colleagues in person (partly because several of them live in other states). Yet, I feel personally connected to them because we take time to check in. Our boss, Michaela, makes this a regular practice in our team meeting as well as in our one-on-ones.

Depending on your position at work, you may have more or less opportunity to shape your relationships. If your boss is a get-right-down-to-business person, you’d be advised to go along and not try to force a more personal relationship. But even in this case you can treat your boss in a loving way, offering respect, appropriate concern, and support. You can pray daily for your boss, whether or not you are free to tell them you do this. With colleagues, subordinates, clients, and customers, you have even more freedom to act lovingly.

As Christians, we are called to love in imitation of God, who loved us sacrificially through Christ (see Ephesians 5:1). Our call to love isn’t limited to personal relationships, to family, friendship, and church. Rather, we have the opportunity and responsibility to love others in all parts of life, including our daily work. Even as we seek to work with excellence and to be highly productive, we can love those with whom we work, treating them as God has treated us.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the The High Calling archive, hosted by the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Henri Nouwen.

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