Running head: HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR FAITH 1

How Do You Keep Your Faith in Your Daily Life and Future Career?

Baylee Harward

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR FAITH 2

Abstract

When it comes to maintaining your faith in your career and every aspect of your daily life a large

amount of people would probably admit to their struggle. It is easy to get caught up in the fast

pace of life and put our faith on the back burner. But, if we say we are followers of Christ then

we should be following him in every part of life. Every decision we make should ideally be

Christ centered. We are who we are, in Christ. Our faith and our career all make up the same

person. Therefore, the career we choose to follow should be the career God has called us too.

When we walk inside the doors of our career our identity should not falter. Our workplace is our

mission field and we are called to work with all of our heart. We should build relationships and

form a community with other believers. Having people around you to assist you in times of need

and encourage you when you face difficult decisions is vital. Praying and studying the Bible is

the only way to get close to God and further grow in your relationship with Him. If we want to

keep our faith in our daily life, then we should seek to be who God calls us to be and seek to

follow the path He has called us to.

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How Do You Keep Your Faith in Your Daily Life and Future Career?

Every day, every hour, every minute we are faced with decisions to make. From deciding

how many times to press snooze in the morning before getting up to deciding whether or not we

want to scroll through social media, we are constantly making decisions. Some of our decisions

may be very miniscule when it comes to deciding what to eat for breakfast or what to wear that

day. But other decisions may not be that insignificant, for instance deciding which candidate gets

the job or worse which employee has to be fired. These hard decisions and other similar ones

have to be made all the time. Regardless of the career path a person takes, the days are filled with

battles that have to be faced. In most careers there are challenges that come up where the

decision may blur the lines between ethical and unethical. What do we do? Who do we turn to

for advice? As a believer, I have grown up learning about the almighty God. I have gone to

church every Sunday and classified myself as a Christian. But, how does that affect my decisions

at work, school, and every second in between? As I have grown in my faith, I came to the

conclusion that my relationship with God goes way beyond one day of the week. If I say I am a

believer, then I need to be a believer every second of every day regardless of my location or the

people I am around. So many times I have heard people say that Christians are hypocritical and

judgmental. Is that because we think going to church on Sundays is enough and we can check the

box and be good? Is that because we go to church on Sundays and then walk into work on

Monday a completely different person? It is clear to me that in this day and age it is easy for a lot

of people to basically check their faith at the door Monday morning before work. I believe it is

important and ultimately beneficial to maintain your faith throughout every aspect of your daily

life, including your career. But how is that done?

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To start with, it is important to realize there is not one answer. In addition, keeping your

faith in absolutely every part of life is not something that will happen overnight. However, there

are ways that a person can strive to maintain their faith in everything they do. First, is to alter our

perspective of work. Jeremiah 29:11 says: For I know the plans I have for you. Declares the

Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Gods plan

for us is so much greater than any plan we could ever fathom for ourselves. If we lean into God

for our decisions the path will be way better than any path we may design for ourselves. Times

still will be tough but ultimately we will be in a far better place with God by our side doing the

career He designed for us. Our career should not be a tedious task that we go to Monday through

Friday in order to pay bills and have a successful life. Instead, the work we choose to do

should be the work we are called to do. Work and other activities should not be thought of as

tasks we are required to do but rather different ways we get to serve Gods kingdom. In an

interview with Katie Davis she said: what God needs me to do may not always be job X or

job Y, (K. Davis, personal communication, March 27, 2017). God has such big plans for us that

is almost always things we never could have imagined. He may not be calling us to what we

think we desire, but something far greater. In our day to day we need to be living out our calling,

not focusing on what society says we should be doing. God calls people to so many different

places and in each place He plans to give us hope and a future. One person may be called to

overseas mission work and another Corporate America and that is okay. God will use wherever

we are to be our mission field. Every place is a place to reach others and tell them the love of

Jesus. In addition, every place that God has designed for us to be in is a place that will ultimately

help us grow and be used to build His kingdom.

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Secondly, it is vital to invest in relationships and to have mentors that can assist in

guiding us in the right direction. When faced with difficult decisions it will be very beneficial to

have someone to go to and talk the situation out with. It will also be encouraging to have

someone who can push you closer to the Lord as you do your everyday activities. Whitney

Hopler (2008) wrote about how you should create genuine relationships that can benefit both the

mentor and the mentee. Think about how you want to grow professionally and also how you can

be a benefit to other people. It is beneficial to be a mentor, as well as, have a mentor. These

mentors and mentees can be anyone who will help you in your walk with God, a friend, a family

member, or someone in the church. Having a community around you that will constantly lift you

up is important. Go find a mentor in the Christian community; dont wait for them to find you.

Find someone who will challenge you and hold you accountable. Find someone who will cheer

you on and make you the best you can be in Christ, (Oklahoma Wesleyan University). To have

people around you to hold you responsible is vital in keeping your faith throughout your days.

Our relationships with the people around us can have a positive impact on our relationship with

God. We have to realize we cannot do anything on our own. First and foremost, we should go to

God, and then after I believe it would be very helpful to reach out to family, friends, and

mentors.

Third, evangelism is a scary thing and often thought to be forcing people into a similar

faith, however, that is not the case. Evangelism is the spreading of the gospel. It is about focusing

on how you love other people, how you do your work, and basically aligning your practices with

your beliefs. If you strive to be Christ like, people will notice. They may ask you why you are the

way that you are, which will give you a perfect opportunity to share the gospel and tell them

about the love of God. The most important thing about keeping your faith in your daily life and
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future career is about being who you are in Christ. It is about leading by example and seeking

God first and above all else. Psalms 96:3 says; Declare his glory among the nations, his

marvelous deeds among all peoples. By being who you are in Christ, opportunities will arise

where you can share your faith. Do good deeds. Love others. You will probably mess up, because

we are not perfect. However, how we come back from a mistake can show a lot about who we

are as well. Keep trying. Keep loving. Keep sharing. You can, in fact, make the greatest impact

of a persons life by genuinely showing Christs love and also by living with integrity. The Lord

has an amazing way of providing opportunities to talk specifically about Him, (Oklahoma

Wesleyan University). When the opportunities arise, take them. Avoid passing up the chances to

share the gospel to someone who needs it. Wherever we are located, God will orchestrate a way

for us to share. We should do our best to refrain from missing those precious opportunities.

Lastly, prayer and studying the Bible. Which could easily be argued one of the most

important parts if not the most important. A person should pray about the different situations they

are faced with and for the different people you are surrounded by. Ephesians 6:18 says: And

pray on the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayer and requests. With this in mind, be

alert and always keep on praying for all the Lords people. Prayer is powerful. Spend time

praying and studying the Bible so that Gods direction comes naturally (Oklahoma Wesleyan

University). Everything we could ever need to know about our faith is in the Bible. So when it

comes to facing a decision, it makes the most sense to seek what the Bible says. Through prayer

we are able to have a conversation with the Lord. So when we have an issue that needs to be

resolved the best advisor is Jesus, therefore we should seek him during those times of struggle. In

addition, the more we pray and the more we read the closer we will get in a relationship with our
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Heavenly Father. In order to have the guidance of God in every single decision we make, it

would be beneficial to continuously be studying the Bible and praying.

The answer to the question is not easy. It is not a one size fits all answer. Instead, there

are a variety of ways to try and maintain your faith in everything you do. There will also be a

variety of ways you can always improve. Colossians 3:23 says: Whatever you do, work at it

with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters We shall set an example

by doing. In our work, at our school, in our everyday encounters we should do our best to spread

the love that God gives to us. We shall declare His glory. Regardless of where we are located and

who we are around, we should be bold about our faith and make the grace of God known. Some

decisions still will not be as easy as others but if we work with all of our heart, pray, and commit

to the Lord than those decisions may become more clear because no word from God will ever

fail. Every day, every hour, every minute we are faced with decisions to make. Lines often blur

between ethical and unethical. So, we need to turn to God and ask Him for advice. Katie Davis

said, If you know what you believe and whose you are, you just decide to be that personwe

can choose to be who we are or choose to cover up who we are, (K. Davis, personal

communication, March 27, 2017). As believers, we are children of God and servants of Jesus

Christ. That is who we are. Katie Davis also said, I am who I am, act how I act and show up in

the world as I do because of my faith. I dont feel like I live two lives the daily one and the

faith filled one, (K. Davis, personal communication, March 27, 2017). We are not two people

and we do not have multiple identities. Each one of us is completely unique, but there is only one

of each of us. And our faith makes up who we are. Ultimately it comes down to whether or not

we want to choose to be who we are throughout every aspect of our lives. Do we want to change

ourselves to fit societies image? Yes, we are all human and we are constantly going to be making
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mistakes. We will be hypocritical and we will be judgmental. But maybe if we try to practice

what we preach every second of every day instead of just when it is convenient, or be who we

really are instead of who other people say we are, then maybe it will not be so hard to maintain

our faith in our daily life and future career.

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References

Hopler, W. (2008). Women: follow your faith to success at work. Retrieved from

http://www.crosswalk.com/family/career/women-follow-your-faith-to-success-at-work

11564692.html

Oklahoma Wesleyan University. How to: integrate your faith with your career. Retrieved from

http://www.okwu.edu/towerarticles/how-to-integrate-your-faith-with-your-career/

The Holy Bible, New International Version

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Reflection:

Throughout this inquiry process the most interesting thing I learned was that people had

the same question I did. As I researched I was expecting to have a really hard time finding

information when I actually found a decent amount. I do think there can be more, there can

always be more. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find the idea of keeping your faith in

your career a question that other people are considering. I struggled during this process with

figuring out exactly what I wanted to say in my paper. With my question I could have gone in

numerous different directions. I had so many different ways I could have laid out my paper that it

took me a while to get in a rhythm and be confident in my lay out. My inquiry question did not

change over time. This question is important because so many people claim to have their faith

but struggle with maintaining it in the work place. I believe it is important to look into how we

can make certain our faith is evident in every aspect of our lives. In addition, it appears like

Corporate America is increasing in the amount of unethical decisions that are being made. So I

believe now more than ever society, as a whole, needs to look at this idea of maintaining our

faith in the workplace. Due to this project I think my analytical skills have improved. I was able

to look at different sources and get a better understanding of what I found to be important and

useful for my paper. In this process, I am most proud of my topic and the choice I made to

investigate my question. I would love to know everything I can about this subject and continue to

get more points of view. Lastly, in my writing group I did my best to give constructive criticism,

as well as, bounce around ideas whenever a member of my group needed it. Feedback from my

peers assisted me in taking on a new perspective of my writing and answering questions I would

not have thought of otherwise. My peers looked at my paper with fresh eyes that was incredibly

beneficial in me writing my best work.

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