God-Employed

I used to be employed by a large, state-funded, non-profit organization. I did my job, got paid, and never really worried about collections, revenue, overhead, insurance etc. Although the organization did customer satisfaction surveys, the results didn't seem to make any big waves. As long as the state funding wasn't cut we were free to focus on our specific tasks. The pay wasn't great, but the benefits made up for that.

I have friends who are self-employed. They are their own boss. In theory, they should have more flexibility and independence. Yet they have to be so involved in every detail of their business, including buying furniture for their break rooms, Christmas gift baskets for their clients, collecting payments from customers, and paying utilities and expenses. Poor customer satisfaction can be crippling for these businesses.

We are all called to serve God by serving others. When we are self-employed people-servers, we tend to be much more involved in the minutiae and the logistics of our tasks. Pleasing the people we serve, their satisfaction, and their reactions become extremely important to us. When we see ourselves as employees of God, we are free to do our job and leave all the day-to-day details to a Higher Power. Although we would like to have high customer satisfaction reviews, it's not as crucial as pleasing our Employer.

As long as I remember that I'm employed by God and not running my own franchise under God's name, I can freely do the work assigned to me without obsessing over results, logistics, or the approval of others.