There has been a lot written recently about the Millennials – those born after about 1982. They have a particular approach to work that really values work/life balance. One company’s survey found 28% of Millennial employees said that the work/life balance was worse than they had expected before joining the company. 71% of the Millennials (vs. 63% of non-Millennials) said that their work demands significantly interfere with their personal lives.

But it’s not just millennials who value this. Across the board, 15% of all male employees and 21% of all female employees say they would give up some of their pay and slow the pace of promotion in exchange for working fewer hours.

That’s one kind of work life balance: having enough time at work and commuting, and enough time at home and rest, whatever that looks like. But what about life values?

One participant who took the Christianity 101 Course (offered live this fall in Whitby – http://bit.ly/13tjqfK for more info) was a telephone debt collector. He said to me, I’m interested in following Jesus, but my job is to call and harass people who haven’t paid, and I sometimes feel just awful, but need the work. Can I be a Christian and do this job?

This is not an uncommon dilemma in any industry: in business, real estate, social work, contracting, and more people have their days when they wonder if they are compromising an important part of who they are in order to work. Is there a better way – is there better work?

This week, we’ll look at good work as work that isn’t just balanced in terms of time and effort, but in terms of your values. What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus at work?

Question: Is your work ever in conflict with your values? Share that story with someone.

Ryan Sim - October 2, 2013

Wednesday - Change It - Acquaintances to Partners

Won\'t You Be My Neighbour?

Yesterday we saw Jesus saying the way we treat a hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, or imprisoned person says something about our desire to join his kingdom. What is the consequence of this story? The story makes it clear that Jesus’ kingdom is based on generous sacrifice. Our motivation for compassion and care is not to be someone else noticing, or that we’ll get thanked, paid back or will otherwise benefit. It’s not even entirely about the other person’s benefit. It’s simply the right thing to do, and it’s the overflow of a relationship with God in Jesus. The deck-building neighbour I described on Monday was also married to a great neighbour. She was a nurse, and one day she came over to check on my wife, who’d fallen asleep laying on the grass resting from gardening. This was part of that nurse’s vocation, it’s not just a job to help people in need, it’s actually part of who she is, and what she is called to do. Christians have the same kind of vocation to love our neighbours, with friendship, words, and also our actions not because there’s something in it for us, but because it is who we are as citizens of the kingdom of God. Sometimes this isn’t as easy as checking on a friendly neighbour – not everyone finds visiting prisoners easy, it can be scary. Serving the thirsty can mean travelling places we’d rather not see. Helping those with no clothes can be awkward! But this is how Jesus challenges us to dispay kingdomliness. He calls us to overcome our fears, prejudices, anxiety for the sake of his kingdom and its values. Q: List the six needs Jesus wants his followers to meet: + The hungry + The thirsty + The stranger + The naked + The sick + The imprisoned. Who do you naturally have the most compassion for? Who do you find most challenging to show compassion for? Why? Remember, we meet for coffee every Wednesday night at Starbucks in the Chapters Store in Ajax, in Durham Region just East of Toronto. Maybe we'll see you there?

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