Putting God First : 3 Simple Ways to be Holy at Work

Putting God first is literally the best thing you can do for your life. I mean, what else in life is more important than that? (Insert crickets sound right here). The fact that we’re able to be kind to people, the fact that people flash their headlights to allow us to make left turns on the way to work — whatever good thing you can think of — all of that comes from God.

So how do we bring more godliness into the workplace? Let’s break this down into 3 ways to help you think about this practically and be the light of the world on your job. Let’s goo!

But seek first the Kingdom…

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness . . .” (Matthew 6:33)

What does “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” even mean? Oh, I remember when this scripture made no sense to me — none, but now I see that it’s one of the most important commands given to us. Notice I said “commands” and not “suggestions.” I take these instructions as commands. To seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, if you look at that as a command, your whole life can change based on that alone.

What is the Kingdom of God?

God’s kingdom is not of this world. It’s the system or kingdom where we pray for our enemies, don’t gossip about people made in God’s image, and give to Jesus via giving to the poor. It’s the kingdom where the first is last and the last is first, where leaders have a servant’s heart, where we forgive with all our hearts, and where our lives make it obvious that we fear the Lord, not man. Fearing the Lord is this: pleasing the Lord; that’s how we gain wisdom to make Godly decisions.

To clarify, would arrogance be seeking His righteousness? Would holding onto anger be seeking His righteousness? No. You see, sin is not righteous. Although we still have flesh and memories of our old way of life or the “old man”, we get to seek God in everything and ask Him to help us live this new life. How beautiful! If we struggle with anger, we can take that right to God and ask for help. We don’t need to be stuck anymore.

In every situation, you can ask, “Where is God in this situation? How do I respond?” If you don’t know the answer, ask God right then and there. Pray about everything. God can be your best friend, the one you relay everything to and sort your thoughts out with on a daily basis. Do this daily, and it will become a great habit and way of life.

Try Not to Engage in Gossip (shhh!)

First off, why are we gossiping about people made in God’s image? Why aren’t we praying for them? We wrestle not against flesh and blood . . . (Ephesians 6:12). So why not take a minute and discern the spirit behind the gossiping?

Let’s say someone is always taking the easy way out and leaving harder jobs for everyone else. Maybe they don’t clean up after themselves or something too. What spirit does that sound like? Sounds like laziness to me. So we can pray against that enemy and ask God to remove it from their lives and help them to move into their destiny. It can’t be God’s will for them to live in laziness, right? That leads to poverty (Proverbs 6:10-11) and just doesn’t honor God.

What God Thinks About Gossipers

They’re untrustworthy (Proverbs 11:13)
They’re not good friends (Proverbs 11:30)

When we gossip, we are wrestling against flesh and blood, ignoring the real enemy. As soon as we start making the battle between us and a human, we are acting outside of the will of God. Remember, we need to fight against that enemy, not the human. Don’t go cursing the human with all that gossip. That person, whoever it is at any given time, is someone Jesus thought enough of to die for and take their sin upon himself to take their place, someone made in God’s image.

Please don’t engage in evil conversations about them. Shut it down. Change the atmosphere. Kick up the dust in that moment and counteract it. I’ll say it again: We wrestle not against flesh and blood. Fight the right spirit behind it all and not the human even with your tongue, your head nods, and other non-verbal agreements.

What Can Be Done About It?

“Verily I say unto you, whatsoever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). You can bind that spirit of laziness in your prayers for that person and loose or release blessings onto that person after you bind that spirit.

As a believer in Jesus, you have the power: “Behold I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19). Look, if you’re taking the righteous road, the narrow way, and not engaging in gossip, you are in right standing with God in that area, so you can walk in your authority and trample every enemy with the word of God as you pray for people.

Do you still want to be a gossiper after hearing all of this? If you need help, just be honest with God, lay it all on the table, and ask Him for help to overcome that gossiping spirit:

“He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses then and renounces them finds mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

Check out my other blog post titled: How to Stop Gossiping as a Christian. You’re gonna love it.

Come Back from Lunch Break On Time

A God-centered life focuses on aligning thoughts, actions, and decisions with faith and divine teachings. Key principles include love, humility, and service to others. Scriptures like Matthew 6:33 urge us to seek God’s kingdom first, reminding us of the priority of faith.

When we aim to live a life that puts God first, we must also think about the little things. Remember, it’s the little foxes that destroy the vine (Song of Solomon 2:15). Maybe everyone else returns from lunch late, but do you have to jump on the bandwagon? You’re supposed to be set apart, right?

I often think about it this way: It might look like I’m working for man, but ultimately, I work for God Almighty. I answer to a higher authority. So whether I’m the only one coming back on time or not, it’s God who I have to answer to in the end.

Don’t Compromise in Your “Daniel” Moment

The bible says that we have earthly masters, yes, our managers fill that role on the job, but we all equally have a Master in heaven who we answer to. When Daniel was in Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar II was considered his earthly boss, right? But that same earthly boss made requirements to bow down to his gods with the threat of being thrown into the fiery furnace turned up to EXTRA HOT.

Daniel wasn’t having it. He fearlessly honored God by saying, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18).

When speaking with the king about this matter, he handled him with respect, while not compromising. He didn’t have to go into a rage against him; he plainly stated what the situation was and what they were not going to do no matter the threat. If that’s not honorable, what is?

The first step to getting this right is recognizing how things at your job align with or don’t align with the word of God.

A Quick Recap

Start taking steps today to prioritize God in your life. Here are some ideas:

Reject gossip.
Be on time.
Don’t compromise. 🙂

Prayer

Putting God first is a way of life. You can do this. If it’s hard, be honest and ask God for help. Ask the Holy Spirit to assist you with this. I pray that you can receive this and implement it in Jesus’s name. I want to speak this over you: You will be a person who takes God’s word seriously and seeks His way of doing things.