FIRE Assessment - Employee
Recommendations
Relationships – God:
Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments are for us to Love God and to Love Others. Unfortunately, love is a verb that is rarely discussed or considered in the workplace. Loving God is just as relative to our work as in our personal life.
If we truly believe that God owns it all, including the businesses that we work in or run, we should treat Him as the CEO and seek his direction and wisdom on a regular basis. We need to build a healthy spiritual life, weaving prayer, studying God’s love letter to us (the Bible) and listening intently to His direction, promptings and leading.
There are three primary areas that need our attention for us to improve our relationship with our Creator.
- Our priorities
- Our prayer life
- Seeking God’s direction
Out of 50 possible points in the Relationships - God section the average score of our sample employees was 30.
If you struggle in one or more of these three areas here are some strategies that may be helpful.
Strategy 1: Establishing the right priorities
Putting God first does not mean placing your calling, work, or ministry above your family. Instead it means spending time with God in a deepening relationship. Although life requires establishing rhythms that may need to be adjusted at times, overall your schedule, your checkbook, and your actions should reflect your priorities. Here are some steps to consider.
- Take an inventory for a week of how much time you spent in prayer, studying God’s Word, and intentional focus on God. Compare this to how much time you spent on TV, sports, or other activities that robbed you of potential time that could have been invested in your relationship with your Savior.
- Schedule appointments with God. If you are like me, if you have an appointment scheduled you will be there. Why not schedule your times with God, then honor that commitment first.
- Consider establishing clear boundaries in your work for honoring God first. This may mean what ethical lines will you not cross, or what time will you commit to go home to be with family if you tend towards being a workaholic.
A great book in helping establish priorities is Andy Stanley’s “Choosing to Cheat.”
Strategy 2: Developing a healthy prayer life
Download a copy of our Prayer Guide that is tailored for workplace issues. It can be used flexibly for 5 minutes or an hour.
Strategy 3: Seeking God’s direction
- Begin adding your daily work activities to your prayer list as well as the people you will be in contact with that day.
- Keep a journal of prayer requests for which you need direction. Note the date and request when first asked and then keep track and document God’s answers to those prayers. It will be a great encouragement of God’s faithfulness as well as help clarify your thinking and God’s response.
Three great books that may help your prayer life and other spiritual disciplines include:
“Experiencing God”by Henry Blackaby
“Five Smooth Stones”by Tom Nelson
“Good to Great in God’s Eyes”by Chip Ingram
To view additional Employee Strategies click here.
To take the next step on the FIRE in the Workplace journey click here.