Life’s Work

Life’s Work – Career – Knowledge

Develop Professional Network

Developing a professional network of people allows you to not only have connections within your area of expertise, but it also allows you to see into the lives of other people and what kind of work they do. A good way to expand your network is to start with people you know (such as neighbors, work colleagues, and church members) and ask them who they know within the career you’re interested in. If you’re into social media, LinkedIn, a social networking site, has become a big resource on professional network development.

Develop Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills are very important to have in a work setting. The ability to pay attention to nonverbal cues and discern them is one of the top skills to have. Other skills are using direct simple requests instead of complex indirect ones, regulating emotional cues, and having comfortable body language. One important verbal skill is to give others a chance to speak equally. Dominating conversations routinely will tend to push others away.

Job Trends

When researching different career options, not only is it important to choose an area that interests you, but it is also important to examine the nature of the work, professional requirements, and the future outlook of the field. Choosing a job in a dying field can have detrimental effects on your career goals. A reliable resource that can provide critical information about jobs of interests is the Occupational Outlook Handbook. To access this resource, visit bls.gov/OCO/

Occupational Skills

God has equipped every person with unique skills and talents that give them expertise in certain areas. It is important for people to acknowledge their talents and use them in a way that is pleasing to God. As we see from the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, God is pleased with everyone who invests their talents for His glory and to further His kingdom. Thus, it is our duty to choose an occupation based on our God-given skills in order to most effective in our life’s work and ministry.

1 Peter 4:10 “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

Wisdom

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 9:10 that: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” True wisdom begins with acknowledging God’s will and meaning for your life. Living a life dependent on God allows you to understand His purposes for your life and how to fulfill those responsibilities in your household and work place. In Karen Semon’s book, Make Work Your Worship, she explains practical ways on how to use the wisdom God has placed inside of you in order to serve God diligently through your work. You can find this book available in our store today!

God’s Gifting

The Bible tells us in Romans 12, I Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4 that every believer is blessed with specific spiritual gifts in order to advance God’s kingdom on earth. Each gifting allows us to glorify God through our work in ways that are specific to our personal skill sets. Karen Semon explains each of these gifts in detail and tells us that knowing these gifts will help you know your strengths as an individual and allows you to be most effective in your work and your ministry.

A good resource to take an inventory of your possible gifts can be found at spiritualgiftstest.com