Working for Free: From Worker to Worshiper

I never thought I would see a day where I would work for free. Most of my life I chose jobs with the highest salaries. I even decided on my course of study in college by what degree might pay more.

When I finally, at the age of 30, graduated with a Computer Science degree and took my first programming job, I immediately knew I made a mistake. It literally hurt to go into work each day. Writing programs to make computers work was not my calling. It is an incredibly important job for those of you who do it, but it is not where I am meant to be.

However, writing my stories feels right, exactly right. Blogging is a career path I stumbled upon. I never imagined I would put so much time and effort into something with no paycheck reward.

I was told at a young age a career in art would get me nowhere. Even as a child, I loved all things creative— drawing, writing, painting. I continued to hear, “There is no money in art. That’s why they are called starving artists.” This turned me away from my passion for creating and shut down that path for too many years.

I eventually left my programming job to stay home with my kids. As my children grew and needed less of me, I frantically searched for a career to throw myself into. I tried many home business sales companies, but writing my story continued to call me. I knew the pain of my past could only be healed through helping others still trapped in similar struggles.

I read other people’s stories of loss, joy, and daily operations. Stories of finding faith, overcoming obstacles, and sometimes struggling to get through the day.

Joining an online Bible study helped me take the first step. I wrote a couple of essays to share with our group. I was immediately hooked.

No money changed hands. No performance reviews from a satisfied boss raised my self-esteem. Yet, I found so much more than these things. I found freedom.

There is beautiful freedom in our stories. Each time I share a moment of my past, present, or even possible future struggles, another chain is released.

God placed this passion for writing deep in my soul at birth. He knew the addictions I would fight, people I would tragically lose, and all of the other pain my newborn body would someday face. He planned for me to finally find freedom through worship, not work.

Worship as you Work

My writing is my way of worshiping God. It tells my long path to finding His grace, hopefully leading others there as well.

You don’t have to work for free to worship in your job.

Pastor Derwin Gray shares some ways to “worship as you work” in his book, Limitless Life:

• Be prayerful, watchful, and thankful.
• Be wise. Work with “passion, intelligence, and integrity because we are worshiping Jesus through our work.”
• Talk about grace.
• Remember you are God’s possession.

Working for Free