The Millennial’s Corporate America Survival Guide
Navigation of faith and work begins at realizing that there is no navigation. It starts with me, as a millennial, in the fast-paced Corporate America environment. With tough deadlines, brilliant leadership, and competition, it starts with me realizing the navigator. It's a continual process, and I have not yet perfected this art. I trust in God to steer me in the right direction of his compass, without my GPS getting in the way.
Millennial’s Corporate America Survival Guide
“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33“Be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication, make your request known to God.” Philippians 4:6“Do not worry…for I take care of the birds in the air…aren’t you worth more than many sparrows?” Matthew 6:24-26The gift of encountering God’s presence while reading your bible or during Sunday service is a true blessing. As believers experience his presence, we realize that God is the author of our future and that we have no control of tomorrow, but we do have control of what we trust in for tomorrow.But what happens when that scripture you place in your heart (the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…) as well as God’s gift of Sunday worship, means nothing in the sight of your manager, your co-workers, the meeting you are leading, or so it seems.
I have learned that keeping my eye on the cross in a “dog eat dog” world of Wall Street has not always been the easiest task, but in fact, a very hard task.
For the average millennial in Corporate America, lunch breaks are not just a break anymore, but a time to invest quality time over your career through networking. For the average millennial in Corporate America, success is now learning a new task, performing well on the task, managing team dynamics, and managing your career to reach the next level. Or so we think.
So, where is God in the midst of all this?
I have realized over time that the worth of my job, manager, coworkers, and the competition I face, is so minute in comparison to the worth of my Father’s view of my life. The purpose of work is to work for him, although it doesn’t always seem that way. We encounter pressure to perform to our highest potential, and that the best is the expectation.To keep my faith and honorable position as a child of God, I realized that I’m not working to please my Father because I already please him if I am working out of service. I bring Jesus Christ with me every day to the workplace, and whatever happens outside of that, God allows and works out for my good (Romans 8:28).Some of my circumstances, including the unexpected email that hits at 2 pm, can be controlled by my prayer life with God. I don’t mean the circumstance is controlled, but the way we react to the circumstance. “He will keep in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee” (Isaiah 46:3). We cringe when we feel that something in our future is out of control, such as a review from our manager, the project we are working on, or interpersonal adjustments (or adaptations, as I like to call them). Prayer can substantially decrease our mind, body, and soul from feeling extremely flushed by 5 pm. That way, we have more energy to love God and love people once the school bell goes off.
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The verses I mentioned before are true about worrying: we are worth more than many sparrows. Why should we worry about the pressure of success every day? You are already a success. No man on earth can take that away. To truly navigate your workplace, realize you bring Jesus with you every day. Set a mandate for yourself - that no matter what you face, we are to be anxious for nothing. We place God before our feelings, and we should not be anxious. God is the priority in our lives, and we should use prayer, as well as Biblical knowledge, to realize that we should not be afraid (Joshua 1:9).Speaking of fear, we should not fear making a mistake. As Christians, it’s easy to think you must be perfect while in the workplace. Turn the other cheek. Yes, that is scripture, but there is context in scripture. Just like [in the beginning God made Heaven and Earth] is not in Revelation Chapter 21. You must take bits and pieces from the bible to apply them practically in your life. Jesus turned tables when he was upset at a church being used to sell clothing. As Christians, we can be firm in the workplace without saying, “Lord, forgive me, for I know not what I do (not actually a bible verse).” God’s vision is for the job to get done, and sometimes acting out of your intuition, besides researching a bible verse, is the best case for the current scenario. Oh yeah, and listen for God’s voice.
You are already a success, no man on earth can take that away.
It’s the “seeing” is believing strategy that tricks us. We can get so easily entangled in the rat race that we forget it’s not a race at all. As believers, we are good enough! We are even good enough to come back to God when we feel like we have stepped on the wrong track, in and out of work. What voice are we prioritizing? The voice of our past, family, our job? Or our Father’s? Our Father has a plan for our lives, in and outside of work. It’s time that we put that plan ahead of our career and self- ambitions. It’s time that we become “out of our mind for God” (2 Corinthians 5:13).
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We must realize the value of serving inside and outside of our jobs. Also, we must see the beauty in seeking the Lord first and everything else being added to us (Matthew 6:33). Work, faith, and corporate America are not as much a navigation but a balance.