Secular Vs Sacred Work

I’m sure most people reading this blog have heard of the terms “secular” and “sacred”. In the Christian world secular stands for anything that belongs to the world and does not have its origin within the Christian faith. E.g unless you work within a church setting (pastor, worship leader, church secretary etc…) which is considered sacred, then every other job is considered to be a secular job. Now if this sounds about right to you then I have some news for you, its all the same!!

Let me explain. When we separate the two we have a conversation in our minds that says “the sacred is what I do for God and the secular is just what I have to do to make a living”. We don’t believe that God is really for it and we tend to esteem those in a sacred job as more holy than us, not realising that anything we do we are meant to do it as on to the Lord.

This means that any job I do that is good and does not require me to partake in evil is considered sacred and unto God. Now you might be asking, “why is this important?” Well it’s important because many are confused about whether they should keep going after their career and in some cases what they were born for – or just go into full time ministry and become a preacher. They think this way not necessarily because they feel a calling from God but it’s just what we have been taught as being the high water mark.

Everyone desires the best that God has so if preaching or some sort of other “sacred” occupation is marketed as the best then that’s what we will want to go after. If this is your bent then I’ll gently warn you that you will never get to your God given destiny by just doing what appears to be right or good. You have to go where your heart comes alive!

So whether you are a actor, business man, tax man, teacher, Pastor, IT specialist, charity worker, entrepreneur etc… it’s all sacred when you do it unto the Lord.

Boundaries

If you have lived a bit you will start to realise that life can be demanding. Whether it be friends, family, mentee’s or work, these are all things that can begin to draw energy from you if boundaries are not set.

Let me give you a quick definition. Boundaries protect your priorities while putting everything else in its rightful place. It’s like a secured gate that only allows people access that have the code. It’s not that you are blocking people out but not everyone should have the same level of intimacy with you. E.g if you are a Pastor with a family, your congregation should not have the same privileges or time with you as your children do.

If boundaries are not set your family will start to feel devalued and neglected and find other ways to fulfil their need for connection. As I said before, boundaries protect priorities while putting everything else in its rightful place. If your job is demanding a lot from you and it’s taking its toil on your health, then you need to set a boundary. If you do what everyone else wants you to do but never take time to go after your own dreams then you need to set a boundary and if your friends or parents come before your spouse then you had better set a boundary fast!!

The truth is that boundaries give life and increase productivity. If you have never set a boundary then start doing so today. It will set a standard for a better tomorrow