Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice. (Prov. 16:8)
HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH YOUR JOB? According to a Harris Interactive survey conducted by the University of Phoenix in April 2013, 73 percent of US workers polled said they had not found the job they had hoped for when they were younger. Only a fifth of workers in their twenties reported job satisfaction. Sixty-four percent of workers in their thirties said they wanted to change careers, and 54 percent of those in their forties said they desired a career change.
Of course, no job comes with a “satisfaction-guaranteed” contract, but a sense of doing what is right puts job satisfaction within reach.
High income gained through dishonesty doesn’t deliver job satisfaction. For example, if a sales representative pads his expense account or falsifies his sales records to impress the boss, he may boost not only his income, but also his guilt. Or if an administrative assistant lied to protect the boss’s privacy or reputation, she might be rewarded with big raises, but her job satisfaction would be lower than Death Valley. On the other hand, an employee who refuses to cheat, pilfer, lie, or violate God’s Word in some other way, but instead pleases the Lord by performing his or her work righteously, can experience job satisfaction even if his or her paycheck is small. As today’s verse points out, “a little with righteousness” is much better than “much gain with injustice.”
Always do the right thing on the job if you want to be satisfied with your job!
Jim Dyet was born in Scotland and raised in Canada. Married for fifty-six years, he and Gloria live in Colorado Springs and enjoy daily walks with their three dogs.
