Integrating Faith in the Workplace

"Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord, not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward." (Colossians 3:23-24)

LOS ANGELES, CA (Grace Hill Media) - As Catholics, we often speak of work as a form of prayer, yet we don't usually think of our careers in terms of our faith. The modern secular world puts pressure on us to leave our faith at the office door lest we offend someone or appear to be forcing our beliefs on others. Instead, we should seriously consider that our work is a vocation, a calling from God to serve others regardless of what career field we have chosen. Putting our life's work in God's hands and living our faith at the office gives new purpose to the daily grind and allows our Creator to use us as instruments in His Divine Plan.

This is the theme of an excellent book by DeVon Franklin called "Produced by Faith."  Franklin is a Hollywood executive and producer whose resume includes the successful remake of "The Karate Kid" and the upcoming film "Jumping the Broom" (in theaters on May 6). Franklin is also a part-time preacher who truly lives his Christian faith in an environment that glorifies fame, fortune, and worldly possessions. He achieved success at a very young age by allowing God to direct his career and by refusing to compromise his Christian values.

In Produced by Faith, Franklin compares career progression with the making of a Hollywood movie, showing how each stage of the movie-making process parallels a typical career path. More importantly, he emphasizes that placing one's career in God's hands actually provides a competitive edge in the workplace.

As Franklin educates the reader on the fascinating process of Hollywood film-making, he weaves in his own personal story and faith journey. As a young boy, Franklin was greatly affected by the death of his father. His mother raised him and his two brothers as a single mom-she was on welfare at one point. In an interview, I asked him why he was able to rise above these difficult circumstances to achieve success and how others in tough situations can do the same.

His advice was, "Never get down on yourself because of circumstances you face. A lot of things happen in life that you can't control. I couldn't control my father passing. I could control how I responded to it.

"When you go through difficult times or tragedy, prayerfully ask God to bring you through it and also to learn things in the tragedy that He wants you to use for your purpose [in life]," he continued.

"Even through the most difficult circumstances, God has a plan for us. As difficult as it was to lose my father at a young age, going to church and being exposed to the Word really helped me to understand that even though I didn't have a physical father, I did have a heavenly Father. He was there for me and had a plan for me, and I found a lot of hope in that."

Franklin also found catharsis in watching movies and wanted to learn how they were made. He worked his way into Hollywood but reached a dead end at one point in terms of his career. In a leap of faith, he quit his job without having secured another and started fasting. I asked what led him to penitential fasting, a practice that unfortunately seems almost quaint today.

"With fasting, part of what God requires is sacrifice," he explained. "In Romans, Paul speaks about the idea of presenting your body as a living sacrifice. There's no question that fasting is a sacrifice-whether it's fasting from food or from television or electronics, whatever it might be. For me, fasting was a sign to God about how serious I am about pursuing His purpose in my life. If it required me to go without food, I was willing to do it because I don't want to have any barrier between God's plans for me and what I'm pursuing. We like to be comfortable!

"Sometimes there's a resistance to fasting because we don't like the discomfort that it brings. I would encourage anyone to think about where they want to go in life. If you are committed to where you want to go, then why wouldn't you fast? Why wouldn't you show God that you're serious about your calling and your plan? The Word tells us there are certain types of power that will come only through prayer and fasting. For me, it was a very valuable tool."

Franklin understands the plight that many people face today with unemployment rising and good jobs disappearing. Again, he emphasizes trust in God in such circumstances.

"There have been times in my career that I have struggled. I've had dreams, I've had hope, and a situation that I was in did not give me any evidence that my dreams were going to come to fruition. If you're unemployed or your job has been downsized, [find] tremendous hope in remembering how God looks at our lives. We're just in one scene in the story that God is trying to tell us. It's just one scene! Don't write God's name out of your script because you're in one scene. Any great hero goes through some tough times, but they always prevail.

Help Keep Catholic Online School Free

"I promise you that God has a plan to set you up at the right company at the right time in the right position. Just don't give up on Him, and continue to stay committed to the process of success no matter how long it takes. It's going to happen. It will absolutely happen. When you look at your life as a movie, you say 'Okay, it's just one scene. Lord, give me enough faith to make it through this scene.' I promise you He'll do it."

Although Franklin has found great success in the glamorous world of Hollywood and writes from the viewpoint of a Hollywood executive, the advice in Produced by Faith applies to people in every walk of life. In the book, Franklin quotes Martin Luther King, Jr. on the importance of hard work in even the humblest of professions: "If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"

"The reason why I love that quote is that it's all about service," Franklin explained. "On my computer, I have a little tag that says 'Be of service.' Sometimes in our career pursuits we think, 'What am I going to get out of it?' I think we should change that point of view. When we're following God and we're committed to Christ and we're pursuing our career, it shouldn't be about what I can get out of it, but who can I help. Who can I serve?

"Sometimes we look down upon those menial tasks. When I was an intern and an assistant, it required a lot of photocopying, a lot of filing, a lot of scheduling, a lot of answering the phone, and there can be a tendency to get frustrated with those small things. But I looked at those things as if I was I was an executive doing it. I would file with purpose. I would make copies with purpose. When you approach even the smallest task with a purpose, it's not about serving your boss but serving God.

"God has put you in that job and provided an opportunity for you to make a living, so why would you look down upon the small things? Jesus said in the Parable of the Master and the Talents, 'You've been faithful over a few things. Now I'm going to make you ruler over many. Come and join your master's happiness.' We have a tendency to look down upon the things that are 'insignificant,' but those are the things that are incredibly significant. Martin Luther King Jr.'s quote ties directly into that. We shouldn't look at anything as small, because being faithful over the small, seemingly insignificant things will ultimately help us get what we desire in business."

Discover Wellness with Intensify Teas | Order Today!

-----

Produced by Faith is available in bookstores and amazon.com.

Peggy Bowes, a devout Catholic, is the author of "The Rosary Workout" -available through amazon.com. She graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 1988 and served nine years as an Air Force pilot and Health and Wellness consultant. After leaving the military to raise a family, Peggy continued her education in the fitness industry by becoming certified as a personal trainer, Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant and Spinning® instructor. She established a successful and rewarding business in metabolic and athletic performance (VO2) testing, with an emphasis on weight loss counseling.  Peggy is also very active in parish life.  She has been a lector, CCD teacher, and Little Flowers Girls' Club leader.  She also enjoys triathlons, hiking, adventure races, and other sports as she incorporates all the benefits and blessings of The Rosary Workout.  Peggy and her husband and two children currently reside in North Carolina.