How Can I Succeed in My Job?
by Kenneth Copeland
Godly honour. It’s the kind of honour that keeps its word and standard of integrity no matter what. Every day, commitments of honour are required of you in your job—and it’s hard. It’s a choice between God’s honour and man’s. One brings true and sure success…and one brings shallow, temporal success that ends in ultimate failure.
So, how are you doing? Do you have trouble keeping commitments at work? Do people take you at your word? Or have they grown sceptical of your promises? If so, then you need honour—honour that comes from God only.
To Succeed Honourably in Your Job, Love God First
God is faithful to honour you when you act honourably. That’s because you are acting in something that originated in Him! He is honourable. When you operate in Him and out of love for Him, you operate in honour. You also take seriously the responsibility of representing Christ to the unbeliever (1 Peter 2:12).
Man’s definition of honour is quite different. Honour in the world comes from men and is given to men. Everything is done to gain the prestige, power and authority that other men can give. It’s temporal, short-lived and dishonourable in view of what some men will do to get it.
To Succeed Honourably in Your Job, Choose God’s Way
To be honourable requires an act of the will, an act which triggers and releases all that God has provided for us. It requires a choice between God’s WORD and the subtleties and deceptions of the world. It requires a choice between the spirit and the flesh. It boils down to a choice between standing and falling. If you are honourable, you will stand. If you are dishonourable, you are guaranteed to fall.
To Succeed Honourably in Your Job, Start With God’s WORD
“Brother Copeland,” you may say, “I see the value of honour and I want to walk in it. But where do I begin? How can I ‘find’ this honour that comes from God only?”
Start with God and His WORD. He can make you honourable. He has already honoured you with His own life, with what the Bible calls eternal life. He administers this life to our spirit man through the Holy Spirit. As you get into His WORD, and allow it to get on the inside of you, honour will well up in you so full, you’ll have no desire to walk in anything else. You will speak the truth and take your words seriously. You will never distort the truth or speak idle words. You will be able to make commitments and keep them.
To Succeed Honourably in Your Job, Seek God’s Approval Only
Seek honour from God only. Jesus did not play man’s superficial games. Instead He sought God’s honour only (John 5:41-44). The world gives “honour” or medals or titles in order to boost one’s own sense of self-worth. It is saying you’ll do something to please men and make commitments for fear of what men will think. It is a dishonour to God, however, to seek the honour of others rather than that which comes only from The LORD.
I made a decision over 25 years ago to walk in the honour that comes from God. I made a choice to stand on my word, and His WORD, and to walk in integrity. I made a choice to please Him and not men—at any cost. I made a choice to stand and not fall…and I’m still standing. You can keep standing, too, and succeed honourably in your job. Think about it. Pray about it. Then choose the honour that comes from God. When God honours you, what difference does it make what anyone else thinks?