God & Grind: Navigating Today’s Dual Demands

There are only two kinds of people in the world. Those who think there are only two kinds of people, and… well… you know…

Dad joke aside, it’s true that sometimes we struggle with dividing the world into some version of Us vs. Them. Employees vs Management. Christians vs Non-Christians. And our faith vs our work.

And then there’s the battle that runs through the ages. Do we follow our faith, or obey our government? This is the idea behind the question a group of Pharisees brought to Jesus in an attempt to trap Him. To set the context, give Matthew 22:15-22 a quick read.

So, what did Jesus have to say? Let’s take a look.

Jesus’ Response

In case you skipped reading it, let me set the stage for you. The Pharisees have been on a campaign to trap Jesus in His words. His following is just too large, and they find that threatening. So in front of Israelites (who didn’t want to pay Ceasar) and Roman solders (who would have arrested him for speaking against paying taxes), they asked Jesus “So, should we pay our taxes or not?”

Jesus’ answer is was a shock to them no doubt. First, He didn’t just answer outright; He asked for a coin. Next, He asked them whose picture was on the coin.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
Matthew 22:20b

I like to imagine the jaw dropping on every Pharisee, because they thought they had Him in a corner! They were probably so excited by the question, thinking: “If He says don’t pay taxes, the Romans will take care of him; and if He says pay the taxes the people will turn on Him! Either way we win!!”

Allow me to paraphrase Jesus’ answer: you don’t have to choose.

It was no denial of the faith to pay taxes, and it wasn’t a requirement of the faith to abstain from paying the tax. God never commanded them not to pay taxes.

Now let’s flip it around a bit for our purposes. You have personal development goals. Starting a business, building your side hustle, advancing in your career, raising your family, leading your marriage, or whatever else you may include in this area for yourself. You also want to grow in your faith; you want to be a devoted disciple of Jesus.

So, which is it? Which one will you do?

You don’t have to choose! Unless you’re involved in pursuits that are sinful in nature, there is nothing in the faith that prohibits you from pursuing personal development and you can’t really grow as a person without also growing in your faith!

Your work can express your faith without competing with it.

Let’s look at the spiritual side of the coin first.

Spiritual Priority

You don’t need to look far in the Holy Scriptures to see that God must be the priority. Sermons the world over have been preached about the fact that anything you value above God is an idol.

Jesus taught that the greatest commandment was to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love your neighbor as your self (Matthew 22:36-40). If this is the greatest commandment, it stands to reason that it is the priority over everything else in your life!

When I was in pastoral ministry, I had a few questions I liked to bring up from the pulpit, or to ask people in one-on-one conversations. What is the goal of the Christian life? What are you aspiring to in your discipleship? What are you trying to do?

You may not have thought about it before; most haven’t. The only people I know who have are the theology nerds like me who dove into this stuff in Bible college and in seminary!

Take a moment the reflect on it. What’s the target you’re aiming for as you walk the path of following Jesus Christ?

Ready for the answer? Become like Jesus.

In case you were wondering, “going to heaven” was the most common answer I heard when I asked this question of people.

But the goal is that simple; be like Jesus. Love people like He did. Overcome temptation and sin like He did. Pray and serve the Father like He did.

Your all-encompassing mission as a Christian is to become like Jesus. This is why you don’t have to choose between the grind you’re pursuing and your faith. Let me show you why.

Re-framing the Grind

All my life I’ve heard preachers teach some version of the following:

You’re priorities are simple. It’s God first. Then your spouse. Next your kids. Then comes all the rest.

I strongly disagree. The priority is: God first. Period. Full stop. Everything else is the stage on which you serve God.

Think about your relationship with your spouse. Do you ever feel frustrated with her? Does he ever seem like he just manages to stomp on every nerve you have? Does that person in the bed beside you ever feel like an opponent?

Your relationship with you spouse will pit your sinful parts against hers. Conflict boils down to both of you wanting your own selfish way, but what you want conflicts with what they want.

Your children also have a way of bringing out the rough edges of your sinful self. “Buy me these outfits on my iPad game!” “I’m hungry!” cried as you’re tucking them into bed for the night. Struggling to be on time to get somewhere, but the children deciding to not only refuse to cooperate, but to go out of their way to make it harder!!

Work also addresses your sinful self from yet another angle. The boss fails to acknowledge your effort. That one coworker steals credit for work you did, and shifts blame onto you for mistakes they made. One client kills your profit with excessive demands, and still craps on you in the reviews.

It’s in the pressure cooker of your daily grind that you’ll find your growth as a Christian. All of the above examples of the stresses of your life are really opportunities to be like Jesus.

So, what does it look like to apply this idea?

Serving God in the Grind

You don’t have to choose between your work and ambition or your faith. The Bible says faith without works is dead. It’s also true that work without faith is wrong!

Here are 3 principles to get you started serving God in the daily grind of your life.

1. Use the pressures you face to drive you to quiet time with God.

No doubt you face busy days. You’ll probably have decisions that need to be made quickly. You will face temptations tailored to your desires. And, if you have children, you will most certainly have your stress levels pushed.

Why go it alone? It’s a common preacher tactic to point out that when you don’t pray you’re telling God you don’t need His help; you can handle this all on your own. In your pride you might even believe it. I used to fall into that trap.

Instead, use your calendar for the day as a prayer list. Take each task and appointment to God. Help him shape your approach.

Ultimately, this principle is just a reminder that the Holy Spirit is available to every follower of Jesus Christ. You can get more done and have a larger impact working with Him than without Him.

2. Watch for temptations, especially around your integrity.

Are you tempted to exaggerate, just a little, to make a sale? Do you lie to a client to go be with your wife? Or do you lie to you husband, to work a bit extra?

You’re not likely to be as tempted toward sin while you’re on the spiritual mountain top. No, it’s going to be when you grinding at work to make money. It’s going to be when you’re struggling to spend time with the kids. It’s going to be when you’re pressed to postpone date night, again, so you can put in some work on your side hustle.

Go into it with your eyes open and look for the opportunities coming your way to choose to be like Jesus instead of giving into your gut reactions!

And finally…

3. Be a witness to your values with one two-letter word: “No”

Your client needs to reschedules and wants to meet when you have date-night scheduled.

Your boss suggests a way to “bend” the rules a bit to mislead and make both of you look better.

No.

“I’m sorry but I have a prior commitment at that time, but I am available at X date and time.”

“No, sir. But I do have a plan to actually achieve those results next quarter, if you have a few moments for me to show you.”

I’ve heard business YouTuber Alex Hormozi talk about how important it is to think on a longer time horizon (Alex Hormozi video). As Christians, that is especially true; we have eternity as our time horizon!

I’ve discussed it in other posts (“From Overwhelmed to Intentional: Time Management Secrets for Busy Believers”), but our choices shape our destinies. “No” is a powerful word for protecting your integrity and moving in the direction of Jesus Christ.

It can be easier said than done. The world around us has a way of offering temptation in just the right forms at just the right times to make it difficult to say no.

Conclusion

You don’t have to give up your ambition to follow Jesus. You don’t have to choose between them. Follow Jesus in your daily grind, and watch the Holy Spirit make you more like Him and put that on display to the people around you!

How can you follow Jesus this week in the midst of all the pressures you face? Please share in the comments.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,

Watch over us this week as we face the many temptations around us. Open our eyes to see the opportunities to serve You by the actions we take in the secular world. Above all, may we look to You before all else.

Amen.