God is very mindful of your attitude towards what you are assigned to do; be it in the church, the workplace and everywhere you find yourself. In Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles in Babylon, he told them to make the best of the city where they have found themselves. God spoke to them through Prophet Jeremiah that rather than grow bitter, resentful or cynical, they should seek the success and prosperity of the place they live in. Jeremiah informed the exiles that their stay in Babylon is not a short-term situation; they are going to be there for 70 years. So, the Lord was telling the people to find meaning in their situation even in suffering and to go on living. Not only did God tell the exiles to make the best of a bad situation and to go on living, he even told them to pray to the Lord on behalf of the city, for in its prosperity will be their prosperity.
Be faithful in your place of work and serve with a sense of commitment to duty. If you have not served with a sense of duty, God will not allow you to own anything you can call yours. Your blessing is dependent on how you treat the job you are given to do. If you know what you can do to contribute to the prosperity of the place where you are, do it because when that place prospers, you will also prosper. Each time the customers of a business swell, the salaries of the workers will also swell. It will be unjust if an organisation is growing and the staff are not growing. A good Church Board will ensure that the pastor is being taken care of as the church grows.
In every organisation, there are work ethics, which are the moral principles an organisation has set for the staff and for the common good of that organisation. As a staff of an organisation, you are to obey the rules, demonstrate a sense of accountability and bring professionalism in whatever you are asked to do. An employee must keep pace with contemporary issues in the work place. Employees of an organisation must seek mutual respect for one another and work for the common goal of the organisation. A work place is a system where everything revolves for the common result. A worker should make dedication and commitment to his assignment as his own business.
One of the things God asked His people in exile at Babylon to do was to pray for the welfare of the city. The exiles can no longer go to the temple, yet God instructed them to go on with their religious life. The exiles must put forth themselves towards the wellbeing of the city. If it goes well with Babylon, it will go well with them. The summons to pray for Babylon must have sounded outrageous, even blasphemous, to the ears of the Jewish exiles.
How could a devout Jew pray for this heathen, unclean city? This is no insignificant statement, especially for anyone who has followed Babylon’s trajectory throughout the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, Babylon (or Babel) is representative of a culture apart from and opposed to God. Yet, during exile, God’s people were to seek its wellbeing and intercede for it before God. Bless your city. Pray for your city. These actions are in line with the gospel.
• Today’s nugget: Bless your city. Prayer: Lord bless and prosper my city. Prayerlines: 08033299824. E-mail: amadiabelukachi@gmail.com. Rev. (Dr.) Abel Ukachi Amadi, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Nigeria.
