Clutch Time

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So many Christians believe Satan’s lie that they can’t share their faith at work. Many believing business owners and employees use this false assumption as an all-too-ready excuse for creating a wall between their church life and work life. Business owners will quickly cite fear of insulting clients and employees will share concerns about losing their job or impeding their ability to climb the ladder.

Although it’s starkly different in other areas of the world, few people in America ever lose business or jobs because of their faith. More often it’s because they are not a valued vendor or employee. In the rare case when someone is impacted negatively solely because of their Christian faith, we must ask ourselves if we believe more in God’s favor or the laws of economics.

If you’re a business owner who shares with your vendors, clients and employees that you are a Christian, even those with a different belief set will mostly see this as a positive. Who doesn’t want to do business with someone who operates under a higher code of morality?

The same goes for employees. Who wouldn’t want to hire someone who is honest, hardworking and who respects and cares about others?

Yet, even if you are in a position of working for an intolerant boss or in a business or government environment that greatly limits your opportunities to share your beliefs, your number one evangelizing tool remains intact. It’s your work integrity.

I have a very good friend named Jim Johnson who shares a lesson taught by his father many years which illustrates this point perfectly. As a young boy growing up on a wheat farm in Nebraska, he was part of the family work force and served in the role of driving the tractor.

Now, for many kids who haven’t worked on a farm, the idea of driving a tractor can seem to be a lot of fun. However; when you are driving for hours and hours, day after day, in the hot, blazing sun, the work can be very tedious. This was truly a tough job.

Jim’s Dad not only considered his son’s work his way to help the family make ends meet, he also rewarded him with a modest salary. Yet, the pay came with a key provision. He would only pay Jim for “Clutch Time.”

In other words, he didn’t get paid for thinking about work, for showing up to work or for having good intentions about working. He only got paid for the time when the clutch of the tractor was engaged and it was doing its job. This was referred to as “Clutch Time.”

What if we took this approach with our clients and our employer and only charged them for “Clutch Time”? Without a doubt it would be a great silent testimony to our faith and a shining example to others.

For employees, it’s so easy to add a little time to our lunch break, to do some online shopping at work or to get lost in an unproductive day. For business owners, it quite easy to adjust the mark-up or add a few hours on an invoice or to short change our commitment to quality with our products or services.

Don’t believe the lie. You can share your faith through working with integrity. When you always operate in “Clutch Time,” you are not only sharing your beliefs in a positive and welcome way, you’re honoring God at the same time.  

In light of this, are there things you need to change in the way you approach your work habits or in the way you bill your clients for products or services?

If so, don’t delay. If you always keep in mind that you’re working for the “Lord of the Harvest” and not any particular client or boss, then “Clutch Time” will be a time of great joy and tremendous rewards.