Scrubbing the toilets is holy work

Ordinary work, which is what most of us do most of the time, is ordained by God every bit as much as is the extraordinary.  All work done for God is spiritual work and therefore not merely a duty but a holy privilege.  Elisabeth Elliot

The CEO may think his/her job is more important and significant than the Janitor's but he/she would be wrong.  He/she is wrong.  God does not classify us.  He doesn't classify us according to sin (different blog), he doesn't classify us according to skin color (again, different blog), he doesn't classify us according to gender (yep you guessed it, different blog), and he doesn't classify us according to jobs (that's this blog).
All work done, when done toward God and not man, brings God glory.  When we do it for any other reason it will fail on some level.  Don't believe me?  Okay.  :)  When we put our hands, and feet, to anything with the sole purpose of crediting God then it transforms into holy, sacred work.  Even toilet scrubbing.  We forget that.  In the day in and day out of our work - mundane or not - we forget that it holds no eternal value if we aren't doing it for God.  Now you may be scratching your head and thinking, "But Beth, I do xyz for my boss who asked me to do it."  Sure on the surface of this life you did and are doing it for your boss but on the deeper level of life you are doing it for a deeper purpose, if you are keeping the principle in mind that any and all work done with God as the motivator will hold some sort of eternal value.

This means many things.  It means:

• Knock off your whining and complaining about your job and its duties that you may not like.
• Do your work with excellence.  I don't care that you think you can do it in your sleep.  Pay attention and always perform with excellence.  (I was reminded of this particular lesson just last week when I made an epic fail move.  Oy.  It was a good but humbling reminder.)
• Look for ways and means within your job duties to take it to the next level without being asked and without expecting compensation or recognition.  (Doing it with expecting those is not honoring to God and doing it without expecting those means your expectations won't be let down if you don't get it!)
• Begin each new day of your work in prayer.  Ask God how he can be honored through your xyz job and how you can be his extension to others as you perform xyz job.  (There's always ways - you just have to be alert to them.)
• Work with integrity and ethics.  Don't abuse HR policies on sick days, vacation days, etc.  Don't be dishonest with your boss about work duties, time off, etc.  If a rule has been put in place and you don't agree with it - who cares.  A person who lives with integrity will still abide by the rule and watch and pray while waiting to see if something will change.  If nothing changes then maybe there's a lesson for you to learn.  Just sayin'.    
• Quit focusing on other employees who aren't doing what you think they should be or even what you know they should be.  God doesn't ask you to worry about them - just you.  And chances are good that if you are too busy worried about them then you are not doing well in some of the above areas yourself, specifically the work with excellence.  We don't work with excellence when we are focused on everyone else's work habits.  

Who are you living this life for?  If you answer God then your work is part of that life.  You can't compartmentalize and say that your work has nothing to do with God.  It has everything to do with him, just like everything else does!  

God has entrusted you to this xyz job for "such a time as this", honor him in it and the ordinary becomes sacred, divine, and extraordinary.