Jesus’ Love At WorkSýnishorn

The Greatest Commandment at Work

The commandment to love our neighbors applies to every aspect of our lives, including work. We spend the majority of our time at work and, for some of us, work is where we interact with the most people. Those interactions should be marked by love, or in Greek: agape. Agape is not an emotion or a feeling, but selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. This means a commitment to loving action and behavior in all circumstances – loving without expectation of anything in return.

While the thought of loving your coworkers may have once seemed out of place, it is quickly gaining traction in the marketplace. Love is the common denominator among the top 10 of the “Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For,” and major companies like Southwest Airlines and Whole Foods use love as a guiding principle to inform business decisions.

That doesn’t mean loving your coworkers is easy. In fact, loving others at work can sometimes be the most difficult. Most of us experience conflict, personal hurt or competing interests with people at work. Nearly all of us are busy, under an increasing amount of pressure to perform, and simply do not have the margin to consider how we can love others in the process of getting work done.

But loving others at work is essential. The core of our faith is God’s saving love for us through Jesus. Our response to His love should be to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’ and to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Prayer

Lord, help me to see my coworkers as you see them – created in Your image. Help me to be loving, encouraging and supportive to everyone with whom I work. May Christ’s love shine through me so I draw others to You. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen

Further Exploration:

To learn more about loving God and loving others, check out the Workmatters Study, Jesus: Love at Work.