如何擁有你喜愛的工作？

你能發自內心說:「我愛我的工作嗎？」你每天一早起來很期待在你工作的地方能遇見機會、挑戰，或是想到要去工作就充滿絕望和焦慮呢？你大概常常聽到人說；「我很想換工作。」但最近我聽到一個令人激勵的故事：你不一定要做自己喜歡的工作才能喜歡你的工作。

我參加了一個癌症的支持團體（我的太太曾得過癌症），一位女士說她在治療的過程中遇到一個很激勵她的人－醫院停車場的管理員，她真的很愛她的工作，她也很愛到醫院看診的每一個病患。

她令我們印象深刻，不論刮風下雨、天氣冷或熱，她每天都在那裡跟每一個來到醫院的人打招呼，讓看到她的人那天都很開心。

分享這個故事的女士是一個非營利組織的管理者，她心想：「我們要用這樣的人來當我們的新櫃檯。」事實上，她也這麼做了！但是這位停車管理員用很禮貌的微笑拒絕了。她說她永遠不會離開她的工作。不是因為這份工作的薪水很好，而是這份工作已經變成她夢寐以求的工作，她每天都很期待給人一句溫暖的話、一個即時的微笑、給絕望的人一線小小的希望之光。總而言之，她把自己的工作當成一個事奉。

如果每一個人都能用她這樣的態度，把自己的工作當成事奉－服事人或是成為別人的幫助，而不只是糊口賺生活費的工具那就好了。尤其是當我們處在很糟的環境時，要怎麼才能做到像她那樣？你可以聽一聽聖經的建議：

把焦點放在積極正面的事上：毫無疑問的，停車場管理員不是一個完美的工作，也不能改變什麼事。但是她把焦點放在他人身上，就像聖經中提到的:『弟兄們，我還有未盡的話：凡是真實的、可敬的、公義的、清潔的、可愛的、有美名的，若有甚麼德行，若有甚麼稱讚，這些事你們都要思念。』(腓立比書4章8節)

永遠記得你最終事奉的是誰：在工作當中，除了個人之外，我們必須對我們的工作有更大更遠的眼光。幾個世紀以前，有人問一個蓋磚頭房屋的工人說：『你會不會對自己的工作感到厭倦？』他說:「不會，因為我在蓋教堂。」『你們作僕人的，要凡事聽從你們肉身的主人，不要只在眼前事奉，像是討人喜歡的，總要存心誠實敬畏主。無論做甚麼，都要從心裏做，像是給主做的，不是給人做的， 因你們知道從主那裏必得著基業為賞賜；你們所事奉的乃是主基督。』(歌羅西書3章22-24節)

Robert J. Tamasy是亞特蘭大「領袖遺產」 (一個非營利性機構) 通訊部的副總裁。他是一個有39年經驗的資深記者，也是多本著作的作者，包括Tufting Legacies; Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today”s Workplace (River City Press);也與David A. Stoddard合著The Heart of Mentoring (NavPress)。欲知更多詳情可上www.leaderslegacy.com網站或是他的部落格 www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com、www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com 、www.bobtamasy.wordpress.com

Would you like to be able to say with sincerity, “I love my job!”? What do you think it would be like to begin each day with eager anticipation, looking forward to the opportunities and challenges you will encounter at your workplace – rather than with dread and anxiety? “Well, I would have to change jobs!” many people would agree. Perhaps, but recently I heard an intriguing story that seemed to indicate a new place to work might not necessarily be required for finding a job you love.

At a cancer support group meeting I attended (my wife is a cancer survivor), a woman was telling about an inspiring person she had met while going for her treatments – a valet parking attendant. “This woman was amazing,” she said. “She truly loved her job – and she loved each of us, patients at the hospital where she worked, as we would arrive each day for our appointments. She never failed to have a big smile and an uplifting word of encouragement for each of us.”


“She made the greatest impression on me,” the speaker at the meeting observed. “She would be out there every day, even in scorching heat and freezing cold, focused on greeting each patient and helping to make their day a little bit brighter.”

Being an administrator for a non-profit organization, the woman telling this story thought to herself, “This is the kind of person we need to hire as our new receptionist.” In fact, she offered the job to the parking attendant. The woman, with her customary smile, politely declined. She explained she could never leave her job – not because it paid well, but in a real sense it had become her “dream job.” She looked forward to each day and the opportunity to offer a kind word, give someone a needed smile, or shine a light of hope to someone desperately needing it. In a word, she saw her job as ministry.

What if we each took that same attitude, viewing our work as ministry – an opportunity to serve and be of help to others – rather than simply a source of a paycheck or a way to fill time between weekends? But how can we do this, especially if circumstances are far from ideal? Consider this advice from the Bible:

Focus on the positive. Undoubtedly, aspects of the parking attendant”s work are not perfect, things she might change if she could. But instead, she concentrates on others. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

Remember whom you ultimately serve. In our jobs we must envision doing our part in something much bigger than ourselves. Centuries ago, someone observed a brick mason and asked if he ever grew tired of his work. “No,” he replied, “because I”m building a cathedral.” “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything…. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord…. It is the Lord Christ you are serving ” (Colossians 3:22-24).

Robert J. Tamasy is vice president of communications for Leaders Legacy, Inc., a non-profit corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. A veteran journalist for 40 years, he is the author of Tufting Legacies (iUniverse); Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today”s Workplace (River City Press); and has coauthored with David A. Stoddard, The Heart of Mentoring (NavPress). For more information, see www.leaderslegacy.com or his blogs, www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com and www.bobtamasy.wordpress.com.