A Better Resume - Keys to Building Your Christian Life!
Ministry Partner of Intentional Living
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” “Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.” As you’re in the world proclaiming the Lord, you can indeed thrive because He promises to sustain you. “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you,”
Hiring managers at large companies see numerous resumes come across their desks…and every one of them tells something vitally important about the person who submitted it. At times, that “something” is very positive. On other occasions, the resume reveals a weakness. When the resume reveals a significant weakness, more often than not, the rest of that person’s qualifications become irrelevant. Immediately, it dismisses the individual from further consideration. Perhaps that’s unfair. But it is reality.
One Internet service (ZillionResumes.com) almost lives up to its name, giving employers access to over 2.9 million resumes from across the world. No doubt you’ve had to prepare a personal resume of your own job qualifications at least once in your lifetime. But what if you had to build a resume chronicling your professional profile as a follower of Jesus Christ? What would it say? Would it demonstrate a skill set reflective of a Biblically centered lifestyle, or would it manifest one of those dreaded red flags that undermine your ability to set yourself apart as a Christian of exemplary competence?
Let’s take a brief look at four “self-descriptions” job seekers usually list on their resumes, and break each one down Scripturally. Utilize them to check over your current resume as a believer in God – and discover if there’s an area or two where you could use added training or expertise.
1. Highly organized and dedicated, with a positive attitude
Organizational skills are birthed from a lifestyle that’s intentional, not haphazard, and a mind that’s orderly and focused. How is this developed? Philippians 4:6-9 gives you God’s strategic plan for correct thinking:
“Do not be anxious about any thing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent of praise worthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
Dedication is more than mental, it’s a devotion that comes from someplace deeper, and demands more. Romans 12:1-2 gives you the foundation from which you can construct a dedicated existence for the Lord:
When it comes to attitude, a Christian is, of course, to be positive. But attitude, like dedication, is greater than it appears. “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus,” Philippians 2:5-8 teaches, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” When the Lord sees that you have an organized mind, dedicated heart and a humble, servant attitude, He is well pleased and promises His blessing. “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind,” Jeremiah 17:10 says, “to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”
2. Able to handle multiple assignments under high pressure
As a believer in Christ, you interact with other people at any given time in a multitude of ways – such as a friend, a spiritual brother or sister, an employee, a supervisor – and each of these personal assignments carries with it specific requirements from the Bible:
Friend to others
“Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father.” Proverbs 27:10a
“If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” Ecclesiastes 4:10
Christian brother or sister
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling
their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together
with glad and sincere hearts.” Acts 2:42,44-46
An employee (“slave”)
“Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.” Ephesians 6:5-8
A supervisor (“master”)
“And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.” Ephesians 6:93.
Thrive on working in a challenging environment God has positioned you as a child of God to impact the society around you – your real-life “challenging environment”
– for Him. You do this by being what Jesus described in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:13-16 as salt and light:
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
As salt, you are to be a preservative of God’s standards in a world that is quickly decaying from lack of those standards. The best salt, of course, is that which is pure and not corrupted by its surroundings. That’s why 1 Peter 2:11 exhorts you, “as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” 1 John 2:15-17 adds:
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”
As light, you are to brightly display the truth of the Bible and salvation through Christ to those in darkness. Why? Galatians 3:22 says
4. Excellent references available upon request
These words, usually cited to conclude most resumes, serve as an ironic conclusion to your spiritual resume – because, when it’s all said and done, you truly have absolutely no qualifications whatsoever to be a successful Christian in the first place! Colossians 1:12 affirms that it is only the Father “who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” And how did He qualify you? “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Ephesians 1:3-5 says, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.”
Jesus Christ is not just the only reference you require; He’s the only reference that counts – and the only source you need to maintain the ideal resume as a follower of God.
As you contemplate what your resume will reflect when God looks at your qualifications, remember it is He, not a hiring manager of a large company, that has the final say as to whether you’ve built up the resume needed for the Kingdom of God. Make sure that your experience, talents and references all point to Jesus.
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