If you were called to give an accounting of your life…whether you had lived every day consistently with your faith or not…what would you say?

Obsessing over how much others make…Bullying coworkers…Spreading gossip and making false statements about fellow employees…

We’re rude to our coworkers and our customers. We spread gossip. We make fun of people who are different from us.

We’re envious of those who have the jobs and salary we want. We get angry at officemates and, rather than talk with them about the problem and our feelings, we talk about them to others.

We have to have the last word in a meeting and take full credit for a project rather than point out the great work of others.

Not very Christ-like behavior, is it?

It can be so easy to give in to temptation and fall under the spell of the Seven Deadly Sins at work. It’s so easy to allow our pride to direct our actions, rather than our Christian faith.

When we allow these emotions to control us, we build a wall between ourselves and God. We don’t reflect Christ’s light. We don’t act consistently with our beliefs.

And we set ourselves up for stress, frustration, and misery.

Inconsistency between our stated beliefs and our daily actions leads to increased stress as we chase after the worldly treasures of this life without fully considering the impact of our actions on our place in the next life.

“Not everyone who says to Me ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”

And we know this to be true.

Think of someone who you told a secret…who later revealed what you said. How did you feel when you discovered they betrayed you?

No matter how often the person says they’ll never do that again, you’ll always have a doubt won’t you? That’s because we always believe what someone does over what they say. You eventually forgive him, but self-preservation prevents you from ever telling him another secret.

Workers in the United States spend an average of 45 hours a week at work (and you probably wish you only worked 45!). Whether you work less or more than that, it’s in that very stressful atmosphere, where so much is at stake and so many temptations lurk, that our faith is put to the test every single day.

But when we go to church, we rarely hear practical insight into how Jesus’ teachings relate to our 9 to 5 life.

Instead, we hear words that seem to be intended to scare us or shame us into living a more Christ-like life.

Or we hear warm, motivational words that encourage us and make us feel good; but we don’t walk away with any concrete tips or strategies to help us act in a way that’s consistent with our faith.

So we go back to work on Monday and quickly give in to our emotions and our pride. Our feelings of frustration rise. Our dissatisfaction with work increases. The stress and unhappiness spill over into our home and personal lives squeezing out any joy we try to create.

“Be doers of the word and not hearers only.”

But living a life aligned with our beliefs minimizes those problems and brings us greater peace.

We’re able to stay focused on the future and take action that moves us closer to what we want – a real, loving relationship with God. Choices become easier because we have a benchmark to compare them with -- they’re either consistent with where we’re going as faithful people or they’re not. Our lives become simpler and less cluttered as we focus on those things that are truly important – God, family, our health, friends…and other things that honestly enrich our lives and our spirit.

Faith at Work, vol. 1: Triumph Over the Seven Deadly Sins helps you see how your faith applies in the office and gives you the strategies you need to apply them.

Each chapter:

• Is dedicated to an individual Deadly Sin
  
• Challenges you to reflect on that sin trips you up
  
• Gives you practical strategies and easy to apply tips to help you apply your faith while on the job, create a life that’s in sync with your beliefs, and forge a closer walk with God.
  

As you read through the chapters and work through the exercises you’ll begin to consciously alter your actions at work so you’re more in alignment with your faith and beliefs.

“Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”

You may be wondering what gives me the right to tell you these things. After all, I’m no pastor. I’ve never gone to seminary, although I have done some limited theological study.

Well, the best answer I have is that I believe God has called me to do this.

Let me explain…

Blessed with strong skills in speaking, writing, and teaching, I spent 15+ years of my career in corporate America working in human resources as a recruiter, trainer, and employee / labor relations specialist in several industries.

One day I was helping at a church event when things suddenly got clear.

There were two men – let’s call them Tom and Dick – standing just a couple of feet away from me as I sold cupcakes.

A third man – we’ll call him Harry – walked by and the three said hi to each other.

After Harry turned the corner, Tom started saying bad things about Harry to Dick.

We were standing in the lobby of the church!

Now Tom is one of those people who helps with every event, helps at mass, and gives every appearance of being a pillar of the church. But his actions were just completely inconsistent with what he believes!

Right then things suddenly started to make sense for me. I got so excited that I could barely wait until I could get home. What God was calling me to do suddenly became clear. I was to use the skills he gave me – the gifts of writing, speaking, and training – to help others learn how to connect their faith with their everyday lives.

And that’s when I really gave myself over to Him.

That’s when Faith at Work, vol. 1: Triumph Over the Seven Deadly Sins came pouring out of me.

Suddenly I was able to read the Bible with more understanding. I was able to see how things in the New Testament (or Second Testament if you prefer) relate to modern life in the office and in our careers.

Since then I’ve tried harder to align my faith and my life. It isn’t easy, let me tell you. Our faith gets challenged every single day in many of the seemingly small decisions we face. I make mistakes; but when I do, I know what I have to do to get right again.

I hope you’ll let me help you discover the peace I’ve found.

If you’re ready to fully live your faith…if you want to feel the joy that comes from aligning your actions with your beliefs…if you want real strategies to deal with the aggravations of life at work…I hope you’ll order this book.

Life is tough enough. Don’t make it tougher by living out of sync with your Christian faith and beliefs.

PS. When you order your copy today you’ll also receive a complimentary subscription to The Mustard Seed.

I’ve trained thousands of employees at every level to deal with annoying co-workers, compassionately manage staff, and be principled leaders. I’ve investigated and mediated disputes between managers and their employees, as well as problems between co-workers. I’ve coached executives to communicate, manage, and lead more effectively.

Then, in 1999 I was in a serious car accident.

My car was stopped when it was hit first from behind and then hit again head on by someone else.

I was surprised I survived at all and, while struggling to deal with my injuries, I often wondered why God spared me. I knew there was a reason I had been in the accident…a lesson I was supposed to learn…I just couldn’t figure out what it was. But I felt God calling me. I knew He was trying to get me to understand.

I didn’t immediately see what He wanted me to do. And I fought doing anything. I tried to go back to work and had to quit because my injuries made it impossible to perform at my former level.

I tried temping as a contract human resources staffer, but had problems dealing with the stress and physical demands of working in an office full time.

All the while I continued to
feel God’s call.

Sure, I believed in Jesus…at least I thought I did…

But I just didn’t understand what it meant to give my life to God. One day I was helping at a church event when things suddenly got clear.

There were two men – let’s call them Tom and Dick – standing just a few feet away from me as I sold cupcakes.

A third man – we’ll call him Harry – walked by and the three said hi to each other.

After Harry turned the corner and appeared to be out of ear shot, Tom started saying bad things about Harry to Dick.

We were standing in the lobby of the church!

Now Tom is one of those people who helps with every event, helps at mass, and gives every appearance of being a pillar of the church. But his actions were just completely inconsistent with what he believes! Right then things suddenly started to make sense for me. I got so excited that I could barely wait until I could get home. What God was calling me to do suddenly became clear. I was to use the skills he gave me – the gifts of writing, speaking, and training – to help others learn how to connect their faith with their everyday lives.

And that’s when I really gave myself over to Him.

That’s when Faith at Work, vol. 1: Triumph Over the Seven Deadly Sins came pouring out of me.

Suddenly I was able to read the Bible with more understanding. I was able to see how things in the New Testament (or Second Testament if you prefer) relate to modern life in the office and in our careers.

Since then I’ve tried harder to align my faith and my life. It isn’t easy, let me tell you. Our faith gets challenged every single day in many of the seemingly small decisions we face. I make mistakes; but when I do, I know what I have to do to get right again.

I hope you’ll let me help you discover the peace I’ve found.

If you’re ready to fully live your faith…if you want to feel the joy that comes from aligning your actions with your beliefs…if you want real strategies to deal with the aggravations of life at work…I hope you’ll order this book.

Life is tough enough. Don’t make it tougher by living out of sync with your Christian faith and beliefs.

PS. When you order your copy today you’ll also receive a complimentary subscription to The Mustard Seed. The twice monthly e-zine gives you practical strategies, simple tips, and great resources to help you apply your faith at work and in your professional life. You’ll stay plugged in to announcements about the next e-book in the Faith at Work series, be eligible to receive a free chapter before the e-book goes on sale, and learn about how you can qualify to get a free copy of it.

Order your copy of Faith at Work, vol. 1: Triumph Over the Seven Deadly Sins today.