Do you work for the right reason?

Many people in the workforce accept a position because they need to pay the bills and can't find a better job. Many students sign up for a course or even select a major because all the "good ones" had been taken by students who registered early or were more qualified for the program.

We often find ourselves taking reluctant roles in which we work out of obligation rather than a deeper sense of commitment. Lacking intrinsic purpose, many employees develop a simmering rebellion that bubbles up to the surface as insubordination or subpar performance. They at least appear to meet minimum expectations to keep their job, but refuse to go the extra mile and harbor disdain for the management, teachers, or customers who have somehow conspired to force them into this undesirable role. This "career rebellion" animates the rude checkout clerk, snotty waitress, and the short-tempered manager.

While such individuals aren't likely to last long in their positions, many grind on for decades, treading water in a lukewarm mixture of resentment and anxiety. When they try to improve their attitude or relationships, they grow exhausted and angry. Nothing seems to do the trick. Better to just bury your head, go through the motions, and get paid.

Many employees languish because they feel coerced by life into a bad position, not realizing that the real problem can be found on a much more personal level.

Their hearts aren't in it.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, many find a position or course of study that they're passionate about, to the extent that they pour themselves into their work with intensity and vigor. Everything stops when a client comes to town. The phone must be on at all times in case a coworker wants to check in. Whatever the boss wants, she gets. And weekends are just a warm up to a busy week rather than a chance to wind down and spend time with loved ones.

Without knowing it, these eager beavers are guilty of the same problem that plagues unsatisfied employees. While they like their work more, they lack a sense of direction that would guide their priorities and set healthy boundaries. Just as unsatisfied employees either please or rebel against managers and customers for lack of healthy motivation, so also many satisfied employees are working for the wrong reason. They go overboard (rather than under-board) and ignore healthy boundaries in order to achieve success or prove themselves, which looks different on the outside but shares the same rotten core.

Both are working for the wrong reason--or better said--for the wrong person.

This is not a new problem, by the way. Nearly two millennia ago in a very different culture, people suffered from the same misdirected workplace affection. In an ancient letter to residents of the city of Colossae, a Roman city in Asia Minor, we read the following encouragement:

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters..." (Col. 3:23, NIV).

The context of this passage (see the whole passage here) challenges workers to focus not on pleasing or appeasing authority figures, which only leads to the hollow performance of outward acts that must adapt to the standards of whoever's watching (the author describes this mindset as "eye-service" for the sake of "man-pleasing" in the original Greek language of verse 22).

When we operate primarily to please or win people over, we become slaves to their relative demands and emotional whims. We live our lives upon the unsteady and ever-changing character of the crowd rather than on something much more solid. We're divided, cut into pieces by the competing expectations of others and emptied of our human integrity.

When we try to please people, we lose our souls.

The author of the Colossians challenges readers to serve a Higher Power, which arises from an undivided heart. His assumption is that the pretension required for "man-pleasing" leads to a fractured psyche and depleted sense of self.

"Put your whole heart and soul into your work," he essentially pleads with his ancient audience. "Let God be your boss."

Imagine an office team that is willing, committed, and honest even when no one is looking. Imagine how you might approach your school or workplace if you were consumed with being the kind of person that you were created (by God) to be, rather than to beat out, impress, or rebel against others. My guess is that you'd drive home every night with your integrity, thankful that you worked hard without forfeiting your soul. You would have learned how to be the same, dedicated and selfless employee, whether your boss is watching or on a Hawaiian getaway.

Because, after all, you're not really working for him.

When God is your "boss," you're likely to be more successful in your work, because people gravitate toward those with a selfless sense of integrity. And in most cases, your boss, coworkers and family will notice and respect you for it.

You might say, "But I'm not one of those religious types." Fine by me. But you may want to reconsider for the sake of your sanity. If you merely punch in to please your boss or customers, the moving target of impossible expectations will eventually catch up with you. You'll cross ethical, relational, or even health-related boundaries because pleasing rather than principle is your guide and your god (note the small "g.").

And if you're more self-focused (obsessed with your own career, lifestyle, reputation, income, etc) than drawn to please others, you'll have an even bigger problem. People around you will be nothing more than tools to be used or barriers to remove in pursuit of your grand ambitions, and they'll smell a rat. No one wants to work with someone who has sacrificed their soul around the altar of self.

Working for God is the only hope for your soul.

Career chameleons try to please their way through life. Career rebels resent authorities or consumers. And neither find lasting joy in their labor. But those who work for God above other interests see vocation as an opportunity to serve Him and love their fellow creatures, which they do from an undivided heart.

Matthew M. Anderson is the author of Running Mate and The Marriage Plan. A speaker and leadership coach, Matt is the pastor of Surprise Church in Bismarck, ND, where he lives with his wife and three children. Learn more at MatthewManderson.com.