When I resigned from my telecoms job about 10 years ago, my boss looked at me and wondered why I wanted to leave such a lucrative job. After sharing my plans with him, he said something striking; “Would you mind if we ask you to start a branch of our company in your new city?” I declined. But that conversation taught me about being an asset wherever I find myself.
Friend, are you an asset or a liability? This is a question you need to ask yourself as regards your interactions with people and places (Genesis 39:1-4). Assets are wanted. Liabilities are tolerated. When an asset leaves a place, everybody misses him or her. But when a liability leaves a place, it is good riddance to bad rubbish (Proverbs 22:10).
If your absence in a place is not felt, then your presence is immaterial. The way to make your absence felt is to make your presence count (Matthew 5:13-16). Don’t just count time in a place. Let your time count for impact and relevance (Ephesians 5:16). Don’t just show up at work. Do something meaningful with your presence and time.
You are not just paid for time spent. You are paid for value created and added (Genesis 30:27-30). You cannot increase your time, but you can increase the value you create or offer within that limited time. Be a person of value at your place of work, and you won’t lose relevance. Not everybody is sackable in a company (Genesis 30:25-27).
Like Jacob in Laban’s company, there is a way you can contribute to your company’s progress that you move from being a staff to being a partner. You get to name your wage and dictate your terms of employment (Genesis 30:28). Be that employee that adds value to your company or organisation. Be an asset.
An asset has a mindset of contribution. A liability has a mindset of consumption (Luke 13:6-9). When you move from what to get to what to give, you become an asset everywhere. Serve people and places. It may look like you are being used, but in the final analysis, you would notice that you are being made (Colossians 3:22-25). It is those who are used that are useful.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria