He couldn’t get a job years after his graduation from the university. It was not funny as people began to get bothered about him. He wasn’t a dull student; he did well in engineering. He decided to volunteer in an engineering company. He worked with them for a few years without pay; aside the stipends he received once in a while. He was so resourceful and dedicated that the company decided to employ him. Today, several years later, he manages his own firm. He has moved from looking for a job to owning one. He decided not to work for salary but for growth and contributions.

Don’t work for a salary. Most times, the situation we find ourselves in the country can be very frustrating. Unemployment is on the increase, poverty level is not declining either. Economic hardship is palpable. People end up having a survival mentality; they need job badly. May be not job, but salary. Food must be put on the table. Needs must be met. Families must be taken care of. Dreams must be fulfilled. Life must go on. All of these legitimate demands and obvious needs can birth a sense of deprivation in people that often push them to consider getting a job for salary. They need a take-home pay even if it cannot take them home.

People wake up daily working for salary and survival instead of working for growth and contributions. It takes strong decision and encouragement to change one’s thinking in this regard. People now choose which job to take based on salary, and not other important factors. Some even make their contributions and dedication to the job to be determined by their salary. They are always looking forward to the end of the month so they can take something home. But anyone who would become great in life must look beyond salary.

While salary can be one of the motivations for getting on a job, it must not be the only or primary motivation. The motivation should be growth and contributions. It should be who and what you would become on the job and through the job. The truth is this; if all you have to show for your months or years of working in a place or with a person is the salary you get, you have filed for bankruptcy in life and destiny without knowing. If salary is your only motivation, you would soon discover or conclude that you are being used or treated unfairly. The truth is, nobody can pay you. You are worth more than salary; don’t reduce your life to one!

“But Jacob replied to Laban, “You know how I’ve served you and how your cattle thrived under my care” (Genesis 30:29 ISV). Work to become. Work to own. With that, nobody can use you, they would only make you. Take responsibility. Handle the job as if it is yours. Think the way your Boss thinks; not like an employee. Do more than required or you are paid for. Develop yourself through the job. You should not teach in a school for years without being able to set up one for yourself afterwards. Why should you retire in a government establishment and not be able to set up a private practise for yourself? You shouldn’t work as an associate with a Pastor and be a failure when God calls you out to start an independent ministry; you have just wasted your time working with that man.

Stop complaining, start becoming. Think like a business owner. Think like your boss or employer. Don’t join the bandwagon of disgruntled employees, always having one thing or the other to complain about. Live for a higher cause! Work for a higher purpose! Work to own! Work to become! Work for growth and contributions! Work for greatness! You will succeed!

© ‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria