Pride and "Empire-Building" at Work

I really appreciated a recent post by Hernando, talking about "empire-building" at work. He describes empire-building as being blessed with certain talents and then working to make sure that you are the only one who has those particular talents. If you're a great accountant, you might go around making sure that everyone where you work knows that you're the only accountant who can do the work that you do. If you're a computer programmer, you might position yourself so that no one else can do the things that you do. The problem is both pride and focus. Pride in your talents rather than the One who created those talents in you. And focus on yourself rather than on Jesus.

Hernando draws from Micah 6:8 as God instructs the Israelites to "walk humbly with your God." A concordance search reveals verse after verse where God's people are told to humble themselves before Him.

How are you at work? We are told to do quality work--it's not that you shouldn't do admireable work. But remember that you do that work because of the talents God gives you. Ultimately, your very life is from God.

I really like the way that God approaches Job, how God describes all of His accomplishments to Job (laying the earth's foundations, showing the dawn its place, etc.). Think about that in the context of your work. Sure, you landed a big client. But how are you at binding the stars (38:31-32)? What about leviathan wrestling (41:1-34)? It's an interesting perspective on accomplishments and pride. No matter how great we think we are, all that we accomplish is pretty insignificant when compared with what our Creator has done.