Where are you based and what do you do for work?
I am based in Johannesburg, South Africa and I am a Research and Development Senior Associate for a fast-moving consumer goods company. I essentially do product development and maintenance for home brands and project management.
Can you share any brands that you’ve worked on that we may recognize?
One of the brands I was a project manager for was Lysol. I have worked on other brands such as Finish, Dettol and Vanish.
What job-seeker advice would you give someone who is pursuing this type of career?
I studied Biochemistry and Microbiology, but Bachelor of Science degrees will get you in. I have hired people who have studied food science, chemistry and even chemical engineering in my teams. The ultimate thing is having a science background. The rest of it you really learn on the job.
What is one of the most challenging things you must face at work as someone who strives to live by the Bible?
The company I work for is a very fast paced company, so we prize speed over perfection. With that, it can be quite stressful and the temptation to work overtime to keep up is something I need to be very mindful of. I have other responsibilities that God has blessed me with such as co-leading our Singles ministry, a Bible Talk [discussion] and our AMS ministry (Arts, Media and Sports).
These responsibilities require me to be present and available for various needs and so I can’t stay at work late nights and need to really go after having a work-life balance. So, for me, the biggest challenge is serving God excellently in all these areas. I can’t slack at work because that’s not a good representation of Christ but also, I need to be excellent in ministry as well.
As someone who can also struggle with people-pleasing, I can have a hard time saying no and setting boundaries. It can be hard for me to disappoint people. But I don’t have a choice. I realistically can’t do everything, so I need to say no often and deal with people’s disappointment.
How would you advise someone to best handle this challenge–your biblical best practice?
Loads of prayer! I even have alarms throughout my day to remind me to pray because with feeling stretched, the temptation can be to rely on yourself to make it happen instead of relying on God even more so! I am fully convinced that God is teaching me to completely rely on Him.
The other one is remembering that my only master is God. All I do is for God, so whether people are disappointed or not, my goal is to please God, not man.
What’s a scripture that would be a great go-to when facing this challenge?
I can think of many but the top two are Galatians 1:10 and Jeremiah 17:7-8.
How has working in the states for a period of time in your career [right before and during the pandemic] impacted you spiritually?
Wow! Where do I even begin? This is where I met disciples [Christians] and studied the Bible. This is where my relationship with God began! Living in the states has completely changed my life!
I genuinely believe that God wanted to lead me away from my family, friends and any familiarity so that I can make the decisions I needed to make to go after my relationship with Him. I didn’t have any family or friends when I moved to the states and that’s where, I believe, God needed me to be for me to really go after it.
How do you prepare for your work day i.e. your morning routine?
I can struggle with insomnia so most days, I wake up before my 5am alarm. When I do wake up, the first thing I do is open my Bible and read as currently, one of my goals for the year is to read through the Bible again. But this is in addition to my actual quiet time.
Then when my actual alarm goes off, I start my quiet time with either journaling or reading a book that is addressing something in my character I am fighting to change. I spend about 40 minutes doing that then I pray. Some days, I go out for a prayer walk in my complex. It helps me to connect more.
I don’t have breakfast every day, but I try to. I then get ready for work and aim to be out of the house by 8:30am latest.
What are you reading in your quiet times lately?
Right now, I am reading the book The Victory of Surrender. One of the things God has been exposing is how I really want control of my life and it’s evident in how I respond when things don’t go according to “my plan”. I can feel disheartened and frustrated. But learning to be surrendered and truly trust that a GOOD God is in COMPLETE control is helping my heart a lot. It brings so much peace to just trust God.
Wow! I love how we are encouraged to pray a lot as a copying mechanism. This too has worked for me.