#233 - Joby Martin // When Grace Leads, Work Changes

Summary

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The Daily Blade: Episode #233

"When Grace Leads, Work Changes"

Hosts: Joby Martin & Kyle Thompson
Date: November 21, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode explores how Christians can glorify God in their workplace, especially by shifting from a results-only mindset to one where genuine care for people comes first. Pastor Joby Martin draws on Scripture—particularly Jesus' teaching of the Greatest Commandments—to illustrate that grace-driven love and attention to the well-being of others should be at the core of Christian work life. The conversation provides practical guidance for living this out daily, encouraging listeners to be conduits of God’s love on the job.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Caring More About People Than Performance

• [00:20] Joby sets the tone:

  “Be the kind of worker, be the kind of boss, be the kind of employee where you care more about how people are doing than what people are doing.”

• Work shouldn’t just be about the bottom line; relationships and people’s well-being matter more from a Christian perspective.

2. Scriptural Foundation: The Greatest Commandments

• [01:00] Referencing Matthew 22:34-40, Joby recounts Jesus’ answer to which commandment is greatest:

  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all of your mind… And a second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

• Joby emphasizes that all commands hinge on these two, and truly following them would fulfill all other requirements.

3. The Impossibility Without Grace

• [02:20]
  • Loving God “with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength” is impossible on our own.
  • Christ’s sacrifice enables believers to love God, as “Jesus justified us at the cross when we put our faith in him.”

  “First and foremost is to surrender our life to Jesus… what the believer does, who has been fully loved by God, [is to] be a conduit of God's love towards other people and not a cul de sac of that love.” (Joby Martin)

4. Practicing Love at Work: Practical Ways

• [03:20] Joby walks through 1 Corinthians 13 attributes of love, applying each to the workplace:
  • Patience: “Are you patient at work?”
  • Kindness: “When you walk into the room at work, does peace walk in or fear?”
  • Accountability with Respect: “We help hold people accountable… but there is a way that we can be about this that is kind.”
  • Not Envious or Boastful: “Fair is not a biblical value… spend more time praying about those people [who get promoted] instead of being envious.”
  • Forgiveness: “At work, are you keeping a scorecard? Aren't you glad that God does not keep a scorecard on us?”

5. Truth and Accountability Balanced with Compassion

• [04:50]
  • Love does not mean ignoring truth or accountability:

    “To love one another does not mean you hug everybody and you hum lullabies together… You hold people to truth… but you do it in such a way where you care more about how they're doing than what they are doing.”

  • Honesty about personal motives and attitudes at work: “Be honest. Are you loving God and loving your co workers, your neighbors as yourself?”

6. Jesus as Model: Firm and Forgiving

• [05:15]
  • Jesus is “the perfect judge”—firm, but also exceedingly forgiving.
  • Christians are called to the same balance:

    “If we get the how we're doing right, like when we realize that Jesus came on a rescue mission for us, we are to be overwhelmed by his grace… You want to glorify God at work? Care more about how people are doing than what people are doing.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On workplace priorities:

  “Care more about humans than the bottom line.” — Joby Martin [00:31]

• On living out the commandment at work:

  “Be a conduit of God's love towards other people and not a cul de sac of that love.” — Joby Martin [02:43]

• On competition and fairness:

  “Fair is not a biblical value.” — Joby Martin [03:56]

• On forgiveness in business:

  “Aren't you glad that God does not keep a scorecard on us? That when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, then he nails the record of debt to the cross and counts it against us no more.” — Joby Martin [04:08]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:20: Introduction to the concept of glorifying God at work
• 01:00: Scriptural reference—Matthew 22 and the Greatest Commandments
• 02:20: Why loving God is impossible without grace
• 03:20: Practical attributes of love in the workplace (patience, kindness, etc.)
• 04:50: Balancing truth, accountability, and compassion
• 05:15: Jesus as the balanced model; final call to let grace shape workplace culture

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Final Thoughts

The episode concludes with Joby reminding listeners that grace should lead workplace relationships and that Christians glorify God by focusing on the well-being of colleagues, not just their output or achievements. Practical love—expressed through patience, kindness, forgiveness, and respect—transforms work into worship, aligning daily routines with the heart of the Gospel.

Amen.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the Daily Blade. The word of God is described as the sword of the spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

[B]

All right. Welcome back. Day five, the final day of how do we glorify God at work? Okay, we've talked about sharing our faith. We've talked about watching our mouth. We've talked about the reality that God has called us as co creators with him to bring order to chaos for his glory and also for human flourishing. Now I want to tell you, if you want to bring God glory at work, then you be this kind of worker. Be the kind of worker, be the kind of boss, be the kind of employee where you care more about how people are doing than what people are doing. That's right. You care more about humans than the bottom line. Where do you get that, pastor? Matthew, chapter 22, verse 34. The Bible says, but when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Jesus the question to test him. And he says, teacher, which is the greatest commandment of the law? And Jesus said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all of your mind. By the way, that's Deuteronomy chapter six. That is the Shema. And then he adds one to it in verse 38, he says, this is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and all the prophets. In other words, what Jesus is saying is if you could just get these two commandments right, you wouldn't actually need any other commandments that the greatest thing that we can do with our entire life is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Now don't miss this. A part of the reality of what Jesus is saying is the greatest commandment is impossible because apart from what Christ has done for us, we can't love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Has there ever been a time in your life where you didn't love God intensely and as a priority? And the answer is, of course. And so God sends Jesus to die on a cross, to be resurrected from the grave, that God would make him to be sin in our place, that for whoever would believe we would be made the righteousness of God, that Jesus justified us at the cross when we put our faith in him. And that is how we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. First and foremost is to surrender our life to Jesus. But when we do that, what the believer does, who has been fully loved by God, then we are supposed to be a conduit of God's love towards other people and not a cul de sac of that love. So let me ask you, how are you doing at loving God and loving your co workers? Loving the people that work for you? Loving the people that you work for, Loving the people that buy and sell from you? You see, my definition of love is this. My joy in the Lord towards others at great expense to myself. So how do we care more about how people are doing than what people are doing? Well, here's a few ways. Be patient. Yeah, the Bible says love is patient. So are you patient at work? Another way is you could be kind. The Bible says be kind. I mean, when you walk into the room at work, does peace walk in or fear? You see, now I'm not saying we don't hold people to account. Of course we do. We have clear goals. And it is for the glory of God that we help hold people accountable to do a really great job. Because everything we do is as unto the Lord. But there is a way that we can be about this that is kind, that treats people with respect and dignity. The Bible says that when we love people, that we do not envy. So at work, do you spend a whole lot of time trying to get credit? When other people are getting credit, do you look at other people being promoted and think that's not fair? Well, listen man, fair is not a biblical value. How about spend more time praying about those people instead of being envious of those people? You want to love people? Well, do not boast. That's right. Don't demand credit. You don't have to brag about it. The Bible says that to love one another is to keep no record of wrong at work. Are you keeping a scorecard? Well, aren't you glad that God does not keep a scorecard on us? That when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, then he nails the record of debt to the cross and counts it against us. No more. The Bible says to love is to not demand your own way. The Bible says to love is to bear all things. The Bible says to not rejoice in evil, but rejoice in the truth. So this does not mean that to love one another just means you hug everybody and you know you hum lullabies together? No, no, no, no, no. You hold people to truth. You hold people to accountability, but you do it in such a way where you care more about how they're doing than what they're doing. The Bible says to love is to believe all things, to trust all things. That love never fails. Fails. So is this you be honest. Are you loving God and loving your co workers, your neighbors as yourself? Now? Does it mean you can be firm? Yes. But you also have to be forgiving. Is Jesus firm? Yes. He's the perfect judge. But is he forgiving? Yes, because he's more concerned about how his people are doing than what they are doing. And if we get the how we're doing right, like when we realize that Jesus came on a rescue mission for us, we are to be overwhelmed by his grace. And then that grace drives us to be in alignment with obedience. You want to glorify God at work? Care more about how people are doing than what people are doing. I hope this week has helped. Amen.

[A]

Thank you for listening to today's episode. Before you go, if you want to help, equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five star rating and review. Stay sharp.