How much is my work worth?

(This is a series of posts exploring my goals and direction for life…)

In my last post I explored giving and receiving and it lead me to the question of “how much is my work worth?”

I ended the post with the comment “don’t rob from yourself” and the gist of the previous post is to not seek for money. What does God have to say about this?

“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” – Romans 4:4

“The labourer is worthy of his reward.” 1 Tim. 5:18

So if we have a contract, agreed to by both parties, the payment of that contract is required and by doing good work (hard work?) we earn the payment for our labor.

Does this mean the market sets the value of the work we get paid for? We raise our rates as we get better. This cycle allows us to gain the opportunity to work with those that value our work more (which means we can work less hours) and allow us to spend more time serving God and his children.

If we raise our rates “just because” we’ll be found out as frauds and the market will stop paying us that rate (or anything really). If however, we’ve put in lots of work over years and honed our skills, our rates should reflect the work we bring to the table for our clients. We should feel OK charging higher (albeit reasonable) rates, particularly for the return or customers get from their investment in us.

So, if I’m ok with the idea of this, however it does still leave me struggling. What is a fair rate and how do I know? AND, I think this has led me to a point that resonates with me. IF I pick a rate that isn’t fair, I don’t like confrontation around the rate. If I sell something and someone doesn’t like it and wants a refund, I desire to walk away and shut down the business. The idea of negotiation around rates makes me all nervous inside. So is my real issue confrontation? (I think I’ll explore this next time…)

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay