How To Publicly Thank God After A Work Win

How can I thank God professionally and tastefully in a business scenario? For me, it became an important topic this morning as I was writing a post for LinkedIn about my promotion. I struggled to figure out the best way to effectively bring God into the announcement in a way that didn’t seem trite or insincere.

Over the years, we’ve watched as the occasional actor or athlete directs thanks to God during an award show acceptance speech or after a big game. While most of us will never celebrate a win on national network television, gone are the days of a simple in-office announcement or a quiet dinner with family to celebrate a work promotion. Now, we update our LinkedIn profiles with a carefully crafted announcement that reaches beyond the intimate circles of our workplace or kitchen table.

It’s wise to be discerning about how (and to whom) our gratitude is directed when we share good news. While your question highlights relatable concerns about how others will perceive you, it’s best to start by looking at how God views our outward expressions.

God Looks at the Heart

As we manage our online image, it’s easy to become hyperfocused on how we’re perceived by others. We carefully choose our words and images to paint a picture that will be well received. A couple of primary pitfalls exist, depending on your context.

1. Where Christianity is celebrated, guard against hypocrisy.

If you work in professional circles where Christianity is the predominant belief system, you may recognize that public displays of faith enhance your image. They may even be expected. In this case, make sure your acknowledgment of God hasn’t become insincere lip service with no real substance (Matt. 15:8). Hypocrisy displeases God and misrepresents him to his own creation. And in an increasingly secular culture, we can further those negative perceptions when we claim Christ with our words while behaving in ways that don’t reflect his goodness.

2. Where Christianity is reviled, guard against fear of man.

Hypocrisy displeases God and misrepresents him to his own creation.

If you work in an environment where Christianity is met with hostility, acknowledging God might feel risky or unpopular. Make sure fear of man isn’t causing you to stifle sincere praise and acknowledgment (Gal. 1:10). Being ashamed to claim Christ in front of others points to the condition of our hearts every bit as much as hypocrisy does.

God Desires Sincere Worship

As a child, I watched my dad anonymously drop off a few necessities to people in need. It wasn’t important to him that he was seen or received any credit. Dad was a lay leader in our church, so I heard him read Scripture and pray aloud plenty of times. But he also often read his Bible and prayed alone in the living room.

Through my dad’s example, and through Jesus’s words in Matthew 6, I learned that God is pleased with quiet, humble acts of service. It’s often in solitude, before an audience of one, that we nurture a deeply personal relationship with God.

Being ashamed to claim Christ in front of others points to the condition of our hearts every bit as much as hypocrisy does.

But our faith is expressed both in private and in public—and it should be sincere in both spheres. When we praise God publicly, our praise should be pure and authentic. It should reflect a deeply rooted personal relationship with God that’s alive and well beyond the view of onlookers. When we acknowledge God before others, it shouldn’t be for the sake of being seen but for the sake of the kingdom.

God Is Our Reason for Boasting

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul quotes Jeremiah, saying, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:31). When we boast in the Lord, we highlight our weakness and glorify God as the One who intercedes in it. Paul knew that any success in spreading the gospel wasn’t due to his own strength or the abilities of any other person. Just the same, anything good in our lives—anything worth boasting about—has come from God (James 1:17).

Here are a few simple examples of language that celebrates something good happening, while pointing to God as the provider.

• “We’ve finally launched! It wasn’t easy, but God provided the resources we needed each step of the way.”
• “I’m thankful for this new opportunity to lead the department. I pray God will continue to equip me to be a support and encouragement to my team.”
• “It’s been a tough road to get to this milestone as a company. God gave me the strength to get through the hard weeks, and I’m celebrating his goodness during this great week!”

Redirecting admiration away from ourselves and toward our good Father can be a way to honor God and remain humble. When we acknowledge God in our victories, we’re giving credit where credit is due as we provide public witness to God’s provision and unwavering goodness.