Redefining the Rat Race: A Kingdom Perspective on Followership at Work
Redefining the Rat Race: A Kingdom Perspective on Followership at Work
Vanya Starr | 2025
Abstract
What if I were to tell you that it’s possible to enjoy work? That’s what redefining the rat race is all about. It is about holding the gem of our jobs up to the light of God’s glory and allowing all the resultant refractions, coruscations, and brilliancy to reform how we feel. Though followership may not be what we want out of life, embracing it is the key to everything. We get to lay down the terrible burden of having to be right all the time; we get to join hands with a team and work together for a common purpose; we get to support leaders to do the job well, even as we are supported. Trust me, followership is more of a win-win than you could ever imagine.
The truth is that how we handle our time at work absolutely matters in light of eternity so learning how to add value to our earthly organizations and the Kingdom is essential. In redefining the rat race, God shows us what a true theology of work should be because everything about work-as-usual is transformed and made new. The upside-down Kingdom mentality takes everything we thought we knew about our jobs and turns it on its head so that we have the opportunity to view everything from a better vantage point.
By adopting a Christ-centered filter, our perspective on followership will be so radically altered that instead of merely being canny, committed, courageous, competent, contributory, and conscionable in the workplace, we will instead exhibit the ideal followership behaviors of revolutionary subordination, service, stewardship, and personal and professional standards of excellence. Jesus beckons us to live the Abundant Life by being employees exhibiting wisdom and maturity, contentment, simplicity, and joy. Armed with this new definition of success, we can be assured that by accepting our role as followers, we are not losing power, prestige, or influence but are stepping into a more powerful and influential role than we ever could have imagined. Engaging with followership as a community and harnessing the exponential power of followership means that nothing can stop us from changing our workplaces and the world for the better.