Our work or vocation is very much a part of the Gospel story. In this series, The Gospel Coalition India invites working professionals and entrepreneurs to reflect on their work through the five chapters of the Gospel narrative — creation, fall, redemption, renewal and new creation.
Pemiya Gandhi reflects on how her career in Public Relations fits into the Gospel story.
Vocation: Please tell us about your work
I have been working in public relations at a leading PR agency in Mumbai for the last two years. I handle consumer brands. Public relations is basically strategic communications that is done on behalf of the brand with stakeholders. The stakeholders include the government, consumers, investors, shareholders etc. My work basically consists of planning and executing communication campaigns for brands. I also handle my clients’ online reputation.
Creation: How does your work connect with God’s original creation plan for humanity?
God created this world and community to function and exist in harmony, and PR tries to bring that harmony through clear and smooth communication.
Fall: How is your work making you aware of your own brokenness and the brokenness of the world around you?
One thing that drives me is how the world sees me, i.e. through my position at work and how much I earn etc. This has become the main driving force for me. I have to constantly achieve and work on new projects that make my resume and LinkedIn profile look good. This is me trying to cover up my brokenness.
The world also celebrates workaholics and being successful. There’s this rat race, but we don’t know what we’re chasing. We’re trying to up our game every day. This also makes me unhappy in other aspects of my life, because I’m solely concentrating on success at work.
Redemption: Could you share a recent example of how the Gospel made you a better worker?
In this drive for success, I make mistakes and that affects me to a great extent. But the Gospel is a constant reminder that while the world appreciates me for my success, my God is deeply interested in me. . . Pemiya. He loves me for who I am and he accepts me without any of my position and success.
He’s primarily interested in me and the person that I am. This truth helps me cope even when I make mistakes at work, because I know that in Christ, God loves me without me having to prove my worth to him. This lifts a weight off my shoulder.
Renewal: How are you able to love and serve others in and through your work?
This is a difficult question because I always see work as something that I am doing for my own prosperity and success. But as I think about it, I realise that I am a people person. I really enjoy conversations and that is one thing that I bring in to my organisation and to people around me.
I try and talk to them beyond work and try to understand what is going on. I try to bring the hope I have in Christ into my conversations. So they also understand that it is okay to fail. It is okay if one campaign goes wrong, and you don’t need to get too worked up.
New Creation: How do you connect your work here and now to our longing for the perfect world that Christ will bring when He comes again?
When I think about the world that is coming and when Christ is going to come again, I see it as a huge feast, a party. I’ll probably be in the logistical organisation of the whole feast, party (laughs).
