Why do we work? Why do you work? Does it pay the bills? Millions of people regard their work today as something they must bear and drudgingly make it thru the day. About 66% of all workers report not liking their job and feeling “stuck”. About 24% are neutral but not really engaged and only 10% of workers say they are satisfied with their job.
However, there are other unhealthy categories we can fall into such as workaholics. We can make work into an idol. Whereby we may love our job to the point of all else or we just don’t want to go home at night and face another night of no peace with high demands. ( a discussion for another time) At least at work, I can see my accomplishments. One person was quoted as saying “I don’t want to die- it would end my career.”
Yet something we spend nearly %40 -%60 of our waking hours we should have a tremendous net positive impact on our life.
What does the Bible say about our work? How does God view our work? Here are some ideas to think about...
·We share the idea of work with God as being made in his image. God is recorded as creating (working) in the first chapters of Genesis and we are a (the) creation made in his image. In fact, the pinnacle of his creation is us because we are image-bearers.
·Work was given to Adam before the fall – God intended for us to be workers and caretakers- it is in God's natural order of things.
However, the curse of the fall also came into our work and sin causes it as something to be redeemed. It is redeemed thru us if we are trusting in Jesus and have “the mind of Christ”. Having the mind of Christ gives us a new paradigm to see thru. Now like other things we see work as something God created for us to glorify him in. We are ambassadors of Christ and the life we lead is being watched by others.
Recently in our Titus 10 book, we looked at the difference between our identity and our assignments. Christ is now our Identity which gives us a new meaning for our assignments.
Martin Luther’s life was revolutionized when he came to the realization that there is no secular/sacred distinction for all honest work done for the Lord is sacred. All work is sacramental in nature, be it checking groceries, selling futures, cleaning teeth, driving a street sweeper, teaching, or painting trim.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23, 24)
In fact, I would be so bold as to say your attitude and work habits are a reflection of your faith in Jesus. The Bible is pretty straightforward on this...
ENERGY
The Bible is clear when it comes to energetic work as opposed to laziness...
·As a door turns on its hinges, a sluggard turns on his bed. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than the seven men who answer discreetly. (Proverbs 26:12-16)
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching[a] you received from us. For you, yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”( 2 Thess 3:6-10)
In our Lord’s Parable of the Talents the master tells the servant who had done nothing with his talent, “You wicked, lazy servant!” (Matthew 25:26). No one has ever been both faithful to God and lazy! It is impossible.
But perhaps the most withering epithet comes from Paul: “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). There is no escaping it — Godliness is associated with hard work. You cannot be lazy and be a Godly employee.
ENTHUSIASM
A second, and parallel, aspect of the Christian work ethic is enthusiasm. “Whatever you do,” Paul told the Colossians, “work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Colossians 3:23). To the Romans Paul admonished, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).
It is natural — actually quite easy — to be enthusiastic if your work is prominent, but less natural the more hidden it is, as the conductor of a great symphony orchestra once revealed when asked which was the most difficult instrument to play. “Second violin,” he answered.
WHOLEHEARTEDNESS
A third aspect of the Christian work ethic, very close to energy and enthusiasm, but nevertheless bearing a distinctive and important nuance, is wholeheartedness:
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is a slave or free. (Ephesians 6:5-8)
Men, we are to work as if our father was watching, because He is — always!
EXCELLENCE
When God created (worked) he declared it was good and in fact, it was very good. Christians should always do good work. Christians ought to be the best workers wherever they are. They ought to have the best attitude, the best integrity, and be the best in dependability. If what the pollsters tell us is true — that there is little difference in the work ethics of Christians and non-Christians — we have cause for alarm. If there is no difference, then large numbers of God’s children have succumbed to the extremes of laziness and overwork which characterize today’s workforce.
It also means that vast numbers of Christian lives are spiritually dysfunctional, for it is impossible to dedicate over half of one’s waking hours (some 80- to 100,000 hours in an average lifetime) to a sub-Biblical work ethic and not suffer immense spiritual trauma.
We must not only look at our vocation as a divine calling but also as a chance to bring the good news to a world that desperately needs Jesus. Our excellence backs up our message of Jesus in our life.
Men, if you sense you are deficient, you need to do three things. First, take an honest assessment of your life, using the Scriptures as a standard as you answer the questions:
•Do I do my work for the glory of God?
•Do I honestly work hard for the glory of God or my glory
•Do I work with enthusiasm?
•Do I work wholeheartedly?
•Do I do excellent work?
Second, after honest evaluation confess your sins. And, thirdly, commit your work life to the glory of God alone. Will you do this now?
Footnote: I have to personally confess that I was not using all of this perspective as my lens through which I looked at my work. I not only had time with God on this but I had a talk with my boss and told him I had been stealing time, showing up a little late, and leaving a little early. It was a good discussion and afterward, I have a renewed attitude toward my work.
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