Work isn’t typically an appealing word for most of us. More often it’s something to avoid. We see it as the opposite of play and leisure. And play and leisure are usually the goals. Vacations are an oasis in the dry desert of work and retirement is the light at the end of the dark tunnel.
things can get stressful and failure gets real scary.
Early on most of us find that schoolwork is a drag. The object is to get it over and done as quick as possible. Eventually we go out and look for work to put food on the table and pay the bills. For many of us it’s a daily grind, a killjoy or a heavy burden. For some we see our work as something that defines us. Whether it’s raising our kids, doing tax returns, fixing cars or managing corporations it can all get intertwined with our sense of purpose and value in life. And so things can get stressful and failure gets real scary. Work can become an addiction, an obsession, a compulsion that is never quite satisfied or finished.
Work can represent a lot of things in our culture. But as Christians, life is radically different for us. Being reconciled to God and united with Jesus changes how we approach every part of life. Let’s see how it might affect how we approach work.
Here are 7 parts of Scripture that we can relate to work:
O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
Psalm 104:24
1. God works
Work is not something God has dumped on us. He works. The Triune God– Father, Son and Holy Spirit– works. It is part of who he is. And as image-bearers of God work is a part of every human life. So, as Christians and children of God it makes sense that we would work alongside our Father.
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.” Jeremiah 29:5
2. God told his people to work
Lots of times through history God has told his people to work. Here in Jeremiah 29 he is speaking to the people of Israel after they’ve been conquered and taken into exile in the city of Babylon. He tells them to build houses and plant gardens. As Christians we’re also exiles. We’re citizens of heaven, here in this world which is not our home. But being exiles in a strange land does not mean we shouldn’t work for its good. Quite the contrary.
And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”
Luke 12:22-24
3. Work is not about survival
Jesus makes it clear to his disciples and to us that we should not be anxious about food or clothing. He tells us that God will provide those things for us. So, work isn’t fundamentally about putting food on the table or clothing on your child’s back. In case you hadn’t heard, God, your Father, is really, really rich (Ps 24:1, Phil 4:19). And he knows what we need before we even need it. He provides even for the birds. We may be called to work, but not out of anxiety or worry or fear.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4
4. Work is not about “getting ahead”
Things can get a bit foggy when we’re pursing a career. Control and power so often seep into our goals. Competitiveness and ambition can become virtues. Climbing the ladder, exploiting weaknesses and beating the competition easily become the focus. Trusting others can be hard as we tenaciously defend what we’ve got, while trying to get more.
But Christians can live different. We don’t have to worry about ourselves anymore. And so we have the unique opportunity to use our time and energies differently. We’re called to work, but not from selfish ambition or conceit. Work for the Christian is not about gaining control or power over others. Again quite the contrary. In our work we’re called to have humility and look to other’s interests first. Our work is to be a gift for the world around us.
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, Colossians 3:23
5. Our work is for the Lord
Our work may feel like it’s for our boss, or our customer or client, or for our children, or for our spouse, or for our community but whatever we’re called to do we’re called to do it “as for the Lord.” We’re his children. He’s placed us here in this world. He’s called us to the work he’s given us for his purposes. So we work heartily, knowing we do it first and foremost before God.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
6. Work apart from Jesus accomplishes nothing
We are not vines. We are branches. Branches don’t do anything on their own. So, we don’t work to bear fruit on our own. God doesn’t need anything from us and apart from him all we can produce is called “nothing.” That’s why the Gospel is good news and not depressing news, because we are no longer apart from him. God doesn’t demand us to make fruit. Instead he’s made every Christian a part of the fruit-producing vine. Every Christian has been reconciled to God and united with Jesus. God has made us a branch of Jesus. Now when Jesus, the vine, produces his good fruit it can come out through us, his branches. We’re now living and working and participating in his life and we can bear the fruit of his work.
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13
7. God works in you to work
God works in us. You may be reading this list and thinking, “Oh, no! I don’t know how to think or feel or act like all this! I hate work!” If so, take heart and have faith. God promises just as he has saved us from our sins and freed us from sin and death and the law he will finish the work he’s begun in us (Phil 1:6). He promises that it is he who works in you for his good pleasure. He is working in you to both desire good and to do good. You are not abandoned and you have not been given an impossible task to accomplish on your own. God has saved you and will produce in you everything he desires for you. Have faith in him– his love and power and plan for you– and celebrate as his work manifests in your life.
his plan and work for your life and the life of the world is unstoppable and glorious
God works. He’s made us and calls us and empowers us to work too. Not because we’ll starve or freeze or perish if we don’t. Not because we can get ahead of others if we do. But because work is a part of who we are as his sons and daughters. It is us participating in his life and plan and purpose for all creation. Through it we can help others. We can bless the world. And through it we can heartily glorify the Lord.
So, let’s invite God’s Spirit living inside us to open the eyes of our heart to see what he is working in us and around us every second of every day as we drive our commute, type reports or wash dishes. And know this: that his plan and work for your life and the life of the world is unstoppable and glorious.
