I was recently reminded of the sometimes-misunderstood ideas about the relationship between work and our God. In far too many circles (and minds), our vocation, or how we apply ourselves in the workplace. is the carnal side of our lives, while our involvement in the church, small groups, mission work, and other areas of service in the community are the spiritual side of our lives. I submit to you there need not be this dichotomy in our lives, because the entirety of our life is a kingdom one if we are indeed committed to and serving the Lord Jesus. We must cease to disregard work as a necessary evil, solely viewing it as a means to make a living. It is ultimately an avenue God uses to provide for us and our families, but in the grand scheme of life, we must view work as much more than that.
A significant and often overlooked way that we serve God is in our everyday tasks. Martin Luther understood this when he wrote, “The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays — not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps but because God loves clean floors. The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”
In Paul’s second letter to the church at Thessalonica, he addressed this matter. Admonishment (maybe even instruction) is given to “keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness.” The apostle points out that his company of travelers and ministers had not been idle, but how they worked night and day so they would not be a burden to the local church.
Therefore, they, as apostles, could issue a command – yes, that is what he called it – that “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” Work is vitally important to the life of the Christ follower and an essential part of bringing the kingdom of God to where we live in the earth. He further addresses the matter when he writes,
“For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.
Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.”
Work can be defined as “management or the state of labor and exertion of strength and skill to produce a desired effect.” Moses said, in Deuteronomy 8, to remember that it is the Lord God who gives us the ability to produce wealth. One of the ways we receive provision for ourselves and our families is we apply ourselves in the marketplace, exercising the God-given ability to produce wealth. What is producing wealth? Wealth to one person might be poverty to another. There is no number one might use to define wealth. Therefore, to produce wealth is to produce more than we have and are currently producing. It is through cooperating with God that we find the wherewithal to apply ourselves to our given vocation and make something out of nothing or little.
It is clear from the Scriptures that work and wealth are part of God’s plan for us. When we increase our resources, it is confirmation of proper management on our part. When we apply ourselves to our inherent ability to produce, it is an indicator that we understand God’s role and our role in our provision. And when we apply ourselves to this kingdom part of our lives, we are demonstrating a diligent effort, of which God is pleased.
Remember the parable of the talents, recorded in Matthew 25 and Luke 19. To one servant the master gave five talents, which would have most likely been a large sum of silver. To another, he gave two and to another he gave one. They were all expected to cause increase with the investment placed with them by their master. The one who was given five took them to the marketplace and traded to gain five more. The servant who had received two talents did similar and was able to turn his two talents into four. Of course, the one who had been given one went and buried his because he was afraid of not producing, so he did nothing at all. Watch these words.
“Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.”
He knew his master expected him to be productive with what he had been given, and out of fear went and hid what had been given. He thought it was good that the master received back what he had given the servant, but by the servants own admission, the one talent was intended to be invested so that it would produce more than the sum of itself. God gives us the ability to produce wealth through the work that He has provided for us. Thus, what Brother Charles Simpson described as the theology of work.
“The biblical work ethic is God & man laboring together to cause creation to prosper, thus returning abundance to God & man.”
We are the vice-regents with the Creator, and having been made joint heirs with Jesus, we serve alongside Him in that capacity. I hope you can see that your work, regardless of the nature or industry of it, is more than just a way to make a living, but the way to live a life in God.
I would like to make four observations regarding work that I pray will help us to view the expending or our energies as co-laboring with God in the increase of what was into what is. These observations most likely came from listening to or reading Brother Charles, but I don’t have a notation attributing them to him in my file.
First of all, work is not a curse. This is often misunderstood because God placed a curse on Adam after he sinned in the Garden of Eden. But we must read carefully and see that the curse was not on work. Work was being done before the fall and productivity was highly functional by the first couple. They were to tend and cultivate the Garden before they disobeyed God and introduced sin into their world and ours.
Rather, the curse God placed on Adam was the thorns and growth that made it more challenging to work the ground and produce fruit. He would continue to work and be productive just like he had all along, but now, because of sin, a new wrinkle was introduced into the equation “…In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you…” If work is a curse, then God spent 6 days laboring under a curse to create the heavens and the earth. This was not God’s first day nor his last day of work. Work is not a curse.
Secondly, power and position does not diminish our responsibility to produce. Jesus said in John 5:17 –
“My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”
So, work is not relegated to the lower class or less deserving. God proves that laziness is not a wise choice even if one has all the power. It is not the laborers who do all the work and the elite who just sit by and watch. Remember, this is not solely about making money, but it is about cooperating with the Maker of the universe in seeing the growth and expansion of God’s creation.
We are created in God’s image and therefore we were created to enjoy creative and productive labor. Work is the result of God’s purpose, not a curse or punishment for a life that has gone awry. Someone has defined productive labor as “any expenditure of energy that goes into providing a service or product that is useful to society.” This covers the entire gamut of possibilities when we consider the value of our work. For some, it is the putting our hand to something physical and either rearranging it, or seeing it becoming something other than what it had been. You take a tree and turn it into a guitar. You take a guitar and creatively craft a song, and so forth. When we understand our role to rule and subdue the earth, we see our labor as one vehicle to fulfill our mission on earth.
Finally, it is a sense of vision and purpose that causes us to work effectively. If you believe you work solely to make some money and you are pining away for the day that you don’t have to work anymore, your effectiveness will be stunted and maybe become fruitless. Someone has said (I know not who) that “Vision without task is a fantasy. Task without vision is drudgery.But vision with task can change the world. People who lose their sense of purpose or vision will eventually lose their motivation to work, their resources, and their identity. This is far from God’s purpose for man for we are created in His image to manage His creation.
Seven encouragements regarding work would go like this.
- We must see God as the fountainhead of our vocation. Apart from God, we make no sense and our work makes no sense.
- We should see ourselves as members of the corporation that runs the whole of creation under God Himself. We are part of His management team. He created mankind to rule over the works of His hands.
- We should see ourselves as working with God. We can work for Him, but it’s even more wonderful to work with Him. This requires reliance and dependance upon the Holy Spirit of God for strength, power, direction, wisdom, or whatever it is we need.
- We should see ourselves as important to, and productive in, God’s purposes. Whatever our vocation is, it is important to God, our family, our church, and society.
- We must believe that it is God’s will for us to enjoy the rewards of our labor. Prosperity is not sinful, and the successful person should enjoy the fruit of his labor. Upon being successful, we should give Him the tithe, take care of our family, save some seed for future sowing, and enjoy some of the fruit of our labors.
- We should see ourselves as givers to the needy. Ephesians 4:28 – He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. Labor should result in our having something to give the needy. This is a major purpose for work and prosperity.
- We should see ourselves as being prepared for an even greater opportunity. Luke 16: 10-12 gives us three important principles associated with work: faithful in a little, given much; faithful in money, given spiritual riches; and faithful in another’s, given our own.
The Bible communicates a message with power that changes the way people live and societies operate. Included in that message is the calling for us not only to work for God, but to work with God. One of the most kingdom initiatives we can embark on is to apply ourselves to that area of work the Lord has called and gifted us, seeing our efforts as co-creating on behalf of God. When Adam was naming the animals, he was doing just that – God was letting him be a co-creator with Him, even though God could have done it all Himself. In Jesus, we inherit that mission and responsibility to see God’s creation be increased and fruitful. Now, get to work!☺️
