Video montage intro
We’re continuing our series focused on Integrating Spirituality into Everyday Life… a journey
into discovering the spiritual significance of the various aspects and activities that we are involved
with throughout our daily lives. Last week… Living Spaces… where we tend to begin and end
our day. Today… WORKPLACE – where many of us spend most of our day.
This may involve very different contexts for each of us… from retail to real estate to
recreation, mechanical to medical, service to sales, entertainment to education, … house
building to homemaking… as well as home businesses.
> For those unemployed… it can be a part of one’s pursuit and future; for those retired, it’s a
major part of one’s life experience and investment.
Work, whether in its presence or absence, is a pervasive part of everyday life…usually the
focus of 40 to 50% of our waking hours… more hours than any other one activity in our
lives.
It’s not only central in terms of our time but also in terms of how we view ourselves…and
feel about ourselves.
• One of the first things we want to know about people is what they do.
• A person’s passing is often noted in terms of their workplace achievements.
> Work and worth, industry and identity, are very closely related in contemporary culture.
This leads to the dilemma of work
There are two forces at work regarding our work… neither of which we stop to think about or
confront…
Two ways we often relate to work:
We experience our work as DEFINING… and it’s given a dominating role…
and consumes spiritual life.
We experience our work as DEGRADING… and it’s given a negative
role…that conflicts with spiritual life.
The first force is one in which work dominates our identity… it sees work as offering itself as
the validating source of life…our means to accomplish something of meaning… and as such…
it can become CONSUMING and CONTROLLING of our spiritual life. The natural corollary is
to experience work as degrading and tends to negate work… we see work as merely a
necessary evil… something that CONFLICTS with spiritual life.
Like everything else in life… God wants to redeem our relationship to our work.
Let’s quickly consider a spiritual perspective… and then some of the spiritual potential.
I. Restoring Spiritual Perspective of our Work
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"The Bible begins with the announcement, ’In the beginning God created . . . ’ - not ’sat
majestic in the heavens’. He created. He did something. He made something. He fashioned
heaven and earth. The week of creation was a week of work."
> In the Beginning . . . was work.
In Genesis 2. We find man in the Garden of Eden, man in paradise. And in
Genesis 2:15, we read this, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden
to work it and take care of it.”
What we discover is that work is not the result of the Fall, that man in paradise wasn’t living in a
state of glorious inactivity. Paradise was not a perpetual vacation. Work was created before the
Fall. It was a gift.
There is no basis for a dividing of spiritual and secular. God’s commission to Adam and Eve to
be stewards of his creation is not a second-rate call. I doubt that Adam thought "Oh, bummer - I
really want a more significant role, God. I wanted to be a priest, not a farmer! I mean, isn’t there a
more spiritual task I could do?"
And because work was created by God, being a worker is part of our created design. Just think,
God himself is a worker.
Jesus says in
John 5:17, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”
Part of our bearing the image of God is our ability to work. And that is why unemployment,
or underemployment is so painful. There is something fundamental to our created design as
human beings that we get the opportunity to work.
And do you know that work is such a fundamental part of this universe that you don’t get
done working even in the new heavens and the new earth? I don’t know what your view of
eternity is. For many people, it is an endless choir where all we do is sing all day. And for those
of us who don’t have particularly good voices, if singing was all we did in heaven, we could turn it
into hell.
> Far from being a bad thing… work is inherently good and dignifying part of life…… God
begins with work… shares it with us.
So how has work become defining and degrading?
What is often referred to as “The Fall”… where the very next chapter in Genesis describes
choosing to act autonomously… brings consequences… ground of labor will be hard… all of
nature is corrupted…and our own nature is corrupted… as well as those we work with.
The consequences are that apart from God… it becomes defining and degrading.
> When we no longer work in relationship to God… we become reduced to
what we do… and it begins to define us and degrade… all at once.
Work is redeemed through restoring relationship with God…
Ephes. 6:7-8
“Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that
the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”
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The key to restoring the gift of work: Change your boss.
Do you want to feel better about your work? Change your boss. Stop working for your boss
and start working for the Lord.
In these words of Paul lies the central key to overcoming the two forces that hinder our
relationship to work. Far from being told to negate work… we are called to serve
‘wholeheartedly’… with commitment …. Yet we are liberated from the ruling and defining role of
those we work for… because we ‘work for the Lord.’
• It’s not a case of blowing off the practical authority or accountability we are responsible to in
our work … but it’s becoming free from their ultimate power to define and degrade us.
• Jesus has come to restore the profound and liberating reality that all we are is God’s.
• God has given us work… but he never defines us by our work… but rather as those made
in his image. We are image bearers of God… to use the familial term… ‘sons and
daughters’… not merely servants.
In this we are able to recognize that : Work is not in CONFLICT with spiritual life,
nor does it need to CONSUME our spiritual life… but rather work is a CONTEXT
for spiritual life.
The way that work is redeemed is that your purpose in work as a Christian changes. You
are no longer working for just a paycheck or to put food on the table. You are no longer
working to gain a sense of your own personal fulfillment or inner satisfaction.
> The key is to change our view of work as neither defining nor degrading… but
rather a means of developing.
II. Restoring the Spiritual Potential in our Work
Romans 8:29 (LB) "From the very beginning God decided that those who came to him should
become like His Son."
God’s goal for my life is that I will develop the character of Jesus Christ.
Col. 3:17
“…whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus”
In the Bible a name indicated the essential character of a person. Paul has shown that Jesus is lord
of all as the Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, Reconciler and the One in whom the fullness of Deity
dwells. So if we do or say something in Jesus’ name, it must be consistent with Jesus’
character and will. As his representatives, we act or speak as he would if he were bodily present.
God’s goal for my life is that I will develop the character of Jesus Christ. What He wants to
do in your life is for you to develop the character of Jesus Christ. (Let’s say that together: "God
wants me to develop what? The character of Jesus Christ.")
Now, how does my job fit into that? How does my job make me like Christ? How can I become
Christ-like through my career? How can I become like Jesus on my job?
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Romans 5:3-4 (LB) - "We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials for we know they
are good for us--they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of
character..."
God uses the pressures, problems, and people of our workplace to develop us.
This can be a very liberating perspective…
• It means that work is more than a paycheck. God may use our work to help meet our
practical needs … but it’s not limited to the compensation.
• It also means that that work is more than personal fulfillment and fit. In our modern western
culture we have developed the notion that we should expect our jobs to always fit our personal
preferences. That’s a fine ideal… but it can be a very false reality… and expectation. Certainly
if we have the choice… we should choose jobs that fit us well… but trying to find complete fit
and fulfillment in our jobs will always leave us disappointed.
God’s much more interested in your character than He is in your comfort.
My workplace can be an opportunity to grow in…
1. Commitment and responsibility through positive contribution with balance
and boundaries.
Ephesians 4:28
“
He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with
his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.”
RW - Now in our society there is a very great decline of personal responsibility. Everybody
today talks about "my rights." Nobody wants to talk about my responsibilities.
It’s "blame everybody else, pass the buck, it’s not my fault, it’s all your fault."
The court systems are clogged because nobody wants to accept personal responsibility for
anything. Blame everybody else.
Most psychiatrists will tell you that personal responsibility is the key to mental health--it’s a
starting point. Accepting responsibility for your own actions and behavior is the key to mental
health. I want to add, it is the key to spiritual growth. And personal responsibility is not only
the key to spiritual growth, it is the key to career success. We grow by being given responsibility.
It stretches us. Any time your boss gives you responsibility, any time a parent gives responsibility
to a child, we grow through it.
Howard Hendricks said, "If I had to do it over, I’d do less for my kids and make them do more for
themselves."
> When you take responsibility for a person you take it from that person. God wants you to
learn personal responsibility. It’s one of the characteristics of Christ and you learn it through your
work. How? Well there are many, many ways.
Let me just give you SIX WAYS you can develop personal responsibility through your work:
By keeping promises.
Psalms 15:4, "God blesses the one who always does what he promises, no matter
how much it may cost."
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Another way is
By meeting deadlines.
Proverbs 18:9 says "The one who is slack in his work is a brother of the one who
destroys."
What He is saying there, that if I’m lazy, I’m sabotaging the work of my boss. In the
workplace… laziness is not just a personal matter… it is destructive to the shared need. When I
waste time that I’m being paid for, I’m causing harm to others. By meeting demands, by getting
things in on time, I’m developing responsibility.
Third area,
By working without supervision.
Ephesians 6:6-7"Don’t work hard only when your master is watching...work hard all
the time, as though you were working for Christ."
JOB SEEKERS OFFER POTENTIAL EMPLOYER TO VISIT HIS CURRENT JOB ANYTIME
Years ago, when 20th Century Fox advertised in the New York papers to fill a vacancy in its
sales force, one applicant replied:
"I am at present selling furniture at the address below. You may judge my ability as a
saleman if you will stop in to see me at anytime, pretending that you are interested in buying
furniture. When you come in, you can identify me by my red hair. And I will have no way of
identifying you. Such salesmanship as I exhibit during your visit, therefore, will be no more than
my usual workday approach and not a special effort to impress a prospective employer." From
among more than 1500 applicants, this guy got the job.
Do we tend to work differently when the boss is out?
> The real boss is never out. He’s never out. How do you work when you are not supervised? Do
you slack off? God says that a mark of responsibility when you serve in spite of whether you are
being supervised or managed or not.
By managing money faithfully.
Luke 16:11-12, "If you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you
with the true riches of Heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s
money, why should you be entrusted with money of your own?"
That’s interesting, did you know that the Bible says that the greatest way that God tests your
responsibility, the greatest way he tests your faithfulness is through money. It’s through money.
In fact, it says here that if you are not faithful, if you are not responsible with worldly wealth, God
will not trust you with the true riches of Heaven. What does that mean? It means that God looks
at my finances--my giving, my saving, my spending--to determine whether He can bless my life
and to what degree He can bless it. Why is that? Why does God use money as the acid test of
responsibility? Because we spend most of our life trying to get it, trying to make it, trying to
spend it, trying to save it.
How would you rate yourself in responsibility regarding your finances? Does your work, or do
your finances show that God can trust you?
By caring about the work
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Col. 3:23 - “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the
Lord, not for men..”
The words "with all your heart" (ek psuchēs) means out of the soul. The Christian workman’s
labor is to arise out of his soul, from the innermost part of his being. He is not working for the men
of this earth, but for the Lord. He is working for the deepest reason possible, for a reason that
arises out of his very soul
Martin Luther King, Jr. (speaking to students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on
October 26, 1967, six months before his assassination.)
“If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted
pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like
Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth
will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.”
Finally,
By maintaining boundaries and balance with personal and family life.
There can be a tendency to think responsibility always means more… so that we naturally become
workaholics. But God never raises such an idea. There was another mandate… rest… and
another… relationships.
Those who free from the constant need of affirmation from their bosses and colleagues… are free
to maintain healthy balance… be less driven…. And the result is that they live as a prophetic
presence in their workplace.
2. Personal Trust through maintaining dignity and directness in conflict.
Employers, companies pay premium dollar for people with people skills.
Rockefeller said, "I’ll pay more for somebody who knows how to get along with
others than any other skill."
In particular… one of the greatest challenges in may workplaces.. is how we manage conflict…
and criticism among colleagues. Do we join in the negative influence? Do we join the water cooler
talk?
Romans 12:16-18
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people
of low position. Do not be conceited.
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Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
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If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
3. Spiritual influence through caring, praying, Spirit led insights, and sharing
God’s heart.
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It can be natural for some to question working in settings that feel spiritually dark… perhaps the
attitudes seem adversarial to faith… or glorify very unglorifying behavior. But we may need to
ask… where is light intended to serve? Where should light be placed?
The truth is that many of us doubt we are be a good light at work. It is hard. But I would suggest
that we focus less on escaping the darkness… and more on becoming a light.
This takes sensitivity….
Col. 4:5-6 (NLT)
“Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity.
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Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for
everyone.”
Al Braca worked as a corporate bond trader. His office was on the 105th floor of Tower One in the
World Trade Center. A week after the tower was hit and collapsed, Al’s body was found in the
rubble.
According to his wife, Jeannie, Al hated his job; he couldn’t stand the environment. It was a world
completely out of sync with his Christian values.
But he wouldn’t quit. He was convinced that God wanted him to stay there, to be a light in the
darkness.…
The Bracas learned that Al had indeed been ministering to people during the attack. Reports
trickled in from friends and acquaintances. Some people on the 105th floor had made a last call or
sent e-mails to a loved one saying that "a man" was leading people in prayer. A few referred to Al
by name. When Al realized that they were trapped in the building and would not be able to escape,
he shared the gospel with a group of 50 co-workers and led them in prayer.
Adapted from Focus On the Family (September 2002); submitted by Gary Smith, Fort Myers, Florida
Made the most of the opportunity.
Many of us have opportunities… not so dramatic… but significant.
{Closing VIDEO of members}
Conclusion
Illustration: Harry Truman accounted for his success in politics by saying, “I come from good
stock, and I’ve got a lot to live up to.”
> If we have asked Christ to become the leader of our lives, we too come from the good stock of a
household of faith, and as employees and employers we have a lot to live up to.
Potential ideas & illustrations -
JOB SEEKERS OFFER POTENTIAL EMPLOYER TO VISIT HIS CURRENT JOB ANYTIME
Years ago, when 20th Century Fox advertised in the New York papers to fill a vacancy in its
sales force, one applicant replied:
"I am at present selling furniture at the address below. You may judge my ability as a
saleman if you will stop in to see me at anytime, pretending that you are interested in buying
furniture. When you come in, you can identify me by my red hair. And I will have no way of
identifying you. Such salesmanship as I exhibit during your visit, therefore, will be no more than
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my usual workday approach and not a special effort to impress a prospective employer." From
among more than 1500 applicants, this guy got the job.+
MENIAL WORKER SEES GOD IN HER WORK
Monotony can be the breeding ground for envy and discontent, or it can be the training ground for
the development of character and a life of service. It all depends on whether we can see God in
the ordinary duties of life. Pastor George Gardiner recalls reading in a Boston newspaper about a
cleaning lady who for 40 years did the same humdrum tasks in the same office building. She
was interviewed one day by a reporter who asked her how she could stand the monotony and
boredom of doing the same thing day in and day out. The woman gave this reply: "Oh, I don’t
get bored. I use cleaning materials that God made; I clean objects that belong to people God
made, and I make life more comfortable for them. My mop is the hand of God!"+
LIGHTS IN THE DARKNESS
Once there was a woman who felt very much alone at her place of employment because she was
the only Christian. To make matters worse, she was often ridiculed for her faith and accused of
being narrow-minded. Finally she became so discouraged that she considered quitting her job.
Before doing that, however, she sought the counsel of her pastor. After listening to her
complaints, the minister asked, "Where do people usually put lights?" "In dark places," she
replied. No sooner had the words escaped her lips than she realized how her answer applied to her
own life. She quickly recognized that her place of work was indeed a "dark place" where "light"
was vitally needed, so she decided to stay where she was and become a stronger influence for
Christ. It wasn’t long before a number of her fellow employees--13 of them, in fact--came to
know Christ as their Savior.+
SUCCESSFUL IN BUSINESS AND FAITH
"If Christianity is the truth, then embracing God in life and throughout business will yield similar
results." --Norman Miller
Those who, like the media, think that religion and capitalism don’t mix, should think again.
United States Treasury Secretary William Simon, a dedicated Catholic and multimillionaire
businessman, notes that "pushers and shovers and connivers aren’t the leaders in business."
Historically, many people of faith like J. C. Penney have been enterprising business leaders, and
65% of the leaders of our country’s top 100 businesses regularly attend church or synagogue. Also,
43% of today’s small businessmen are evangelicals or born-again Christians.
- Daniel Lapin is a rabbi and president of the Cascadia Business Institute. He believes in
the interrelatedness of godliness and money and in capitalism’s total dependence on the Judeo-
Christian tradition. "No capital market has ever grown indigenously outside of Christendom,"
Lapin says. "It’s not a coincidence that atheistic regimes have proven incapable of running viable
economics."
- Herman Cain has built Godfather’s Pizza into a $50 million corporation, a success he
owes to his religious convictions and the desire to live out his spiritual values boldly and
efficiently-- believing that much is expected from whom much is given.
- Thomas Monaghan borrowed $500 in 1960 to buy a pizza shop that evolved into today’s
5,335 Domino’s restaurants. Raised in a Catholic orphanage and staunchly prolife, he believes the
Bible is the "road map to business success."
- Truett Cathy doesn’t work on Sunday--and neither do his employees. The Southern
Baptist owner of privately owned Chick-Fil-A, the third- largest chicken chain, believes that an
observance of the Bible’s teaching of humility and the manner in which people should treat each
other have resulted in his success.
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- William Pollard chairs ServiceMaster, a top provider of cleaning workers whose
company motto is "To honor God in all we do." Pollard believes that business and religion do
mix, "and scores of corporate leaders say amen to that."
"Spirited enterprise" by Evan Gahr. American Enterprise, Jul/Aug 1997 (Vol 8, No 4). Pages 53-
56. Topic: CAPITALISM. See also 10130+
The only motivation that works is spiritual
According to USA Today, firms are spending billions of dollars to fire up workers—with little
results. The article states:
There has been exhaustive academic research trying to find out what motivates workers, and
it has turned up almost no evidence that motivational spending makes any difference.
Poll-taker Gallup analyzed its massive database and determined in March that 55 percent of
employees have no enthusiasm for their work—Gallup uses the term "not engaged"—based
on several criteria, including loyalty and the desire to improve job performance. One in five
(19 percent) are so uninterested or negative about their jobs that they poison the workplace
to the point that companies might be better off if they called in sick.
Further into the article, Spencer Johnson, author of Who Moved My Cheese? states he
"believes research may one day show that the only long-lasting motivation will come from
employees who bring it to work in the form of God, spirituality, or something else that causes
them to ’rise to a higher purpose.’"
USA Today (5-10-01); submitted by Van Morris, Mount Washington, Kentucky
Change ourselves….
How do you redeem your work? Your purpose at work changes. And you change. So
much of what’s wrong with work is inside of us. I want to finish by reading to you from
Colossians 3. Just listen to these verses and we are going to apply them to the workplace.
Paul writes this: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves
with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
What if you were not clothed with a sense of entitlement, over-sensitivity to every perceived
slight by your boss or coworkers? What if you repented of your complaining spirit and,
instead, you went to work full of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience?
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against each other.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
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What if you actually forgave every person at your job for everything they have done against
you? What if you held no grudges? What if you were forbearing? What if you forgave as the
Lord forgave you?
And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let
the peace of God rule in your hearts…
What if you went to work full of the peace of Jesus Christ? What if you were a peacemaker
and you had a peaceful disposition? And be thankful. What if you were actually grateful and
got down on your knees to God and said, “Thank you for my job. Thank God it’s Monday and
I get to carry Jesus Christ into my workplace.”?
MOM’S IMPRESSIVE JOB DESCRIPTION
Author and preacher Tony Campolo said that when his wife, Peggy, was at home full-time
with their children and someone would ask, "And what is it that you do, my dear?" she would
respond, "I am socializing two Homo sapiens into the dominant values of the Judeo-Christian
tradition in order that they might be instruments for the transformation of the social order
into the kind of eschatological utopia that God willed from the beginning of creation."
Then Peggy would ask the other person, "And what do you do?"
-Citation: John Ortberg and Ruth Haley, An Ordinary Day with Jesus (Zondervan, 2001), p.
122; - Proverbs 29:15; Proverbs 31:10-31; 1 Timothy 5:10+
SMALL GROUP QUESTION IDEAS
Level One
1. How would you summarize your relationship to work?
Note: The weekend message referred to the dilemma of work as two fold. This could be summed
up as such:
General view… Degrading Defining
Negating -
Conflicts with
spiritual life
Dominating -
Consumes
spiritual life.
See work as a
source of… Necessity Identity
Relate to
colleagues… Toleration /
Indifference Tied to /
Indentured to
Level Two
Read and consider Colossians 3:22 – 4:1
2. When and how are slaves to obey their masters (Col.
3:22-25)?
3. With what motives?
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4. What would it demand of a master to “provide your slaves with what is right and fair” (Col.
4:1)?
Note: Regarding questions above: Paul had said there is neither “slave or free, but Christ is all, and
is in all” (Col. 3:11). Yet the Christian slave and master still lived in a society where inequalities
continued. “It must have been bewildering at times for both sides, and threatening too, not only for
those within the little Christian communities, but also for those who anxiously looked on, deeply
disturbed at what seemed likely to overthrow the stability of their social order” (R. C. Lucas, The
Message of Colossians & Philemon [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1980], p. 166). Paul
instructs slaves and masters to look at their positions and accountability in new ways.
The amount of space Paul devotes to relationships between slaves and masters may be due to
the fact that Onesimus, Philemon’s runaway slave, was returning to Colossae with the letters of
Colossians and Philemon. Paul hoped that his words would help these two brothers in Christ to be
reconciled.
5. How should knowing “that you also have a Master in heaven” affect a master’s attitude toward
himself and his slaves (Col. 3:25-4:1)?
Level Three
6. How would obeying these instructions change how you do your job as employee or employer
(Col. 3:22-4:1)? If not currently in an employment context, try to apply the same principles to
either employment you may seek in future… or to work you do which may be unpaid. Make
specific applications to your office, factory, classroom or profession.
Series: INTEGRATE: Spirituality in Everyday Life
October 8, 2006 – Brad Bailey
Integrating Spirituality in Our Workplace
Video montage intro (?)
We’re continuing our series focused on Integrating Spirituality into Everyday Life… a journey
into discovering the spiritual significance of the various aspects and activities that we are involved
with throughout our daily lives. Last week… Living Spaces… where we tend to begin and end
our day. Today… WORKPLACE – where many of us spend most of our day.
This may involve very different contexts for each of us… from retail to real estate to recreation,
mechanical to medical, service to sales, entertainment to education, … house building to
homemaking… as well as home businesses.
> For those unemployed… it can be a part of one’s pursuit and future; for those retired, it’s a
major part of one’s life experience and investment.
For all of us… it will likely be the focus of more hours than any other one activity in our lives.
…. About 50% of our waking hours by my estimates.
Work, whether in its presence or absence, is a pervasive part of everyday life.
One of the first things we want to know about people is what they do. The waking time of most
adults is taken up with work, and a person’s passing is often noted in terms of their
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workplace achievements. Work and worth, industry and identity, are very closely related in
contemporary culture.
This leads to the dilemma of work
There are two competing forces at work regarding our work… neither of which we stop to think
about or confront… one is a negative perspective… we see work as a necessary evil… something
that CONFLICTS with spiritual life. At the same time, work can offer itself as the validating
source of life…our means to accomplish something of meaning… and as such… it can become
CONSUMING and CONTROLLING of our spiritual life.
General view… Degrading Developing Defining
Negating -
Conflicts with
spiritual life
Integrating -
Context for
spiritual life
Dominating -
Consumes
spiritual life.
See work as a
source of… Necessity Maturity Identity
Relate to
colleagues… Toleration /
indifference Transformation /
influence Tied to /
Indentured to
For many people, Monday mornings are a thousand years separated from Sunday mornings.
Many of us may desire the connection… but it’s so set that it’s become an internal pattern of
simply shifting our identity as a Christ-centered life… from the forefront of our consciousness /
identity… to the back. As we begin to get ready for our day, we may be somewhat aware of Christ
… but then he stops at the curb and waves goodbye… or is with us on the drive… but then stays in
the car until we get back in at the end of the day.
RW - 40% of your time, you will spend working during your lifetime, and if you don’t learn how
to integrate work into your spiritual life, 40% of your life is wasted in the area of personal
development and growth. God wants you to integrate your work into your life.
Now, what is God’s goal for your development? Well, Romans 8:29, "From the very beginning
God decided that those who came to him should what? Would you read it with me? should
become like His Son." "Become like His Son, Jesus Christ." Ephesians 4:13 says "Real
maturity is that measure of development which is meant by `the fullness of Christ.’" Now get
this: God’s goal for my life is that I will develop the character of Jesus Christ. Let me say it
again, God’s goal for your life, what He wants to do in your life is for you to develop the character
of Jesus Christ.
But the truth is that our work may be a bigger window than any other into our spiritual lives.
Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski, the great mentor of Pope John Paul II, once wrote:
What external work does for our interior life is shown in the fact that this work
by the sweat of our brow lays bare the image of our soul and unveils its real
expression...A perfect method of examining our conscience can be to
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scrutinize the manner in which we do our duty at work. - All You Who Labor,
pg. 113
While I want to offer a few of the significant ways in which vital spiritual issues and opportunities
lie within the sphere of life we refer to as work… I believe the most important issue lies in how
we relate to working roles altogether.
I. Restoring the Spiritual Perspective of our Work
From God’s Co-Workers -Wayne Kirkland
Where do we look for a biblical perspective on the issues raised?
In the Beginning . . . was Work
Probably the best place to start is Genesis because, as Eugene Peterson has pointed out,
Genesis 1 is actually a journal of work.
"The Bible begins with the announcement, ’In the beginning God created . . . ’ - not ’sat
majestic in the heavens’. He created. He did something. He made something. He fashioned
heaven and earth. The week of creation was a week of work." 1
Jesus said, “My Father is still working, and I also am working” (John 5:17 NRSV). The
sabbath is a reminder that we live by God’s work, not our own (Genesis 2:3; Matthew 11:28;
Hebrews 4).
Exploring the wide-ranging biblical imagery of divine work can give us a greater sense of
being junior partners in God’s work of creation, preservation and redemption. For example,
God is an architect and a builder (Proverbs 8:27-31), a doctor-healer (Mark 2:12, 17), a
teacher (Matthew 7:28-29), a weaver (Psalm 139:13-16), a gardener/farmer (Genesis 2:8-9;
Genesis 3:8; John 15:1-8), a shepherd (Psalm 23; John 10), a potter/craftworker (Jeremiah
18:1-9; Romans 9:19-21) and a homemaker (Luke 15:8; Banks). By seeing our work in the
light of God’s work, we can see God’s hand in our everyday tasks.
The wise woman of Proverbs 31 is involved in providing food, land and clothing, planting
vines, trading and caring for the poor. Her work was publicly recognized, bringing her praise in
the city gates (Proverbs 31:10-31). This needs to be heard in a world in which women are often
paid less in jobs and work a second shift at home and in which many people receive no
recognition for unpaid work done well.
Furthermore, we see from the rest of Scripture, and from history, that God continues to
work. It is an ongoing activity. Part of God’s work was to create man and woman. They were
made in God’s image - like God. God then gave them a task to do, a responsibility to carry.
They were expected to care for and tend the garden.
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In fact, the mandate God gave Adam and Eve was to share in God’s work. From the
beginning God was prepared to entrust the garden to humans. The intention was for us to
become God’s co-workers.
But the fall dramatically disturbed the relationship between God and humans, and has had a
huge impact on our role as God’s co-workers. The work of humans is intended to be totally
connected to the work of God. By rebelling against God, the fulfilment and purpose of our
work is seriously eroded.
However, we need to be careful that we don’t assume that work has become a bad thing.
Even though work has been affected by the fall, the invitation to work with God still remains.
The Spiritual/Secular Split
What light can the Genesis story shed on the way we see various tasks and jobs? To begin
with, none of the tendencies we have of splitting life into spiritual and secular are in
evidence in the story of God’s creation of work. God’s commission to Adam and Eve to be
stewards of his creation is not a second-rate call. I doubt that Adam thought "Oh, bummer - I
really want a more significant role, God. I wanted to be a priest, not a farmer! I mean, isn’t
there a more spiritual task I could do?"
There is no room for a spiritual/secular split - defining some tasks as more important or
more spiritual than others. In fact, the writer consistently states "And it was (very) good" as
if to emphasise that God’s original intention for his creation was good - it’s only the fall that
has tainted it.
. Rich Nathan –
I want you to see this in Genesis 2. We find man in the Garden of Eden, man in paradise.
And in Genesis 2:15, we read this, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of
Eden to work it and take care of it.” What we discover is that work is not the result of the Fall,
that man in paradise wasn’t living in a state of glorious inactivity. Paradise was not a
perpetual vacation. Work was created before the Fall.
And because work was created by God, being a worker is part of our created design. Just
think, God himself is a worker. Jesus says in John 5:17, “My Father is always at his work to
this very day, and I, too, am working.” Part of our imaging of God is to work. And that is why
unemployment, or underemployment is so painful. There is something fundamental to our
created design as human beings that we get the opportunity to work.
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And do you know that work is such a fundamental part of this universe that you don’t get
done working even in the new heavens and the new earth? I don’t know what your view of
eternity is. For many people, it is an endless choir where all we do is sing all day. And for
those of us who don’t have particularly good voices, if singing was all we did in heaven, we
could turn it into hell.
Isaiah 65 talks about the new heavens and the new earth. Rather than glorious inactivity,
perpetual vacation, Isaiah says that the new heavens and the new earth involve building
houses. “They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the
days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of
their hands. They will not toil in vain…”
There is going to be work to do. See, because we are by design workers, Christians do not
experience the week as TGIF – Thank God it’s Friday. Because we were created to work, the
Christian view of work is TGIM – Thank God it’s Monday. Is that your view of work?
Part of the reason why we don’t say “Thank God it’s Monday” is because we find ourselves so
separated from God very often in our work.
Fall – choosing to act autonomously… brings consequences… ground of labor will be hard… and
our own nature is corrupted… as well as those we work with.
Answer? > Get a new boss…. The Lord.
Ephes. 6:7-8
“Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that
the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”
The two forces are brought into a healthy place… for we are called to serve ‘wholeheartedly’…
with commitment …. Yet we are liberated from the ruling and defining role of those we work
for… because we ‘work for the Lord.’
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It’s not a case of blowing off the practical authority or accountability others may have in
relationship to work… but it’s not personal. Comes with the profound sense that all we are is
God’s.
Who Do You Serve?
While traveling in Ghana, I learned that in the dominant language of Ghana the only way to ask
the question, "What is your religion?" is to ask, "Whom do you serve?" I like that. Regardless of
denominational loyalties and official creeds, your true god is the one you serve.
As Leland Ryken puts it in Work and Leisure, “Calvin’s contention was that a
person’s body...is not his own, but is God’s. Thus, any talents he has in the
performing of his work came not from himself, but from God and should therefore
be used for God’s enhancement and not his own. All should be done to the glory of
God. Work, then, should be discharged in this spirit of glorification, of duty, and of
service to him through service to fellow men.”
II. Restoring the Spiritual Potential in our Work
I want you to ponder today that the primary reason that over two-thirds of all people dislike their
jobs is that they have no sense of mission in their jobs, of divinely given mission. The focus is too
often self in the end material gain.
My workplace can be an opportunity to grow in…
1. Responsibility through accepting my part in both the problems and provisions of life.
Ephesians 4:28 (NIV)
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He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his
own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
RW - Every job has unique pressures. And, did you know that stress can be beneficial to your
spiritual growth? Well, thank God, there’s some value to it! Yeah! God uses pressure and stress
to develop you. Have you ever had a task that you had to complete, that you didn’t feel like
completing, but you did it anyway? You were developing responsibility. Responsibility is when
you do the right thing whether you feel like it or not.
Now in our society there is a very great decline of personal responsibility. Everybody
today talks about "my rights." Nobody wants to talk about my responsibilities. It’s "blame
everybody else, pass the buck, it’s not my fault, it’s all your fault." The court systems are
clogged because nobody wants to accept personal responsibility for anything. Blame
everybody else. Most psychiatrists will tell you that personal responsibility is the key to
mental health--it’s a starting point. Accepting responsibility for your own actions and
behavior is the key to mental health. I want to add, it is the key to spiritual grwth. And
personal responsibility is not only the key to spiritual growth, it is the key to career
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success. We grow by being given responsibility. It stretches us. Any time your boss gives
you responsibility, any time a parent gives responsibility to a child, we grow through it.
Howard Hendricks said, "If I had to do it over, I’d do less for my kids and make them do
more for themselves." When you take responsibility for a person you take it from that
person. God wants you to learn personal responsiblity. It’s one of the characteristics of
Christ and you learn it through your work. How? Well there are many, many ways. Let
me just give you 3 or 4 ways you can develop personal responsibility through your work:
By keeping promises. Psalms 15:4, "God blesses the one who always does
what he promises, no matter how much it may cost."
It seems that today very few people can be counted on to keep their word. God blesses the
people who keep their word. Would you agree that people don’t keep promises today? Look at
the divorce rate. You get a professional athlete out there, he signs a multi-million dollar contract,
he signs the contract, but a couple of years later he gets disgruntled and says, "I’m not going to
play until you re-negotiate." That’s irresponsible. Did you know that airlines deliberately
overbook by 30%. Why? They are expecting 30% no-shows and they don’t even call to cancel.
It’s like the contractor who underbids a job and half way through it realizes he’s going to go short
on it, so he figures out a way to leave the job unfinished. Or the teenager who gets a job at
McDonald’s and stays out at a party on Friday night and on Saturday morning they’re tired so they
just don’t go in. God says, "If you say you’re going to show up, you show up!" One of the marks
of spiritual maturity is you keep your promises. You learn to develop responsibility and you keep
your word.
Another way is By meeting deadlines. Proverbs 18:9 says "The one who
is slack in his work is a brother ot the one who destroys."
What He is saying there, that if I’m lazy, I’m sabotaging the work of my boss. I’m
sabotaging his business. That when I waste time that I’m being paid for, I’m being destructive. By
meeting demands, by getting things in on time, that develops personal responsibility because God
is watching me and He says He wants me to be responsible.
Third area, By working without supervision. "Don’t work hard only
when your master is watching...work hard all the time, as though you
were working for Christ." Ephesians 6:6-7
Now, we’ve talked about this many times. I heard this week about a customer who said to
a clerk, "I want you to do this dishonest transaction, but don’t worry, your boss is out. He’s not
going to know about it." The clerk was a Christian and he said, "My real boss is never out. He’s
never out." How do you work when you are not supervised? Do you slack off? Or do you take
the initiative? God says that a mark of responsibility when you serve in spite of whether you are
being supervised or managed or not. Luke 16:10-11, "The man who is faithful in the little things
will be faithful in the big things too." "If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with
greater responsibilities." God says, "You cheat on the paperclips, you’ll cheat on anything. He’s
saying that you need to be responsible in every area. Now, the Bible has two words for
responsibility: The word faithfulness and the word stewardship. They both mean responsibility.
God says here, "If you’re not faithful in the little things, you won’t be faithful in much. So I test
you in little things." I’ve had people come up to me and say, "Now, pastor, when I get more
money, then I’m going to tithe." God says, "No, you won’t. No, you won’t. If you don’t tithe when
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you make a little, you certainly won’t tithe when you make a lot." If you’re not faithful in little,
you’re not going to be faithful in much."
Now there’s a fourth area that can deveop responsibility. By controlling costs.
Do you know, by the way some people handle their company’s money, you’d think they
work for the government. (Laughter) Or they were the government. You know, it shouldn’t
surprise us folks that Congress can’t balance the national budget, they can’t balance their own
checkbook! Have you been watching the last two or three weeks, all these hot checks in
Congress? They can’t even balance their own checkbooks, much less balance the budget. Now,
look at this verse, Luke 16:11-12, would you read it with me? "If you are untrustworthy about
worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of Heaven? And if you are not faithfful
with other people’s mony, why should you be entrusted with money of your own?" That’s
interesting, did you know that the Bible says that the greatest way that God tests your
responsibility, the greatest way he tests your faithfulness is through money. It’s through money.
In fact, it says here that if you are not faithful, if you are not responsible with worldly wealth, God
will not trust you with the true riches of Heaven. What does that mean? It means that God looks
at my finances--my giving, my saving, my spending--to determine whether He can bless my life
and to what degree He can bless it. Why is that? Why does God use money as the acid test of
responsibility? Because we spend most of our life trying to get it, trying to make it, trying to
spend it, trying to save it. Somebody said the most sensitive nerve in the human body is the one
that goes from the heart to the pocketbook. You know, you can tell a lot about a person’s spiritual
depth very easily and very quickly. Simply start talking about money and listen. Some people get
uptight any time I start talking about money. What does it mean? It means immaturity. It means
spiritual immaturity. Because God uses money in my life and in your life. How I spend it, how I
save it, whether I tithe, what percentage I give, all of these factors. And He says that if I’m not
faithful in handling my money, God won’t trust me with true spiritual blessings. Pretty strong.
Now, how would you rate yourself in responsibility at work? How would you rate yourself in
responsibility regarding your finances? Does your work, or do your finances show that God can
trust you? That’s an area He wants to work on in your life in 1992. Being responsible in your
work and in your finances. So He can bless you more.
2. Commitment through developing excellence with balance and boundaries.
Colossians 3:22-25, New Living Translation
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You slaves must obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the
time, not just when they are watching you. Obey them willingly because of your reverent fear of
the Lord.
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Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord
rather than for people.
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Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are
serving is Christ.
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But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has
no favorites who can get away with evil.
The Christian workman is to work heartily—as to the Lord and not to men. The word "heartily"
(ek psuchēs) means out of the soul. The Christian workman’s labor is to arise out of his soul, from
the innermost part of his being. He is not working for the men of this earth, but for the Lord. He is
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working for the deepest reason possible, for a reason that arises out of his very soul: the Lord
Jesus Christ has told him to work and to work diligently.
3. Personal Trust through maintaining dignity and directness in conflict.
Employers, companies pay premium dollar for people with people skills. Rockefeller said, "I’ll
pay more for somebody who knows how to get along with others than any other skill."
4. Submission through surrendering needs for power and control to God.
5. Spiritual influence through caring, praying, Spirit led insights, and sharing God’s heart.
Proverbs 7:12, New Living Translation
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She is often seen in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner.
Perhaps the most poignant marketplace images are those where a servant of God comes to
the market seeking people. Wisdom, who was with God at creation, calls out to the people in
the public square, telling them where true security is found (Prov 7:12). Jesus encounters
crowds of the desperate sick in the marketplace, and all who touch him are healed (Mk
6:56). He condemns the temple dove sellers: “How dare you turn my Father’s house into a
market!” (John 2:16 NIV). Burdened with the gospel, Paul spends his days in a tentmaker’s
shop, reasoning “in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there” (Acts
17:17 NIV). Amid people seeking to secure material needs, God’s servants assert his constant
promise of provision for those who trust him.
In these marketplace scenes, as with Jesus and the woman at the well, we can imagine
discussions about earthly needs, about security and about the chance to become a child of
God, the Great Provider.
Evangelism in the marketplace was common in the New Testament (Acts 16:16-19; Acts 17:17;
Acts 19:9-10, 23-29).
While we should not be evangelizing on the boss’s time, a truly integrated life and a willingness to
speak in a wise and timely way tailored to the needs of others (Col. 4:5-6) will attract questions
and interest that can be explored during breaks and lunchtime and before or after work.
In the Bible no stigma is attached to being a worker. On the contrary, it is an expected part
of life. Hence we find Paul’s injunction that Christians should “be ready for any honest
work” (Tit 3:1 RSV). The Bible presents no hierarchy of occupation.
Illustration: The 7 Dwarfs from Snow White went to work singing, "Hi ho, Hi ho, it’s off to
work we go." We sing, "I owe, I owe, it’s off to work I go."
“If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures,
sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry.
Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here
lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.”
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Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking to students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967, six
months before his assassination.
Mark Gibbs “I want to suggest that true Christian worship and effective Christian
love will always emphasize our ministry in our occupations come Monday
morning....” (Ministries Outside the Parish, in Ministry Development Journal).
For the Christian, the proper motivation for work is pleasing God. Paul says that our ultimate
responsibility in our occupation is always to God. “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).
Our work will be infused with a sense that we are working for the King. A journalist once
remarked to Mother Teresa of Calcutta, “I wouldn’t do what you do for a million dollars.”
“Neither would I,” she replied, “I do this to serve people and to serve God.”
Rich Nathan –
It’s kind of analogous to the early European settlers, who landed on the East Coast of
America. They set up their little towns and carved out a life along the Eastern Seaboard. But
there were vast tracts of land on this continent that were left unexplored and unconquered.
In the same way, even though Christ has landed in your life and he’s carved out a little toe-
hold in your heart, wouldn’t you admit that there are vast tracts of territory in your life? Maybe
it’s the way you handle your anger and temper, your tendency towards self-pity and
complaining, what comes out of your mouth by way of gossip, your relationship with your
parents, the way you handle money. There are vast tracts that have not yet been conquered
by Christ.
How should the Christian look at his work? If you didn’t just leave Jesus at home in the
morning, or in the church parking lot waving good-bye to you; if Christ was with you in the
workplace; if your work was an area that Christ, indeed, not only explored, but conquered,
how would you think about your job and what happens to you over the course of an average
week?
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Do you know that there is no sharp line of demarcation between work on the one hand and
worship on the other? In fact, if you look at Genesis 2:15 where it says, “The Lord God took
the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it,” the word for
“work” is the common Hebrew word for worship – avodah. And the word for “taking care” is
the common Hebrew word for obey – somrah. To work and to take care of the Garden blurred
in the Hebrew mind with to worship and to obey God. See, in the Hebrew mind the worker
was functioning in his particular realm of life as a priest. The service that a priest rendered in
the temple to God was called avodah. The work that a farmer rendered was called the same
thing – avodah.
Do you know that the same thing is true in the New Testament in Greek? The word for “work”
– latreia, is the same word that the New Testament writers used for “worship.” Work for the
biblical Christian becomes a way for us to worship God. It’s not that we have worship on the
one hand and work on the other, nor that we turn work into the object of our worship, by way
of the idolatry of careerism, where we try to find all of our meaning and value through our
work. Work for the biblical Christian is a vehicle for worship. I do this work under the lordship
of Christ unto the Lord and all day long in my work, I’m looking around for God. To work and
to take care of my little corner of the world is my act of worship and obedience to God
Friends, I say this with all affection, but you come to the workplace with a whole set of your
own problems. Some of you struggle with authority. You really don’t like to have anyone tell
you what to do. Some of you struggle with poor work habits, with laziness. You struggle with
the tendency to procrastinate. Perhaps you envy the success of a coworker. You desire
recognition. You feel entitled to some pats on the back. You struggle with workaholism or
competitiveness. Or you are trying to find all your meaning in life through your career. You
worship your own success. You believe you are a self-made person.
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The way that work is redeemed is that your purpose in work as a Christian changes. You are
no longer working for just a paycheck or to put food on the table. You are no longer working
to gain a sense of your own personal fulfillment or inner satisfaction. You are no longer
working just for your boss. Work is redeemed when you begin to work in your job for the Lord.
I’m working for the Lord. I want my job today to be an act of worship. That’s what the apostle
Paul says in Colossians 3. 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.
Do you want to feel better about your work? Change your boss. Stop working for your boss
and start working for the Lord. The goal is not to squeeze as much money out of your job as
you can, to maximize your profits and your bottom line. That is not the ultimate goal. The goal
is to serve the purpose of Jesus here.
Change ourselves….
How do you redeem your work? Your purpose at work changes. And you change. So much of
what’s wrong with work is inside of us. I want to finish by reading to you from Colossians 3.
Just listen to these verses and we are going to apply them to the workplace. Paul writes this:
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
What if you were not clothed with a sense of entitlement, over-sensitivity to every perceived
slight by your boss or coworkers? What if you repented of your complaining spirit and,
instead, you went to work full of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience?
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Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against each other.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
What if you actually forgave every person at your job for everything they have done against
you? What if you held no grudges? What if you were forbearing? What if you forgave as the
Lord forgave you?
And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the
peace of God rule in your hearts…
What if you went to work full of the peace of Jesus Christ? What if you were a peacemaker
and you had a peaceful disposition? And be thankful. What if you were actually grateful and
got down on your knees to God and said, “Thank you for my job. Thank God it’s Monday and I
get to carry Jesus Christ into my workplace.”?
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. What if your mind was transformed by God’s Word?
What if you let your mind dwell on the word of God all day long?
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. What if all through the day you are looking around for
Christ? Use me, Jesus Christ. Bring your kingdom into this place through me. May I be an
instrument of your will.
What if you changed? What if you were a different person? Do you think your work would
change? Let’s pray.
--
Now listen, if you are serious, we’re closing down four weeks of study about work, if you’re
serious about developing spiritual maturity in the marketplace, if you are serious about
developing a Christ-like character in your career, if you really mean business, you say, "I
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want to become like Jesus on the job," you MUST be in a small group. You’ve got to have
some people around you who believe in you, who support you, who are committed to growing
themselves and committed to helping you grow. You need somebody you can sit down and pray
with, talk with, share with--you need a small group.
Let me read you a quote from one of the most successful and respected executives in
America, John Acres. John Acres is Chairman of the Board of IBM. I got this out of Sloan
Business Review:
"Let’s put first things first. We’ve all heard short-sided business people attribute
a quotation to Vince Lombardy. `Winning isn’t the most important thing; it’s the
only thing.’ That’s a good quotation for firing up a team. But as a business
philosophy, it is shear nonsense. There is another, much better Lombardy quote.
He once said he expected his players to have three kinds of loyalty: To God, to
their families and to the Greenbay Packers--and in that order. He knew that
some things count more than others. Businessmen and women can unabashedly
be proud of their companies, but the good of an entire society transcends any
single corporation. And the moral order of the world transcends any single
nation. And one cannot be a good business leader, or a good doctor, or a lawyer
or an engineer without understanding the place of business in the greater scheme
of things."
RW –
Romans 5:3-4 (LB) - "We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials for we know they
are good for us--they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of
character..."
God’s much more interested in your character than He is in your comfort.
How does He build strong character in my life? He does it, listen, by working with you in
the exact opposite situation. That’s how He does it. How does God teach you love? By
putting some unlovely people around you.
He’s much more interested in perfecting you than He is in pampering you. What does it
mean to have strong character? It means to have the character of Christ. What is the
character of Christ? It is the fruit of the Spirit. Nine qualities: love, joy, peace, patience,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control. How does God produce those things
in my life? Love, joy, peace, patience, etc. How does He build strong character in my life?
He does it, listen, by putting you in the exact opposite situation. That’s how He does it. How
does God teach you love? By putting some unlovely people around you. It’s easy to love the
lovely, it’s easy to love people like you. But He put some jerks around you to teach you
genuine love. Joy, how does God teach you joy? Joy is not happiness. Happiness depends on
happenings, circumstances. Joy is eternal. You know how God teaches you joy? Through
disappointment, through failure, through discouragement, through problems, through grief.
Teaching you inner joy in spite of the problems. Peace. How does God teach you peace?
Oh, it’s easy to be peaceful when you’re fishing at Lake Shasta. To teach you real peace He
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puts you in an office of chaos or a home of chaos--in all kinds of problems and difficulties
and stress and pressures and deadlines, teaching you inner peace. Patience. How does God
teach you patience? He gives you an irritating boss. He puts you in a traffic jam going to
work. He puts in delays. How does God teach you kindness? He puts some people around
you that have obvious emotional needs to teach you to be kind to them. How does God teach
you faith? He puts you in situations where you have to take risks. Where you’re tempted to
doubt, where you’re tempted to withdraw, where you’re full of fear--He puts you there so
you have to have faith. How does God teach goodness? He brings some ethical decisions
into your life, where you have to make the right choice. He allows you to be tempted. You
can’t say you’re tempted to be good unless you’ve never been tempted to be evil, to do the
wrong thing. So He’ll put you in situations where you’re seduced to do the wrong thing. To
learn goodness. Gentleness. How does He teach you to be gentle? He’ll allow you to be
criticized. Opportunities to forgive others who have hurt you and not retaliate. How does
He teach you self-control? He’ll put you in a place where you have no supervision. It
depends on your discipline. When you’re tempted to seek revenge, He’ll say, "No. Have
self-control." That’s the fruit of the Spirit. It takes time for fruit to ripen. Have you ever
eaten a gassed tomato? You know, that’s how they turn green tomatoes red--they gas them
and it turns them red. They don’t taste anything like a vine-ripened tomato. Fruit develops
slowly. And God has to use pressure and people in your life at work for the purpose of
making you like Jesus Christ.
Now the reality is, you need to ask, "God, what are you trying to teach me in this
situation?"
Work is much more than paid employment.
If we’re to think biblically about work we must stop thinking only in terms of ’a job’. Painting
the house, getting lunches ready for the children, helping out with a Red Cross appeal - all of
this is work. This means that those of us who are unemployed can still work; those of us who
are not paid can still work. It also means that much of our time outside of paid employment
is work.
Frequently the lack of value many of us feel from our voluntary contributions is caused by
this fundamentally flawed distinction between paid and unpaid employment. How much
money we receive and where we receive the money from, should bear little relevance to the
value of the tasks we have been called to do. When we disengage from this type of thinking
we are liberated to think more wholistically.
Tony Campolo tells of how his wife Peggy grew tired of the points-scoring at dinner
and cocktail parties. She always felt so worthless when she would ask a young
woman what she did for a job and the woman would reply something like "I’m a
lawyer with Bond, Gibbon and Priest, specialising in commercial law and public
policy. And what do you do?", to which she would say "Oh, I’m just a housewife".
Determined not to be intimidated in future, she worked out a patter. The next
dinner party, when asked by a woman what she did, Peggy replied something like
this: "I’m involved in the socialisation of two homo sapiens into the dominant
values of the Judeo-Christian tradition so that they might be transformers of the
social order into the kind of eschatological utopia God willed for us before the
foundation of the world". Then as an afterthought Peggy asked the woman, "And
what do you do?" - to which she replied, "Oh, I’m just a lawyer".
26
We need to find ways of affirming together that all work we do, done God’s way, is
worthwhile.
The wise woman of Proverbs 31 is involved in providing food, land and clothing, planting
vines, trading and caring for the poor. Her work was publicly recognized, bringing her praise in
the city gates (Proverbs 31:10-31). This needs to be heard in a world in which women are often
paid less in jobs and work a second shift at home and in which many people receive no
recognition for unpaid work done well.
"Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye
also have a Master in heaven" (Col. 4:1).
To appreciate how significant spirituality is to our experience of work… I want to begin by
helping to describe what many of us face in terms of the dilemma of work.
Two forces related to work… work defines us… or degrades us.
General view… Degrading Defining
Negating -
Conflicts with
spiritual life
Dominating -
Consumes
spiritual life.
See work as a
source of… Necessity Identity
Relate to
colleagues… Toleration /
Indifference Tied to /
Indentured to
General view… Degrading Developing Defining
Negating -
Conflicts with
spiritual life
Integrating -
Context for
spiritual life
Dominating -
Consumes
spiritual life.
See work as a
source of… Necessity Maturity Identity
Relate to
colleagues… Toleration /
Indifference Transformation
/
Influence
Tied to /
Indentured to
