Work

…it is impossible to dedicate over half of one’s waking hours (some 80,000 to 100,000 hours in an average lifetime) to a subbiblical work ethic and not suffer immense spiritual trauma.

Disciplines of a Godly Man, by R. Kent Hughes

Millions of people regard their work as something they must bear, a living indignity.

Work is dull and meaningless for many; only one in four employees say they give their best effort, with about twenty percent of the work hours wasted. At the same time, for many – with some overlap – there is overwork; sublimating everything – family, leisure, friends, church – to the job.

All of this has led to the folk-religion of epigrams posted on the office walls: “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time”; “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” That kind of thing, the posters we have all seen in offices.

As in other surveys dealing with issues of ethics and integrity, surveys on this topic reveal little difference in the beliefs and actions between Christians and non-Christians: a similar work ethic pervades both. Citing Sherman and Hendricks:

“At church they swear allegiance to values informed by creeds and Scriptures. But at work they bow to idols of expedience and career success.”

God in no way sees work this way. The Bible opens with God working – each step of which is considered “good.” God creates man in His image, and the opening image we have of God is as a worker.

Men, you must set this in your hearts: Your work matters to God!

It isn’t just that we are made in God’s image – as if that isn’t reason enough. Work was given to man even before the fall: in our unfallen state, God’s first command to man (and woman) was to work:

Genesis 1: 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 2: 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

However, the fall made nature uncooperative. Work became painful toil; man had to sweat for a living. Today, some sweat more than others in their work, but for many – those who must sweat in their work and those for whom a pencil offers the greatest physical strain – work is painful toil.

But this cannot be for Christians, not when we see that God is the center of the entire equation. With God in the equation, we see that work has real meaning.

Ephesians 2: 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

God made us for good works, and he prepares good works for us. We have been created in Christ for these good works.

Each of us has an eternally designed work assignment that includes the task, the ability, and a place to serve.

Martin Luther had a thought on this:

“Your work is a very sacred matter. God delights in it, and through it he wants to bestow his blessings on you. This praise of work should be inscribed on all tools, on the forehead and faces that sweat from toiling.”

Per Hughes, the type of work is somewhat secondary – all work is sacramental. Here, I will somewhat disagree with the author. Yes, it is sacramental if it is in the service of others, seeing them as made in God’s image; it is sacramental if those being served pay voluntarily – or if the work is done voluntarily for those who cannot otherwise pay.

This excludes much of what we call “work.” Working to violate the lives of others is not sacramental: bombing and maiming those who pose no threat is not sacramental; “working” via usury under the guise of central banking is not sacramental; poisoning a population is not sacramental work. Yet all are “legal” means of work in society today (and all are praised by large portions of Christians today.)

Returning to Hughes: we glorify God by the attitude of our heart in our work – our integrity, intensity, and skill, must all be guided by this proper attitude.

Laziness is disparaged in Scripture; idleness is not praised. We are instructed by the apostle Paul to provide for our relatives, else we have denied the faith and are worse than unbelievers. At the same time, we are not called to be workaholics – one can say this is just another form of not providing for our families.

Do we approach work with enthusiasm? After all, we are to work heartily:

Colossians 3: 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men

Conclusion

Work must be done with an eye toward excellence; after all, God, in His creation, was only satisfied with “good,” and, when complete, “very good.” Think about what “very good” means to God, and this is the standard to which we are to aim.

Epilogue

We must recover the biblical truth – the Reformation truth – that our vocation, be it ever so humble, is a divine calling….

There is a can of worms opened on the topic of the Protestant work ethic. I am not qualified to discuss it. As I have noted above, I do see the possibility of work being done in service of others. We all know of examples where shopkeepers, tradesmen, and corporate executives truly serve their customers and their employees. We have also seen the opposite.

Both groups get paid either way. In the corporate world, at least, the second group is even preferred in some environments. I can easily accept that our vocation is a divine calling, because we have a choice about how to play our role.