On the Job with God

            I read recently that the median number of years a U.S. worker has been in his or her current job is just 4.4, down sharply since the 1970s. The average U.S. worker will have an average of ten to twelve jobs in a lifetime. This decline in average job tenure, the author wrote, is bigger than any economic cycle, bigger than any particular industry, bigger than differences in education levels, and bigger than differences in gender. Two days ago was Labor Day, the “official” end of summer… a day off. I confess I didn’t spend any time on Labor Day celebrating the fact I was employed. But by God’s grace both Joanne and I have passed the average. Does this mean we are above average? J No. It just means we have a great deal to be thankful for.

            In the Sunday school class I’m attending we have begun a look at a broad overview of the Bible by thinking in terms of the Kingdom of God. As John led the class this past Sunday in looking at some themes and ideas from the early chapters in Genesis, we saw how the perfect Kingdom God had established became a “perished” kingdom. A great deal was lost in the Fall when Adam and Eve stopped trusting God and asserted themselves as being ultimate. I thought about how one of those things lost related to work. Work went from being a valued good in the Kingdom of God – something which God Himself does – to becoming a cursed part of life in the perished Kingdom. Work becomes difficult. It becomes a battleground for survival in life. It comes to be infected by sin. Most workers can easily point out the problems where they work and can readily observe the impact of sin – either on the work itself or on the relationships of the workers.

            In the Lord, though, work is a joy. In the Lord, work is a source of thanksgiving and praise. In the Lord, work is worship – or at least a component of how we serve God. In human terms – without the Lord – work is a source of frustration, drudgery, and even pain. I don’t mean to say that someone who is not a believer in Christ can’t enjoy their job. But ultimately, apart from Christ, we are left in the same boat as Solomon: ⁴  I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ⁵  I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶  I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷  I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸  I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well--the delights of the heart of man. ⁹  I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. ¹⁰  I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. ¹¹  Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:4-11)

            Jesus Christ redeems our work. Not only is it a means by which we care for our families (which is His will) and ourselves… Not only is it a means by which we bless others by helping people in need and by giving (which is also His will)… Not only is it a means by which we find some identity and meaning in life… Our work is an act of worship when we understand Christ as being at the very center of our lives. Jesus doesn’t only save us from our sin when He comes into the world. He redeems things like work from the impact of the Fall. He comes restoring a kingdom which perished due to sin. The transforming power of God’s grace also transforms the worker. May the Lord help us to see our workplace as a grace-place… a place for the Kingdom of God to come in Christ. So may we pursue all that is right and good and honorable there as we seek the mind of Christ.

Colossians 3:22-24 (NIV) ²²  Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. ²³  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, ²⁴  since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

PRAYER:  Father, transform my work, my attitudes, appreciation, and my worship of you as I work, where I work, and with whom I work. May Christ be always at the center of what I do.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott