Culture Wars Article - Week 4

Work as Worship

Thomas Hellams, Upstate Gathering at Laurens Pastor

When we think about work, we think of our nine-to-fives, our eight-to-fours. We think about begrudgingly getting up in the morning, downing a large amount of caffeine, heading into work, just to count down the minutes until we can go home again. When we think about worship, we often think about getting up on Sunday mornings and getting our families ready for church. We stand up for three songs, listen to a sermon, stand up for another song, pray, then leave. It is an uplifting time that gets us through our weeks and allows us to be close to God. We have these thoughts on work and worship, and almost always they are mutually exclusive, but what if we looked at these two not as mutually exclusive but as deeply connected and ordained by God? What if, for us, worship did not stop when we left the church building? What if work was not something we saw as an obligation, but an opportunity to give back to God?

God’s Design

Genesis 1 and 2 give the account of creation. We see that God created humans; He made them male and female (Gen. 1:27), and to both, He gives the same general instructions. In Genesis 1:26, God gives purpose to humanity when He said, “26 Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heavens, over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’” God has given all things over to humanity to care for it, to develop it well, and to steward creation. This is not a call just for man or just for woman, but to all humanity. It is written, “and let them…” While Adam was created first, there was a plan for more to be created, and all of humanity now has been given the role to have dominion over what God has created and given. Work is given to both man and woman, and while it might express itself differently, both men and women are called to work and be good stewards of what God has given. Responsibility is not diminished in one gender over the other; both are called to work.

It is important to note that this command was given before the fall in Genesis chapter 3. It is not to be interpreted that work is a result of the fall, but work was a design of God’s perfect world. Yet, the fall did not make our work worthless, just more difficult. God tells Adam that “in pain, you will provide for yourself what you need in order to survive.” It sometimes can feel like we are doing everything we can at work just to survive.

Work That Honors God

It was mentioned earlier that sometimes getting up and going to work can feel like an obligation when really, it should be viewed as an opportunity. We work in various roles, in many different areas, and while our jobs may differ, the call of every believer is the same. We have been given the call of Matthew 28:19-20, “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The goal of your life is to learn how to leverage the position God has given you to ultimately point people back to Jesus. Through work, you should be looking to advance the kingdom of God. Not everyone is going to be called to the vocational ministry, but everyone has a personal ministry that must be stewarded well. So the question is: how are you stewarding work in your life? According to a study done by SPICA MyHours, the average person works 2 hours and 53 minutes a day out of an 8-hour workday. The rest of that time is spent on social media, socializing, or performing personal tasks. At this point, it should start to feel convicting in our own lives. How much time do we spend on other tasks that are not related to our jobs? The reality is that our boss will most likely never know about these extracurricular activities, but God, who has given you your position, knows every second spent. We are ultimately held accountable to God Himself with how we choose to steward our jobs. Our jobs are not a paycheck, but a position to make an impact for the kingdom. It is not to be taken lightly.

On the other side of the same coin, there are times when you will work extra hard to make a kingdom impact; there are even times when you risk your job for the sake of the gospel. It’s those moments that seem to go unnoticed, but take heart. It is written in Hebrews 6:10, “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for His name in serving the saints, as you still do.” As you continue to bless others through your own work, God sees it all. We do not work hard for the approval of man; we work hard so that one day, we will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Conclusion

We cannot separate work from worship, but in our work, worship God and obey all that He has commanded us to do. There are going to be moments when it feels like another day, another meeting, more spreadsheets, unending to-do lists. In those moments, remember why you do what you do. We do it because God has designed and created something special for us to be a part of, and we are not to take that lightly. God’s design for work is for all humanity to steward His creation well—to advance, to teach, to labor, to inquire, to heal, and much more, all in the name of Jesus.