Thank God for Work, Pt 2

Mar. 6 2008

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So far we’ve seen what the Bible has to say about work and how the church has treated work and vocation (In Part 1 of this article). Now we’ll examine how we can work for God’s glory and discern our callings as workers.

How to Work to the Glory of God
John Piper, in an excellent chapter of Don’t Waste Your Life on glorifying Christ in work, writes about the essence of God-glorifying human work: “it is done (1) in conscious reliance on God’s power, and (2) in conscious quest of God’s pattern of excellence, and (3) in deliberate aim to reflect God’s glory” (p. 141, my italics and numbering).

Let’s look at these one at a time:

Relying on God’s Power
All forms of serving should be done “by the strength that God supplies” (1 Pet. 4:11). Paul himself was a very hard worker—in fact, he candidly said that he worked harder than any of the other apostles. But he added: “though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Cor. 15:10).

Seeking God’s Pattern of Excellence
God’s Word tell us that he is “wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom” (Isa. 28:29) and that we are to be “imitators of God” (Eph. 5:1) and are to “approve what is excellent” (Phil. 1:10). Christians in the workplace should not be known as “the super nice-guy who is average or below average in his field but who avoids cheating and backstabbing and dispenses good advice around the water cooler and occasionally leaves a gospel track in the bathroom for someone to find.” Rather, Christians should seek to imitate God’s pattern of excellence, working hard to excel in their field.

Aiming to Reflect God’s Glory
We all know 1 Cor. 10:31: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” I think one of the reasons Paul listed eating and drinking is because they are things we do day in, day out, a number of times each day. The sort of things we hardly think about and just do automatically. If even drinking a can of Coke (or, my preference these days, Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi) should be to the glory of God—how much more so are vocations where we spend 40-50 hours per week?

How to Determine Your Calling
Here I can only offer the barest sketch. There is no test, no one-size-fits-all checklist.

The Bible does not give us a great deal of guidance of which vocation to choose. In a sense, of course, that’s partly because our life path is not up to us! Paul writes in 1 Cor. 7:17, 24: “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. . . .  So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.” Note two things: (1) God assigns us our calling and vocation; (2) the most important aspect of our calling is that—no matter what it is—we “remain with God.” In Paul’s apostolic instruction to the churches he does not get a whole lot more specific than that. He’s mainly concerned that people work hard and quietly instead of being slackers who jibber-jabber all the time: “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. (2 Thess. 3:11–12). “Aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one” (1 Thess. 4:11–12).

The first thing we need to consider is the vocation itself. Is this vocation allowable from a biblical perspective? Most vocations are, but obviously some aren’t (prostitution, drug-dealing, etc. C.J. Mahaney might add working for the Yankees, but I’m not so sure.) Going deeper, we must move beyond whether a vocation is allowable to examine its effects. This perspective underlies Paul’s point in 1 Cor. 6:12. It’s not enough for something to be “lawful”—Paul also wanted to ask whether it was profitable or “helpful,” and whether or not it could “enslave” him. Related to that, Paul’s way of handling himself in Romans 14 can be instructive. We can ask:

• Am I fully persuaded that it is right? (Rom. 14:5, 14, 23)
• Can I do it as unto the Lord? (Rom. 14:6-8)
• Can I do it without being a stumbling block to my brother or sister in Christ? (Rom 14:13, 15, 20-21, 22)
• Does it bring peace? (Rom 14:17-19)
• Does it edify my brother or sister? (Rom. 14:19)

(These questions are suggested by the Feinbergs in their excellent book, Ethics for a Brave New World, pp. 44-45.)

The second thing to do is to make sure not to treat this as a “just God and me” thing. Determining a calling should not be a Lone Ranger project. What gifts, talents, and abilities are others observing in you? Are you inviting their constructive feedback and observations? Are you involved in a local church and seeking to serve others?

Third, where do your interests lie? What area of study or sphere of life makes you the most excited and energized? What makes you feel depleted and discouraged?

Fourth, what doors are opening? Which ones are shutting? Be on the lookout for opportunities.

Fifth, don’t be paralyzed by the bondage of guidance. Pray with your eyes open and seek the counsel of your church. And then at some point—you need to make a move in faith.

Integrating Faith and Work
Finally, the church needs to do more thinking on, and give more energy to, the issue of how to think through the relationship between our faith and our work. A position paper from Redeemer Presbyterian Church sketches an outline of what we need to be doing in order to integrate the faith and work:

• First, [Christians need] theological education about how to ‘think Christianly’ about all of life, public and private, and about how to work with Christian distinctiveness. They need to know what cultural practices are ‘common grace’ and can be embraced, what practices are antithetical to the gospel and must be rejected, and what practices can be adapted/revised for use by believers.
• Second, they need to be practically mentored, placed, and positioned in their vocations in the most advantageous way. They need cooperation with others in the field who can encourage, advise, and advocate for them. They need help to do their work with excellence and in a way that really helps others and strengthens social cohesiveness rather than weakening it.
• Third, they need spiritual support for the ups and downs of their work and accountability for living and working with Christian integrity.

Conclusion
One final clarification: your “vocation” (or calling) is not necessarily for life. As we get older we sometimes add and sometimes change vocations. (For example, one of your vocations now might be a daughter—and then you will add the vocations of being a wife and then a mother someday.) The most important thing to remember is that no matter your age, and no matter your vocation, the biblical command remains the same:

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Col. 3:23–24)

Further Reading
_Leland Ryken, Redeeming the Time
_Gene Veith, God at Work
_John Piper, “Making Much of Christ from 8 to 5,” in Don’t Waste Your Life
_J. I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom, Guard Us, Guide Us: Divine Leading in Life’s Decisions

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This was the second part of a two part article. Read the first part here.

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