Your Work Matters To God預覽

“I didn’t know you were in full-time Christian work,” said my close friend as we were driving. I responded, “Excuse me, but every person who has followed the will of God in their life is in full-time Christian work.” God calls some to the mission field, others to be accountants, and others to be advertising executives, and still others to be construction workers.

God never made a distinction between sacred and secular. In fact, the Hebrew word avodah is the root word having the same meaning of “work” and “worship.” God sees our work as worship. We have incorrectly elevated the role of the Christian vocational worker to be more holy and committed than the person who is serving in a more secular environment. Yet, the call to the secular marketplace is as important as any other calling. God has to have His people in every sphere of life. Otherwise, many would never come to know Him. I learned this lesson personally when I sought to go into “full-time” Christian service as a pastor in my late twenties, only to have God thrust me back into the business world unwillingly. This turned out to be the best thing He could have done for me because it was never His will for me to be a pastor. He knew I was more suited for the workplace. We are all in missions. Some are called to foreign lands. Some are called to the jungles of the marketplace. Wherever you are called, serve the Lord in that place. Let Him demonstrate His power through your life so that others might experience Him through you today and see your vocation as worship to His glory. 

Questions

What type of world would it be if every person in the world were a pastor or in vocational ministry?

How important is it to you that your dentist have training as a dentist? Why? 

Why do you think God created human beings to have different interests and gifts? 

Was this just an afterthought from God? 

How do you view your work?

Workplace Application

God values our work even when the product has no eternal value. Christians often measure the significance of a job by its perceived value from the eternal perspective. Will the work last; will it “really count” for eternity? The implication is that God approves of work for eternity, but places little value on work for the here and now. By this measure, the work of ministers and missionaries has eternal value because it deals with people’s spiritual, eternal needs. By contrast, the work of a salesman, bank teller, or typist has only limited value, because it meets only earthly needs. In other words, this kind of work doesn’t really “count” in God’s eyes. But this way of thinking overlooks several important truths. God himself has created a world that is time bound and temporary. 2 Peter 3:10,11

Yet he values his work, declaring it to be “very good,” by its very nature. Genesis 1:31; Acts 14:17

God promises rewards to people in everyday jobs, based on their attitude and conduct. Ephesians 6:8; Colossians 3:23-4:1

God cares about the everyday needs of people as well as their spiritual needs. He cares whether people have food, clothing, and shelter.

God cares about people who will enter eternity. To the extent that a job serves the needs of people, God values it, because he values people.