STEP 10: WORK

JOIN JESUS IN HIS WORK

The third goal of every disciple is to join Jesus in his work. Jesus is working in the world today to expand the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. When we think about how Christians can join Jesus in his work, we probably more naturally think about activities like evangelism (Step 8) and serving (Step 9), but Jesus is also expanding the goodness of God’s kingdom through our everyday jobs. When we cultivate and care for creation and make things useful and beautiful for people, we are joining with Jesus in his work in the world.

Whether a salaried job, a part-time job, school studies, raising children, or housework, these are activities that occupy the majority of our schedules and consume most of our energy. Let’s see what the Bible teaches about our work and how our work is actually joining Jesus’ work in the world.

Are your overall feelings about work positive or negative?

WORK WAS CREATED BY GOD AND IS GOOD

The theme of work appears right at the beginning of the Bible, in the creation account.

GENESIS 1:27-28, 2:15

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” … 15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

At the time of Genesis 1-2 the world was perfect. Humans had not yet rebelled against God. There was not yet any sin, death, pain or trouble in the world. Yet, a perfect world does not mean it was an idle world. God gave the first humans a job—working and keeping the garden.

God created all humans in his image, meaning humans were given a special relationship with God and a unique role in creation. 1 The unique role in creation is to “have dominion” over creation, but this does not mean to use and abuse the resources of creation to satisfy human greed.Rather, having dominion means cultivating the raw potential of creation to make things beautiful and useful.

God gave humans the role of expanding the goodness of God’s kingdom to the rest of the world (“fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion…”). God made humans his agents (ambassadors, servant-rulers) to bring the blessing and goodness of God to every corner of creation through our daily work.

It is important to notice that work existed before the fall (the sinful rebellion against God recorded in Genesis 3). In other words, work is not a consequence of the fall. Work is part of what it means to be made in God’s image and to be participating in God’s kingdom. In fact, just like the pre-fall world of Genesis 1-2 included work, so the future perfect world of the new creation described in Revelation 21-22 will include work. Like in Genesis 1, this work in the kingdom of God is described as “reigning”:

REVELATION 22:5

5 …they will reign forever and ever.

In other words, work is intrinsic to what it means to be truly human.

Have you experienced joy and satisfaction from a good day’s work?

WORK WAS CORRUPTED BY THE FALL

As wonderful as work can be, sadly, work is one of the greatest sources of frustration, pain, and disappointment. Why is this? Genesis 3 explains.

GENESIS 3:17-19

17 And to Adam he [God] said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

As a result of sin, the world is no longer flawless. Now work is difficult—for example, thorns and sweat for the farmer. Work is frustrating, toilsome, and seldom goes as well as we hope. Even more, humans’ hearts and motivations regarding work are also broken. Yet even now, God uses the frustrations of work to lead our hearts to hope for future redemption in Jesus. 2

BALANCE

Because our hearts are sinful and the world is sinful, it is difficult to find a healthy, God-honoring work-life balance. On the one hand, laziness is sinful and can leave us feeling dissatisfied and depressed. On the other hand, overwork is dishonoring to God. Work also has the potential to take up a lot of our time each day, time that can take us away from time with the Lord, our families, and our church community. Overworking often indicates that our priorities are out of order—we are elevating something above loving God and loving others: productivity, success, fear of other’s opinions (bosses or co-workers), etc. As Christians, we should strive to have a healthy balance of work: prioritizing God first, our family second, and work third.

Do you struggle with balancing work and life (personal life, family life, etc.)?

Do you tend to lean more toward laziness or overwork?

WORK HAS BEEN REDEEMED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

Redemption is about paying a price owed and, through that payment, claiming ownership. God has not abandoned us to the consequences of human sin. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, as our redeemer to pay the penalty of human sin and fix sin’s effects in this broken world. The redemption of creation is partially experienced now through Jesus, and one day, the whole creation and us in it will be fully restored. 3

When work is done with unhealthy motivations, it often ends up hurting both us as the worker, and others.

What are unhealthy motivations for work?

Greed is a common unhealthy motivation for work. When we work from greed, we are less likely to enjoy our work and more likely to exploit people and resources for selfish gain. Seeking the approval of others is another unhealthy motivation for work. This motivation commonly leads us to lose sight of Biblical values and vision. Work becomes about us instead of providing a useful and beautiful service for others.

How might our motivation for work be different in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

The gospel of Jesus teaches us that our identity, value, and worth are found not in our efforts or the results of work but in Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus humbly gave himself to serve others we can work not from greed but to selflessly serve others. We can learn to work not to earn peoples’ approval but to work hard to please God.

COLOSSIANS 3:23

23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men…

Though Jesus’ disciples are not perfect at always working with correct motivations and balanced priorities, we can experience work in a healthier way. Because we know what God’s Word teaches about the meaning of work and its potential pitfalls, we approach work differently. Through Jesus, it is possible to experience satisfaction, meaning, and purpose in our daily work lives.

OUR WORK IS A GOD-GIVEN ROLE

Now that we understand God’s design for work, the effects of sin, and the redemption of Jesus, let’s consider how our work connects to God’s work in the world.

GOD PROVIDES FOR THE NEEDS OF HIS CREATION.

PSALM 145:15-16

15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. 16 You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Ultimately, God sustains and provides for the needs of all of his creation. This is his joyful responsibility as our Creator King. Yet God, in his wisdom, has chosen not to exert his rule over creation directly but through agents—humans made in his image. In many cases, God takes care of the needs of people and the natural world through human beings.

We pray to God, “Give us this day our daily bread.” 4 But think about how God practically provides our bread. Of course, he keeps the sun shining, provides rain, and causes the seeds to grow. God also works through the farmer who harvests the rice, the truck driver who transports it, the agent who advertises it, and the retail clerk who sells it. Thus, by doing our work, we join God as his agents to cultivate and care for creation.

From the beginning, God has called humans to be caretakers of his creation, stewarding it and cultivating it for the benefit of people. 5 When we cultivate the raw potential of creation to make things useful and beautiful, we join God’s work in the world.

THE DIGNITY AND VALUE OF WORK

All work that joins God in his work of caring and providing for his creation has dignity and value. For example, sanitation workers help keep environments clean and healthy, improving the quality of people’s lives. Homemakers take care of the home and family. Teachers educate children, police and firefighters keep society safe, and administrators and managers help people doing different jobs work together. Advertisers help people discover useful and high-quality products, while salespeople, retailers, and delivery workers help people obtain them.

We know that in a fallen world, some work preys on the sins and addictions of others. As Christians, we should not support these professions or fall prey to them ourselves.

If you work for a company or in a factory that produces some small product, provides a service, or sells things that make people's lives a little better, even if the process is boring, your job has value because you are participating in God's care for his creation. You are a part of something much bigger than yourself, your job, title, or company. No matter what sort of work we do, as Christians, the Bible tells us to do our work with the best effort we can, as if we were working for God instead of men.

How is your job a means for God to provide for his creation?

How does the above Biblical perspective on work help you to look at your work differently?

WORK AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

God desires to expand the blessing and goodness of his kingdom to every person and every place on earth. It has been said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” 6

Jesus himself said:

MATTHEW 28:18

18 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

Though all things have been put under Jesus’s authority, much of the world is currently living in rebellion to Jesus. 7 Jesus works to expand the blessing of his kingdom, but he does not do this through violent domination. Rather, he does so through loving cultivation.

Our role in this work of expanding the kingdom is not only part of our discipleship to Jesus, it also connects to the purpose for which God made humans. As we read in Genesis 1:28 and Revelation 22:5, work in the kingdom of God is often called “having dominion” or “reigning.” This does not look like forceful domination but rather cultivation done lovingly, to care for creation and create useful and beautiful things.

Jesus does not only seek to bring healing to people’s spiritual lives. He is the Lord over everything and seeks to bring his salvation to the physical, emotional, and relational spheres of their lives, too. God wants to see the blessing of his kingdom bring good change to schools, courts of law, hospitals, and homes. Doctors, teachers, engineers, bankers, and homemakers are equally joining in Jesus’ work as pastors, evangelists, and missionaries. When a disciple of Jesus works in the public sector of society to create political policies, teaches children at school, fights against injustice in a court of law, or creates or sells quality products to improve people’s lives, he or she is joining Jesus in his kingdom work.

Think about the following questions to consider how you might join Jesus in his work through your daily vocation.

What are you passionate about?

What needs do you see in the world?

What skills and opportunities do you have?

1 First Steps: Step 4

2 Romans 8:18-25

3 Revelation 21-22

4 Matthew 6:11

5 Genesis 1:28

6 Abraham Kuyper

7 Hebrews 2:8