Your Work Matters to God
The average person will spend approximately 150,000 hours at work in their lifetime. That represents about 40% of our waking lives! In light of that, we would do well to reflect more on what the Bible says about work. One verse that addresses the matter is
Colossians 3:23-24 – Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
This verse reminds us that we as believers are to work “for the Lord”. He is the one you are serving. We tend to divide work into secular and sacred, but all work for the believer in Jesus is sacred in that it is “for the Lord.” All work for the Christian is elevated to the eternal plane and will be rewarded at the judgment seat of Christ. Whether you work in a factory or in a hospital or in a school or in a business or the home; whether you make videogames or widgets and whether you’re a techie or consultant, God blesses and honors those who serve him in the marketplace.
You may work for an organization or have a human boss. But this passage says that you have a heavenly boss. There is a common misconception among Christians that some jobs are more spiritual than others. It is true that there are some jobs that are not honoring to God. You can’t be a Christian drug dealer! However, most jobs out there, 90%, are biblically justifiable. Here are just some of the types of work mentioned in the Bible: Architecture, administration, ambassador, carpenter, creative arts, embroidery, farming, fishing, gardening, homemaking, managing, making music, medicine, metal work, painting, selling, tailoring, teaching, and writing. Which one is more spiritual? None. What makes a job spiritual is not the job per se but the person working the job and how they do it. What God cares about is not so much what job you’re doing but how you’re doing that job. You can sweep floors for God or you can do brain surgery for yourself. What is more spiritual? I think you know the answer.
Some years ago I read the true story about Lawrence, a chef. He daily prepared meals in his local community. At one point he began to be discouraged thinking to himself, “Does my job really count for much? It’s not very spiritual?” But then, as he read passages like Colossians 3:23-24, he was reminded that as long as he did it for God’s glory, it was very spiritual and important. Bit by bit, he learned to discover God’s presence in the midst of his work, and he wrote a book called Practicing the Presence of God. As he consciously (several times a day) reminded himself of the fact that he was cooking to bring God glory (using his gifts, time, and energy) radically transformed his daily work experience from a boring and mundane chore into an exciting and enriching adventure.
May the Lord help us in whatever we do to do it as unto the Lord. After all, He is the one that gave us the health, strength, talents, and abilities we have.
