Called to Work by Love — for Love
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Called to Work by Love — for Love
Called to Work by Love — for Love
Called to Work by Love — for Love
Do you work to live? Or do you live to work? Modern culture has shaped us to believe that it is a good thing to work so that you can live the rest of your life the way you want to. God is offering us the opportunity to come and work like He does — to creatively create order out of chaos — loving people and enabling them to flourish in new and better ways.
Called to Work by Love — for Love
Do you work to live?
Or do you live to work?
Culture Shapes Us
Modern culture has shaped us to believe that it is a good thing to work so that you can live the rest of your life the way you want to.
If a doctor works for money and for his family, then the patient is just a means to an end.
If an attorney is more interested in their reputation than to creatively and passionately seek justice, then the client may suffer.
If the school teacher works because they have to, then the student may become a burden rather than someone to transfer knowledge to.
If the financial advisor is working to fill their own wallet, how will they be neutral in seeking the flourishing of their client?
If a politician is more loyal to a party to gain standing, how well can they represent the community that elected them?
If the pastor works to build their own reputation, how will they speak the difficult truth in love when it’s most necessary?
Culture Forgets
Modern culture has forgotten that God is offering us something far better.
God is offering us the opportunity to come and work like He does — to creatively create order out of chaos — loving people and enabling them to flourish in new and better ways.
The invitation to work for God and with Jesus is far more dignifying, far more purposeful, and far more glorious than a paycheck.
“God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them.”- St. Augustine, City of God
Work To Shape Culture
Consider what these other pastors and theologians and the very words of God, say about why we should work.
“Work is the gracious expression of creative energy in the service of others.” - Dorothy Sayers, Why Work
“God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. “The first phrase “be fruitful and multiply,” means to develop the social world: build families, churches, schools, cities, governments, laws. The second phrase, “subdue the earth,” means to harness the natural world: plant crops, build bridges, design computers, and compose music. This passage is sometimes called the Cultural Mandate because it tells us that our original purpose was to create cultures, build civilizations—nothing less.” - Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth
“By filling and ruling over the world, we fulfill our true purpose in life. We reach the heights of dignity because we represent and extend the authority of the King of the universe.” - Richard Pratt, Designed for Dignity
“We are now called and empowered to exercise proper stewardship over God’s creation. This mandate is still in force today. As the vice-regents of God, we are to bring God’s truth and God’s will to bear on every sphere of our world and our society.” - Hugh Welchel
“The aim of business is to make provision for the needs of the people in an area. The best businesses in the world serve a need that society as a whole, a specific region, or a local community has.” - Dallas Willard
“Culture is, first of all, the name for our relentless, restless human effort to take the world as it’s given to us and make something else. We have a God-given propensity to make something more than we were given.” - Andy Crouch, Culture Making
“Work that is good work is work, which you were promoting the common good. Work is an expression of love.” - Tim Keller
“Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other…Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” - [.no-reftag]1 Thessalonians 4:9-12[.no-reftag]
Excellent Work Gets Your Hands Dirty
[.indent]Look at the Bible: creation, consummation, incarnation, resurrection. What do they all have in common?[.indent]
[.indent]God with his hands in the dirt.[.indent]
[.indent]In creation, God’s hands are in the dirt creating.[.indent]
[.indent]At the consummation, God is cleaning up after the great battle and building a city.[.indent]
[.indent]In the incarnation, God becomes physical.[.indent]
[.indent]In the resurrection, he redeems the physical.[.indent]
[.indent]The Christian approach is that all work has dignity and all work has value.[.indent]
[.indent]No work is degrading because Jesus was a carpenter.[.indent]
[.indent]Because God is a Creator and loves to put his hands into the material world and create, a Christian knows that even if you’re bringing order out of chaos by sweeping the streets of New York, your work has value.[.indent]
[.indent]I’m so glad somebody does that. When 12,000 people an hour go by the corner of 59th and Lexington, there wouldn’t be civilization if somebody didn’t sweep the streets.[.indent]
[.indent]If you’re sweeping the streets or preaching a sermon, you’re doing essentially the same thing.[.indent]
[.indent]The Reformers—Calvin and Luther—would say that to sweep a street or preach a sermon is to bring order out of chaos. It’s taking the material world God loves and made and making it orderly, making it livable, and redeeming it.[.indent]
[.indent]Therefore, to sweep the street and to preach a sermon are both valuable work—valuable to God.[.indent]
[.indent]If you’re an artist, you’re doing what God did. He’s a Creator, and you’re creating.[.indent]
[.indent]But if you’re sweeping a street or I’m preaching a sermon, we’re all trying to do basically the same thing.[.indent]
[.indent]All of our work has value before God.[.indent]
[.indent]Jesus was a carpenter. God had his hands in the mud. [.indent]
- Tim Keller, Work
Excellent Work Redeems Culture
Yes, Jesus got His hands dirty and yes, Jesus gave us the very same work He came to do (John 20:21-22). Followers of Jesus have been blessed by Jesus and have a special call on their life to build the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
Sometimes it takes getting your hands dirty metaphorically and sometimes for real. But either way we should work for the love of God and the people God has called us to love.
One of the most interesting verses in the Bible may explain it better than anything.
“Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness — the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord's people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” - [.no-reftag]Colossians 1:24-27[.no-reftag]
The Apostle Paul is explaining to a church he helped found about one of the reasons he labored for them. He is encouraging them to go do the very same work Jesus sent him to do — yes, just like He commissioned all of us to do. Paul met Jesus face-to-face and was called by Him to be a witness to the world.
All followers of Jesus are called to be a witness of what God has done for us and most of us are called to do so in the marketplace. We are called to do excellent work that meets the needs of the people around us — coworkers, clients and neighbors. All excellent work is dignifying to the worker and those who are served by the work.
- The table
- The surgery
- The counseling session
- The instruction
- The advertisement
- The financial instrument
- The service
- The cleanup
We all have equal opportunity to be excellent by serving God first with our gifts, abilities and experiences we’ve been given — loving God because He first loved us
And because we’re all part of our communities we are able to discern what work best serves our neighbor. Then as we grow in our relationships we will be able to bless our coworkers, clients, and neighbors. And as we keep caring for them we, will be able to lead and disciple them in the ways of Jesus
Helping them become redemptive workers — just like Jesus!
Resources:
Sermon: Work | Tim Keller
Article: Why Work? | Dorothy Sayer
Called to Work by Love — for Love
Do you work to live?
Or do you live to work?
Culture Shapes Us
Modern culture has shaped us to believe that it is a good thing to work so that you can live the rest of your life the way you want to.
If a doctor works for money and for his family, then the patient is just a means to an end.
If an attorney is more interested in their reputation than to creatively and passionately seek justice, then the client may suffer.
If the school teacher works because they have to, then the student may become a burden rather than someone to transfer knowledge to.
If the financial advisor is working to fill their own wallet, how will they be neutral in seeking the flourishing of their client?
If a politician is more loyal to a party to gain standing, how well can they represent the community that elected them?
If the pastor works to build their own reputation, how will they speak the difficult truth in love when it’s most necessary?
Culture Forgets
Modern culture has forgotten that God is offering us something far better.
God is offering us the opportunity to come and work like He does — to creatively create order out of chaos — loving people and enabling them to flourish in new and better ways.
The invitation to work for God and with Jesus is far more dignifying, far more purposeful, and far more glorious than a paycheck.
“God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them.”- St. Augustine, City of God
Work To Shape Culture
Consider what these other pastors and theologians and the very words of God, say about why we should work.
“Work is the gracious expression of creative energy in the service of others.” - Dorothy Sayers, Why Work
“God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. “The first phrase “be fruitful and multiply,” means to develop the social world: build families, churches, schools, cities, governments, laws. The second phrase, “subdue the earth,” means to harness the natural world: plant crops, build bridges, design computers, and compose music. This passage is sometimes called the Cultural Mandate because it tells us that our original purpose was to create cultures, build civilizations—nothing less.” - Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth
“By filling and ruling over the world, we fulfill our true purpose in life. We reach the heights of dignity because we represent and extend the authority of the King of the universe.” - Richard Pratt, Designed for Dignity
“We are now called and empowered to exercise proper stewardship over God’s creation. This mandate is still in force today. As the vice-regents of God, we are to bring God’s truth and God’s will to bear on every sphere of our world and our society.” - Hugh Welchel
“The aim of business is to make provision for the needs of the people in an area. The best businesses in the world serve a need that society as a whole, a specific region, or a local community has.” - Dallas Willard
“Culture is, first of all, the name for our relentless, restless human effort to take the world as it’s given to us and make something else. We have a God-given propensity to make something more than we were given.” - Andy Crouch, Culture Making
“Work that is good work is work, which you were promoting the common good. Work is an expression of love.” - Tim Keller
“Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other…Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” - [.no-reftag]1 Thessalonians 4:9-12[.no-reftag]
Excellent Work Gets Your Hands Dirty
[.indent]Look at the Bible: creation, consummation, incarnation, resurrection. What do they all have in common?[.indent]
[.indent]God with his hands in the dirt.[.indent]
[.indent]In creation, God’s hands are in the dirt creating.[.indent]
[.indent]At the consummation, God is cleaning up after the great battle and building a city.[.indent]
[.indent]In the incarnation, God becomes physical.[.indent]
[.indent]In the resurrection, he redeems the physical.[.indent]
[.indent]The Christian approach is that all work has dignity and all work has value.[.indent]
[.indent]No work is degrading because Jesus was a carpenter.[.indent]
[.indent]Because God is a Creator and loves to put his hands into the material world and create, a Christian knows that even if you’re bringing order out of chaos by sweeping the streets of New York, your work has value.[.indent]
[.indent]I’m so glad somebody does that. When 12,000 people an hour go by the corner of 59th and Lexington, there wouldn’t be civilization if somebody didn’t sweep the streets.[.indent]
[.indent]If you’re sweeping the streets or preaching a sermon, you’re doing essentially the same thing.[.indent]
[.indent]The Reformers—Calvin and Luther—would say that to sweep a street or preach a sermon is to bring order out of chaos. It’s taking the material world God loves and made and making it orderly, making it livable, and redeeming it.[.indent]
[.indent]Therefore, to sweep the street and to preach a sermon are both valuable work—valuable to God.[.indent]
[.indent]If you’re an artist, you’re doing what God did. He’s a Creator, and you’re creating.[.indent]
[.indent]But if you’re sweeping a street or I’m preaching a sermon, we’re all trying to do basically the same thing.[.indent]
[.indent]All of our work has value before God.[.indent]
[.indent]Jesus was a carpenter. God had his hands in the mud. [.indent]
- Tim Keller, Work
Excellent Work Redeems Culture
Yes, Jesus got His hands dirty and yes, Jesus gave us the very same work He came to do (John 20:21-22). Followers of Jesus have been blessed by Jesus and have a special call on their life to build the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
Sometimes it takes getting your hands dirty metaphorically and sometimes for real. But either way we should work for the love of God and the people God has called us to love.
One of the most interesting verses in the Bible may explain it better than anything.
“Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness — the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord's people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” - [.no-reftag]Colossians 1:24-27[.no-reftag]
The Apostle Paul is explaining to a church he helped found about one of the reasons he labored for them. He is encouraging them to go do the very same work Jesus sent him to do — yes, just like He commissioned all of us to do. Paul met Jesus face-to-face and was called by Him to be a witness to the world.
All followers of Jesus are called to be a witness of what God has done for us and most of us are called to do so in the marketplace. We are called to do excellent work that meets the needs of the people around us — coworkers, clients and neighbors. All excellent work is dignifying to the worker and those who are served by the work.
- The table
- The surgery
- The counseling session
- The instruction
- The advertisement
- The financial instrument
- The service
- The cleanup
We all have equal opportunity to be excellent by serving God first with our gifts, abilities and experiences we’ve been given — loving God because He first loved us
And because we’re all part of our communities we are able to discern what work best serves our neighbor. Then as we grow in our relationships we will be able to bless our coworkers, clients, and neighbors. And as we keep caring for them we, will be able to lead and disciple them in the ways of Jesus
Helping them become redemptive workers — just like Jesus!
Resources:
Sermon: Work | Tim Keller
Article: Why Work? | Dorothy Sayer