| Christian Perspective on Work |
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| Written by Adison | |
| Wednesday, 07 July 2004 | |
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An archive of old presentation on Friday night fellowship event in ICF Austin October 1, 1999. This article addresses the issue of why we are working and the meanings are behind our toil. Hope this is useful for our edification. Title: Christian Perspective on "Work" Speaker: Adison Hana Date: Oct 1, 1999. Source: ICF Austin Christian Perspective on "Work" ICF Austin, 10/1/99. Adison Hana.
Pilot illustration: A story about a Chinese businessman and a Mexican fisherman. The Chinese found his Mexican friend relaxed too much and is wondering why this friend is not working as hard as he does, and so goes the dialog: C: Why are you doing? M: I\'m relaxing... C: Why aren\'t you working harder? M: What for? C: So that you will earn more money... M: What for? C: So you can enjoy your life more... M: What do you think I am doing now? Besides personal and family time, we are (or will) spend most of our time working in professional job. Now: Is it important to know why work? If so: Is it important to know why we work from a reliable source?
Biblical Concept of Work Motivation to work We received our mandate to work from God himself. We are placed as God\'s stewards to co-manage the world [Genesis 1:28-29]. Work is not "forced" but a pleasure for man to do for God. [Genesis 1:28-29] God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. However, after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, the ground as well as the earth was cursed so that mankind have to work hard to earn his living. In short, working hard became a must. However, we are still His stewards. [Genesis 3:14-17] To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, `You must not eat of it,\' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." Further down the road, we see how humankind became more and more corrupted in their motivation to work. In Genesis 11 we learned that they are laboring to make name for themselves (building the tower of Babel), which is of course against God\'s design and will for them. God frustrated their plan and confused them with many different languages. One important motivation to mention about ‘work\' is the great commission. After Jesus came to earth and be crucified and rose again, he mandated us to make disciples of all nations [Matthew 29:18-20]. This is not a new command, but an old commission re-emphasized. Jesus addressed mission work to all believers. Mission, however, is not an end to itself - but worship is. Mission should exist in the place where worship doesn\'t.
Temporality of our work It is of popular philosophy in our culture (both in Chinese culture and capitalistic society such as in USA) that we need to work hard. But how do they answer the "why" question? Traditional Chinese culture emphasizes on the "family value" and "prosperity". Chinese usually works very hard for their family and are even known for their shrewd business strategies. Americans usually focuses on personal satisfaction, as they tend to be more individualistic. Across the culture we see how people try to find eternal value for their work. While we cannot say that such values are meaningless, we need to ask: are those values really what matters in the long run? Solomon, the wisest person ever lived, commented on Ecclesiastes that "everything under the sun is meaningless" [cf. Ecclesiastes 1:1-5]. The whole book is a very good philosophical argumentation that examines each and everything mankind consider as valuable: treasure/riches, happiness, wisdom/knowledge, love, etc. Everything is subject to its temporal quality and can never be carried beyond our grave. They are like "chasing after the wind". So, what is the conclusion of the great teacher? [Ecclesiastes 12:13] Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.
Note-1: Here, the teacher/king Solomon wasn\'t saying that our work has no value. It may have a temporal value. Wisdom, happiness, etc. are better than the lack of it. However, they\'re not eternal. The moment we die or a big disaster strikes, we are to lost or leave everything behind. Note-2: The book of Ecclesiastes is not saying that we do not need to work. The apostle Paul also wrote "If a man will not work, he shall not eat" [2 Thess 3:10]. Note-3: We work because God directed us to work as His stewards and servants. We might or might not have a clear understanding about the whole meaning of work. That is why in Ecclesiastes 11:5 we are told that we cannot fully understand the work of God, the maker of all things. God delights in our servitude, and we will only find the true joy in serving Him. My utmost for His highest This Solomonic wisdom has pointed us to the right direction of our work. We are not to put our self-interest and ask God to prosper us for our own satisfaction. Work sometimes brings pain. For example: in the age of slavery, Paul even encouraged the slaves to obey their masters but keep in mind that they are not doing it just for the master but for their fear of the Lord. [Colossians 3:22-23] Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. We keep finding this advice being repeated. See also: Colossians 3:17, 1 Corinthians 10:31. Example-1: Martin Luther King was a champion of African-American civil rights emancipation. However, he was not the type of person who would legalize every means to achieve the end goal. He placed every reason for his work in Him alone. Example-2: Mother Theresa was also known to say that she never did big things, she only did small things with big love. She didn\'t focused on the meaning of the work from what the world would see (ie. strictly from humanitarian or social worker), but she saw it from what is important in God\'s eyes (indeed in 1 Corinthians 13, we learn that love surpasses any great things we could do). About her work, Mother Theresa said: "We are not social workers or social assistants. We want to bring the joy and love of God to the people, we want to bring them God Himself, who gives them His love through us. At the same time we love God and show Him our love by serving Him in this people." [Reference: http://www.tisv.be/mt/work.htm] This is a very profound and bold mission statement. Application and Examples Importance of listening to God The importance of having a listening heart for God can never be overemphasized. Jesus himself, the second person of Trinity, sets an example we ought to follow. He was known to have a very deep time walking with the Father at all time. The question we need to ask to ourselves are not "how often do we have quiet time?" but more importantly "how have we listen and talk to God nowadays?" because quiet time is none other than our intimate time to communicate with God. Taking Jesus as a role model in how we should work, we see that he always has the sense of priority in mind. That is why in his short period of ministry (only 3-4 years), he can say his job is "finished" [John 19:30]. He knows what his Father wants him to do, and that is why he can work extraordinarily [John 5:19-20, John 15:5]. [John 5:19-20] Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.
Materialistic attitude for work Money is a popular means to reward people\'s work. However, if we are not careful we might end up going after the biggest offer for money. The Bible never condemns money, but it is really strong to say that the "love of money" is the root of all evil. If we take seriously our role as stewards for God\'s work, we should be going wherever God is calling (not wherever money is calling). Now, does that mean that we should avoid profit in our work? No. Proverbs 14:23 says "All hard work brings a profit..." It is not wrong to gain profit but we need understand God\'s economy that is based on the law of love (hukum kasih). Money and economics are not evil (but "love of money" is). They are necessary mechanism to reward people for their work (which should be received with thankfulness). As stewards or servants don\'t own anything, neither do we. Everything we own are ultimately God\'s property. We are given certain privilege, talents, and worldly riches not so that we could indulge in it but rather to advance God\'s love in this world.
Case study: Christian businessman It\'s easy to talk about "holy" professions like being a pastor, a doctor, or a humanitarian worker; but how about being a Christian businessman? Well, first of all, we cannot say being a businessman is an "unholy" profession. We are called to be holy in our workplace [1 Peter 1:15-16]. Businessmen are often confronted with reality where corruption, collusion, and nepotism are so pervasive. What should we do? Should we think that "work is evil" and therefore everything is permitted in business? Life question: How should our work attitude be different after learning that we are God\'s stewards called to be holy? |
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