Why Our Work Has Meaning

How our lives spent working gives Christ glory

In this week's topic, I want to share with you an idea that I have been thinking about for several years. The Beauty of Work is the belief that in Christ, work is made beautiful, productive, and significant. For me, it ties into the very nature of who I am. I also believe that God has gifted me with a desire to work hard and work with my hands. Over the years I have been blessed with opportunities to do just that and further develop my talents and skills to glorify the God who has given them to me. I want to share this perspective of work with you in the hopes that you will come away with a new appreciation for the work that we all do. 

In Christ, we are called to work for Him. Colossians 3.23-24 says,

"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ."

And also as humans, we are called to work. We see that in the dominion mandate given by God to Adam and Eve in Genesis 2.15 and also in Ephesians 2.10 where Paul states that we are created for good works in Christ Jesus. Foundationally, Christians are made for work. The beauty of work is that we can continue the glory of God through our servant obedience to Him, bringing praise and glory to His name in our work ethic and character in the workplace. I think that, like so many other things, we can build up the small choices that we make, like legos in a Lego set, into a complete and full life that represents Christ. Things such as showing up on time, working hard, being humble, and caring for others go a very long way in a self-centered secular work environment. And when we compound that with the motivation that we are to glorify God and that is our core reason for who we are, then we will be His witnesses in whatever we do. 

Just as God has been at work since the beginning of time, creating, sustaining, and guiding his universe, we too should model our lives after him. We are blessed with being made in the image of God and given a command to create, sustain, and guide the creation that God has made (Genesis 1.27-28). We should be good stewards of our possessions because we realize that God has gifted them to us to take care of. I believe Christians should be the most consistent workers because we have the Holy Spirit, and his fruits are made evident through Scripture, and since we have an expressed standard and way to live, every Christian should be recognizable in the workplace. Just as a good tree bears good fruit, we should consistently bear the good fruits of the Spirit. And as trees mature they bear more fruit and more regularly so we, as followers of the Way, bear more fruit more regularly. This ties into the idea of Light that is written about so much in the Gospels and that I wrote about previously. A tree is known by its fruit (Luke 6.43-44b). So whether it comes to digging ditches or planning mergers, the Christian's ultimate purpose is to glorify God in their stewardship of whatever God has placed them. 

This plays into contentment in major ways. Just as Paul was able to say that he was content in whatever situation that he was in and that his biggest hope was to glorify God in his life or in his death Philippians 4 and 1, respectively, we too are to be content in our circumstances. Work is, well, work. There are long, hard days and often challenges that will be difficult to face. But as we look beyond today and see the hope of Christ in the Gospel and all that means for us, we are able to count it all joy and work diligently to further Christ in the world. I believe everything that we do matters, being on time for work, caring for coworkers, and being honest. Nothing is too small for Christ to claim as his own. Therefore nothing we do is too small not to give to Christ. If we are to honor Him in our eating and drinking then how much more should we honor Him with a 40-year career or buying a house? We are to glorify Him in all that we do, and since we spend a major portion of our lives working it is one of our greatest opportunities to further the cause of Christ. 

So contentment is achievable when we view life on a daily scale, seeking opportunities on a daily basis and asking ourselves “What does Christ want me to do today?” This was one of the major lessons that I was taught several years ago by my mentor. Struggling with being content at work, as a counselor and property maintenance director, thinking about the long-term day-in and day-out grind suddenly seemed intolerable. But, thankfully, my mentor began reminding me of what it really means to be content and how, through the Holy Spirit, we begin by looking at today and asking what God wants us to do. This led me to set my mind to honor Christ in my 8-hour shifts. Sometimes that would look like yard work, basic home repairs, or counseling teenagers. The goal turned from trying to be good at doing "things" to trying to honor God in my heart. Success was no longer based on what I could immediately see the results of, but on positioning my heart to be submissive to what God has given me to do that day. "Whether eating or drinking..." suddenly meant that whatever my hands find to do that it was about glorifying God, not transient visible results that I had determined. 

Ultimately, work is any kind of labor that we do. And we are to labor for the bread that lasts for eternal life (John 6.27). What a beautiful thing to labor in the Kingdom of God. Our joy in work comes from the knowledge that we are fulfilling what God has called us to do. When Paul wrote that we are "his workmanship created for good works" (Ephesians 2.10) he knew that we would be working a vast majority of our lives. When people came and asked John what they should do now that they were baptized he told them to continue in their work but to act honorably (Luke 3). Their perspectives now turned to something more than what they can touch and see and count. They now worked for the glory of God, to magnify him and be satisfied in him. Humbly we work and call others to labor with us. Together we can work side by side and build Christian communities that encourage each other to live a life that makes Christ look glorious.