Labor for the Lord

About 40 years ago, a woman named Susan arrived at work on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. She didn’t like her job as a mailroom clerk. She hated her commute. She didn’t like the people she worked with. She especially didn’t like the man who kept sexually harassing her.

 

She hadn’t even made it to the mailroom when the man got behind her on an escalator. He started harassing her again, so she reached into her purse, pulled out a gun, and shot him. Then she lit a cigarette and rode to the top of the escalator while her coworker lay bleeding behind her.

 

Meanwhile, people were diving for cover. Briefcases fell to the floor. Men and women in business suits were hiding behind planters or lying on the floor.

 

That’s about when I walked in. I heard my boss shout, “Mike, get down!” Someone else yelled, “Gun!” So, I jumped into the stairwell and jogged up 12 floors to my office.

 

I don’t remember much else about that day. But I remember thinking how remarkable it was that someone could become so unhappy with her work that she was willing to kill. Not everyone is that unhappy with their job, but many people are unhappy with their vocation.

 

This was not God’s intention for us.

 

This coming Labor Day is a holiday created to honor the contributions of everyday laborers. Once a year, America reminds us that our jobs matter to our country. But you should also know that your work matters to God.

 

God cares what you do for a living, and He cares how well you do it. Your computer, shovel, tools, or tape measure can all become sacred instruments. You should be looking forward to going to work this week—or at least going without carrying a gun!

 

About 500 years ago, the Reformation emphasized an important idea: our work is a holy calling. We are all called to a vocation, not just those who work in ministry.

 

Hebrews 12:1 tells us of “a race marked out for us.” Ultimately, we want to be able to say with Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

 

Much of our “race” is consumed with earning a living. I remember every job I’ve had beginning at age 16. Each job left me longing for something different. Eventually, I made a major change and moved from a business career into spiritual work, which has satisfied me deeply. I don’t think everyone should go to seminary. But I do think everyone should learn to see their job as a spiritual calling.

 

The Bible is clear that work is a gift from God. God gave Adam and Eve work to do before they sinned. God Himself is frequently described as a worker. Work is not a necessary evil that gets in the way of our calling. Our work is our calling. So how do we make our jobs a spiritual adventure?

 

 First, make God your boss.  Colossians 3:23 says: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”

 

I once heard about a Christian leader who complimented a flight attendant on her extraordinary patience. She had cared graciously for everyone on the flight, even an obnoxious, drunken passenger. He offered to write her employer a letter praising her. She declined. “I don’t work for the airlines,” she said. “I work for Jesus Christ.”

 

That changes everything. Your ultimate goal isn’t to impress your supervisor, get a promotion, or win an award. You are working for God.

 

Next, see your work as an act of worship. Think about the people God used in Scripture. Joseph worked in government. David worked in livestock, the military, and politics. Nehemiah was a building contractor. Priscilla and Aquila operated a business. Lydia managed a prosperous textile enterprise. Their jobs were not obstacles to their spiritual calling. Their jobs were part of their calling.

 

And remember Jesus. He spent most of His earthly life working as a carpenter, not preaching sermons. Do you think Jesus spent those years wishing He were doing something more important? No. He was doing something important.

 

When God makes something, it is important. God made your hands, and when your hands use your God-given abilities to make, repair, serve, manage, build, teach, or care, that work can become worship.

 

Finally, work for a testimony. Our work can make the gospel attractive. Titus 2 tells believers to live and work in such a way that “the teaching about God our Savior” becomes attractive.

 

The gospel must be seen as well as heard. People see it in our honesty, integrity, patience, moral purity, quality of work, and care for others. 

 

Colossians 4:5–6 says: “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace.” The Christian in the marketplace is an ambassador for God. Your craft can become a means of evangelism. Your work earns you the credibility to share your faith.

 

Dorothy Sayers once said that the church should tell a Christian carpenter that the first demand of his religion is that he should “make good tables.” That is the heart of a biblical view of work.

 

Your job is not merely a way to pay the bills. It can be a calling, an act of worship, and a testimony. So whatever work God has placed before you, do it for God. Do it as worship. And do it in a way that makes the gospel attractive.

 

The only Christian work is good work, well done.