WHAT DOES FAITH HAVE TO DO WITH WORK?
As Christians, what does our faith have to do with our work? Is it just a way for us to provide for our families? Or just a way to be honest & evangelize others? Or maybe just a way to serve others?
To put it bluntly, if I’m not a pastor or missionary, does God actually care about my work?
The resounding answer of the Scriptures is: Yes!
We’ve seen this truth clearly the last two Sundays & it is an important truth to remember on this Labor Day!
If you’re interested, review the messages, quotes, & resources below to learn more.
listen to the MESSAGES
REVIEW THE QUOTES
If God’s called you to be a king, don’t stoop to be a missionary; but if God’s called you to be a missionary, don’t stoop to be a king. Jordan Grooms
It is not only prayer that gives God glory but work. Smiting on an anvil, sawing a beam, whitewashing a wall, driving horses, sweeping, scouring, everything gives God some glory if being in his grace you do it as your duty. To go to communion worthily gives God great glory, but a man with a dung fork in his hand, a woman with a sloppily, give him glory too. He is so great that all things give him glory if you mean they should. Gerald Manly Hopkins
God has ordered human society in such a way that we all depend on each other. Before we give thanks for our daily bread, somebody has to have baked it. In fact, before a slice of honey oatmeal appears on our plate, a number of farmers, millers, bakers, distributors, drivers, grocers, and others have had to work together in order to supply our need. Cornelius Plantinga
One of the New Testament’s most frequent one-word descriptions of the Christian is that he is ‘called.’ Sinclair Ferguson
Our daily work can be a calling only if it is reconceived as God’s assignment to serve others. Tim Keller
It is pure invention that pope, bishops, priests, & monks are to be called the ‘spiritual estate’; princes, lords, artisans, & farmers the ‘temporal estate.’ Martin Luther
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to give us this day our daily bread. And he does give us our daily bread. He does it by means of the farmer who planted & harvested the grain, the baker who made the flour into bread, the person who prepared our meal. Martin Luther
God has ordained particular duties to each one in his station in life. And so that no one should overstep his boundaries, He has identified various stations in life as callings. Every individual’s rank in life, therefore, is a kind of post assigned to him by the Lord, to keep him from rushing about rashly for the whole of his life. John Calvin
The hardest task for people who believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ is in living the sort of life that makes people say, ‘Ah, so that’s how people are going to live when righteousness takes over our world.’ . . . The hardest task is simple, persistent faithfulness in our work & our attitudes. Cornelius Plantinga
Read to learn more
Below are several articles & books I would recommend on this very important subject.
Shorter resources:
“Why Grumpiness at Work Lies About God,” interview with Tim Keller [podcast/blog]
“How the Present Life & Its Comforts Should Be Used,” by John Calvin [PDF]
Longer resources (increasing as you go!):
“Biblical Productivity,” by C.J. Mahaney [PDF]
Engaging God’s World, by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.
The Gospel At Work, by Greg Gilbert & Sebastian Traeger
Every Good Endeavor, by Tim Keller