All work is good, even work that isn't in ministry, if it's something that produces good in the world. All work should be viewed at the same level, and shouldn't be viewed as "not as good" as others. The reason is God commands us to be active and help others in the world, and work is one way to do this. This of course includes work at home, such as taking care of kids and housework.
We are all gifted by God differently and there are a variety of jobs that fit these talents. The fact that we all have different talents and backgrounds may lead us to think that other jobs aren't as good.
A designer may cringe at the thought of crunching numbers, and vice versa.
A person sitting in the office all day may not like the thought of retail or being a car mechanic, but they may not realize that some people like very much walking and moving around during the workday.
Along with the value in secular work, it is also a setting that may influence coworkers to think at least a little more about spiritual matters. It doesn't even have to be saying anything about spirituality, but just living a life that may seem a little different and more peaceful than others. They may start to think that there is something important in this. And the people in this setting are possibly ones that people in ministry may never cross paths with.
Showing posts with label vocation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vocation. Show all posts
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Good in Life's Repetition
Often it is easy to feel bogged down in the necessary repetition of tasks in life.
I heard a person mention this once and then say God created the sun to do the repeated task of coming up each day and how that's beautiful. It's at least an example of how repetition of a task is not bad, or how we're very grateful when others preform these daily tasks.
These repeated tasks or needs allow us to help others. Every single day we have a chance to help others by the daily, repeated tasks we do each day. We certainly know how to do them because we do them each day, so it makes it really easy to help others.
When we eat and sleep, we gain energy that may help others. When we cook, we may likely create a way to enjoy the gift of food with others.
When we go to work and find we do a similar thing every single day, we are helping the community that receives the product we help produce and we also have a chance to really help our coworkers in their work and feel loved by truly trying to do work well. We may be building trust by delivering what we promise the same time each week.
God wants us to love him and love our neighbor, and in loving our neighbor we honor him. Repeated tasks give us chances to honor him. And as we've noticed at times when we give to or help others, we sometimes have a sense of happiness or fulfillment when we do it.
I heard a person mention this once and then say God created the sun to do the repeated task of coming up each day and how that's beautiful. It's at least an example of how repetition of a task is not bad, or how we're very grateful when others preform these daily tasks.
These repeated tasks or needs allow us to help others. Every single day we have a chance to help others by the daily, repeated tasks we do each day. We certainly know how to do them because we do them each day, so it makes it really easy to help others.
When we eat and sleep, we gain energy that may help others. When we cook, we may likely create a way to enjoy the gift of food with others.
When we go to work and find we do a similar thing every single day, we are helping the community that receives the product we help produce and we also have a chance to really help our coworkers in their work and feel loved by truly trying to do work well. We may be building trust by delivering what we promise the same time each week.
God wants us to love him and love our neighbor, and in loving our neighbor we honor him. Repeated tasks give us chances to honor him. And as we've noticed at times when we give to or help others, we sometimes have a sense of happiness or fulfillment when we do it.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
The Goodness of Work
Post by
Michelle Dowell, Contributor
A few years ago a woman told me that her number one dream in life is to be wealthy enough to never have to cook again. She'd hire people to cook for her. I could see by the way she said it that she truly meant it.
I was a little surprised. Up until then I hadn't heard that as a dream before. A dream to do less. It wasn't to accomplish something, like dreams usually are, but to be allowed to not do something.
My guess is it's work in general that she'd love to get away from. I bet a lot of people dream of being on vacation forever if they could. But I often wonder if they were able to do that, that they wouldn't be as happy as they imagined.
It's fun to take some days or a week off sometimes, and that is needed—to refresh and relax at times—but to take months or years off might end up feeling a lot more boring, lonely, and unfulfilling than first imagined. Humans were created to interact with each other and help each other and to do things for God's glory. Work is one place where this happens. (And by work I mean all types—not just the type we're paid for, but also the work at home like laundry and helping a friend move.)
When we work, which includes doing something for someone else or ourselves, it often gives us a sense of meaning or fulfillment. In Genesis we see that work was there before the Fall, meaning that work is good, and it's the Fall that has caused it to be more difficult.
It's okay to acknowledge that work is difficult at times. For example, machines break and unplanned delays happen. But it's important to acknowledge work's beneficial role in our life too. There's a meaning and purpose behind it. It allows us to reach out and change things for the better in some way.
Michelle Dowell, Contributor
A few years ago a woman told me that her number one dream in life is to be wealthy enough to never have to cook again. She'd hire people to cook for her. I could see by the way she said it that she truly meant it.
I was a little surprised. Up until then I hadn't heard that as a dream before. A dream to do less. It wasn't to accomplish something, like dreams usually are, but to be allowed to not do something.
My guess is it's work in general that she'd love to get away from. I bet a lot of people dream of being on vacation forever if they could. But I often wonder if they were able to do that, that they wouldn't be as happy as they imagined.
It's fun to take some days or a week off sometimes, and that is needed—to refresh and relax at times—but to take months or years off might end up feeling a lot more boring, lonely, and unfulfilling than first imagined. Humans were created to interact with each other and help each other and to do things for God's glory. Work is one place where this happens. (And by work I mean all types—not just the type we're paid for, but also the work at home like laundry and helping a friend move.)
When we work, which includes doing something for someone else or ourselves, it often gives us a sense of meaning or fulfillment. In Genesis we see that work was there before the Fall, meaning that work is good, and it's the Fall that has caused it to be more difficult.
It's okay to acknowledge that work is difficult at times. For example, machines break and unplanned delays happen. But it's important to acknowledge work's beneficial role in our life too. There's a meaning and purpose behind it. It allows us to reach out and change things for the better in some way.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Vocation - All Work God's Work
In many churches there has crept in a notion that some work is holy and some work is secular and therefore not holy. This viewpoint is a misunderstanding of the bible.
The reality is that all work is God's and should be done as service unto God.
There may be some work with elements which are not ethical. In these cases we should not do these form of work and try to leave them if we are in them, trusting that God will provide in the right way.
The reality is that God created man to care for the earth. Work was created before the fall and it was good.
Maybe a suspicion of that work is bad comes from a failure to see that it existed before the fall. It is not a result of the fall, although work was not intended to be difficult as it is now, that difficulty is a result of the fall.
The reality is that all work is God's and should be done as service unto God.
There may be some work with elements which are not ethical. In these cases we should not do these form of work and try to leave them if we are in them, trusting that God will provide in the right way.
The reality is that God created man to care for the earth. Work was created before the fall and it was good.
Maybe a suspicion of that work is bad comes from a failure to see that it existed before the fall. It is not a result of the fall, although work was not intended to be difficult as it is now, that difficulty is a result of the fall.
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