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by Jonathan Rice
For some people work is just a job. But what if our work is an expression of God's will in this world? What if our earthly work prepares us for a heavenly destiny? Wouldn't we then consider our daily work a blessing?
The connection between the ordinary activities of employment and the ultimate value of those activities is sometimes obscure. When our work seems to lack an ultimate meaning, we feel anxious and empty; and work-related anxieties can cause depression and other aliments. So it may seem odd to think of work as a blessing from God, particularly when we read in the Bible, "Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life"(Genesis 3:17-19, NRSV). Then we remember that the cursed, toilsome nature of work came after the first humans sinned against God.
Before humans sinned, work was not toilsome labor but fruitful stewardship that imitated the creative, care-taking activity of God. Genesis records that God called each day of his creative work good. Since Genesis also tells us that we are created in God's image, we express God's image best when we do good work. Imitating God, our work can be like God’s hands shaping both the natural world and human societies.
Our work can also shape our eternal destinies. Christians believe that our lives continue after this earthly existence. What if our work here on earth were in some way a preparation for the work we will do in heaven? The parable of the talents in the Gospel of Matthew 25:14-30 urges us to consider seriously the stewardship of God's gifts. This parable tells of the story of a wealthy man who, before leaving on a journey, entrusts money to his servants. While he is gone, some of the servants invest the money, so that when the master arrives home he finds earned interest on his principal sum. In contrast to the wise servants is the servant who buries the master's money out of fear. The master praises the wise servants for increasing the money, but he condemns the fearful and lazy servant. What might this parable tell us about investing ourselves in our work?
Jonathan is an ordained minister, writer, and managing editor of InterVarsity's Communication Department.
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