Good Work
Theme of the week: Why Do You Go to Work?
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15, NIV) Dig Deeper: Genesis 3:17-19
The huge assumption is that work is bad and leisure is good. Our only hope for a transformed vision for vocation, work, and career is to engage our world with a theological vision for good work—to redeem the very idea of work.
The revolutionary message of the Bible is that work is precisely that: good. Central to the biblical description of the formation of the first man and woman is the mandate they received to till the earth and name the animals (Key Bible Verse and Gen. 2:19-20). They were created to work, and their work was meaningful. God made them workers so that they could be co-creators with him—not in the sense that they are creators of the earth, but that their work was a part of God's continual re-creation, and as such it was important, significant, and valued by God.
With the Fall and with sin, work becomes toil (Dig Deeper). And thus a crucial part of the Christian mission in the world is to seek and declare a recovery of meaningful and joyful work. Work is a central expression of what it means to be a Christian believer, a critical component of our spirituality.
—Gordon T. Smith in Courage and Calling
My Response: Do I consider my work good? Why or why not? What might need to change so that I can more consistently consider my work good?
Thought to Apply: For a work to be considered good it must not only conform outwardly to the law of God, but it must be motivated inwardly by a sincere love for God.—R. C. Sproul (theologian, writer, pastor)
Adapted from Courage and Calling (IVP, 2011) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.
Copyright © 2012 by Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. 1 of 1
 share this page
Lord, convict me of any wrong thinking or bad attitudes I have about work; give me the desire to do my job "with all [my] heart, as working for [you], not for human masters" (Col. 3:23, NIV).
Men of Integrity
Connect with God | Transform my Mind | Live by His Power
Relate Better | Make an Impact
Home | Archives | Contact Us
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Try an Issue of Men of Integrity
Free!
|
 |
|
No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for Canadian Orders.
If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless.
Give Men of Integrity as a gift
Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
| |
|
RSS Feed
