“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” –
Here is a thought experiment. Imagine that I am a very wealthy individual who guarantees to provide for all your needs for the rest of your life. You would never have to work another day for as long as you live. How would this change your attitude toward working? Would you keep doing what you are currently doing? Would you still be anxious about your future?
In Part 1, The Place of Our Work in God’s Plan, we observed that our identity comes from being images of God (created as males and females). We saw that intrinsic to our identity are our roles, which are parts we need to play to fulfil our God-given mandate to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and have dominion over earthly creatures. Our responsibilities in these roles (as men/women, husbands/wives, fathers/mothers, etc.) should therefore guide our choices about work, which can help us fulfil them.
Lastly, we saw that believers find themselves having to work within a world with overlapping realities. On the one hand, we still live in a world tainted by sin. On the other hand, we live as a new creation under the lordship of Christ in the kingdom of God.
In this second part, I would like to reflect on work in our contemporary world. What do our identity, our roles, and our work look like for those of us who are in Christ? How can we labor with faithfulness, honesty, diligence, and contentment in a world that often does not reward these qualities?
Our Work and Christ’s Mission
As believers, we need to remember that we are living and working during the last days. This is the period between the First and the awaited Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In , humanity received the mandate to be “fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it”. In , the risen Lord Jesus declares that “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to [Jesus]”. He then commissions his disciples to make disciples of all nations—baptizing and teaching them.
These commissions belong within God’s unfolding purposes, but they are distinct. The creation mandate concerns humanity’s fruitfulness and stewardship of the earth; the Great Commission concerns making disciples of all nations. Our ordinary work remains part of our service to God and neighbor, and it can provide opportunities to support the church’s mission and bear witness to Christ.
Through his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, Christ has secured our salvation and broken sin’s dominion over those who trust in him. By his grace, believers can resist sin and pursue faithfulness in their work.
This does not mean that we work free from sin’s presence or its painful effects. Complete restoration awaits Christ’s Second Coming. For now, we live and work in the overlapping reality of victory over sin’s power while still living in the presence of sin and its effects.
Ordinary Work as Service to Christ
Recalling the thought experiment at the beginning, if money were freely guaranteed, would you keep doing what you are currently doing? Perhaps you would quit a “secular” job and pursue a “spiritual” job. What makes a job spiritual? Would you say that your job is spiritual? How about your pastor’s?
gives believers this command: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord.” In this passage, Paul addresses slaves and masters, calling for sincere service and requiring masters to act justly and fairly (:1). His words help us examine the motives and responsibilities we bring to work. What does it mean to offer our work as Christian service? I would like to point out two requirements.
First, the worker must belong to Christ through repentance and faith. warns that even impressive religious activity cannot substitute for belonging to him. This does not mean that unbelievers’ work has no value: it can genuinely benefit their neighbors. However, neither useful work nor religious activity can earn acceptance with God. Our acceptance rests on Christ.
Second, the work itself must be consistent with God’s word. Working “for the Lord” cannot make sinful conduct acceptable. A doctor who facilitates abortion cannot do that work for the Lord. Likewise, a businessperson who cheats to make a profit or a teacher/pastor who teaches that men can become women and women can become men cannot acceptably offer that conduct to the Lord.
Thus, a religious title does not make a job spiritual. Ordinary work that accords with God’s word can be offered as service to Christ when a believer seeks to do it faithfully for him. Such service is accepted through Christ, despite the imperfections of our motives and performance.
Ecclesiastes recognizes the frustrations of toil while also describing enjoyment in work as God’s gift (). We should therefore avoid treating ordinary work as worthless merely because it lacks a religious title.
Fearing Man in Our Work
warns against working merely to win human approval. This is a significant temptation in our hyperconnected age of social media. Fear of man can surface in many ways. For some, it appears in an excessive concern for prestigious titles. For others, it appears in a desire to please earthly masters, even when doing so requires sin.
Fear of man often prevents believers from working heartily as for the Lord. Our workplaces are still influenced by sin, and those who cheat or take advantage of others may advance at the expense of those who remain steadfast in their integrity.
At times, believers may be pressured to sin as part of their work. I would love to encourage you, dear saint. Refusing to compromise may be costly, even leading to job loss, but faithfulness to Christ is worth that cost.
Such obedience does not earn salvation; it flows from faith. Persistent, unrepentant compromise calls for sober self-examination. Yet believers who fall can turn to Christ in repentance and receive forgiveness (). Our hope rests in his grace, which also strengthens us to obey.
Paul reminds us that our lasting reward comes from the Lord. His promise of an inheritance gives us hope when faithful work goes unrecognized by others ().
The End Is the Lord
Returning to our opening question, financial security might change the work you choose, but it would not remove your calling to serve God and neighbor.
Our identity and worth come from being created in God’s image, and as believers we belong to Christ. We can therefore pursue faithful service without making our titles, income, or productivity the measure of our value. We are responsible for faithfulness, while trusting God with the results.
The answer to the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism attests that “man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” As you work, I pray that you will find contentment in the Lord, seek to be honest and diligent, and rejoice in the opportunity to glorify him through your labor.
Amen.