Our study, our work and our career are a big part of our lives – if you work for 40 years you will spend around 70,000 hours in work and therefore it is important to make sure that you choose wisely. More importantly we need to listen to what the scriptures say about these matters and see what it tells us about how we should approach this part of our life. Our society today puts a lot of focus on education and careers and while there is nothing wrong with these things in themselves a balance needs to be reached.
A subject which is closely linked which is also important to look at is what our attitude should be to money, wealth and possessions – career objectives are often closely linked to maximising wealth. Our society today is absolutely focussed on materialism and there is no end of things which we are told we must have to have society status and we need to maintain a Godly perspective to ensure that we are not “choked” by these pressures.
When it comes to choosing a career or a job there are very few specific careers that are directly prohibited by scripture so a good over-arching principle is given to us by Paul when he said that “All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up” (1 Cor 10v23). We need to ensure that we need to take this principle into account when making a decision on what career path we take or if we are going to take a job eg if taking a particular job means we are going to regularly going to be missing ecclesial meetings we should look for other alternatives. So what does the Bible have to do say about work?
Working in scripture
God has intended from the very beginning for man to work, he placed Adam in the garden to dress it and to keep it but after he had sinned God made work to become a toil rather than an occupation and so man was told “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread” (Gen 3v19). Despite toiling humanity has never been able to really achieve anything as Solomon noted “What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity”(Eccl 2v22-23).
However many very faithful men worked and had a career in conjunction with their service of God, most notably the Lord Jesus who seems to have been a carpenter right up until the time of the start of his ministry. Paul was also a tent-maker who worked to support himself in his work of preaching the gospel and even used his connections in the industry to preach to faithful people such as Priscilla and Aquila. What principles can we then take from the lives of these people and the words which we have recorded for us in the scriptures? What should be our motivation and attitude when we are working or studying?
Motivation for working
It is very easy for our jobs and careers to become a source of pride but we are instructed that our focus should be on providing for those who we care for (1 Tim 5v8) and for those who are in need (Eph 4v28). We need to see our jobs and careers as a means to an end and not an end in itself – this is not always the attitude of those that we come into contact with but we need to be careful that the proud and selfish attitudes that many people have today does not pervade our thinking. Many also see a successful career as a means to attaining great wealth and status but the Lord Jesus tells us where our priorities should be when he said “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matt 6v31-33).
Our attitude to working
It can often be difficult for us to see our employers or workplaces as important given that their ideals and principles seem to be in conflict with those of God. However Paul gives us some very important things to remember about our attitude when he writes the following in Ephesians and in Colossians – “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.” (Eph 6v5-9) and “Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Col 3v22-23)
We need to see our service to our employers being as though it was working for the Lord Jesus and therefore we should put a lot of effort into it and should be as honest and show integrity in all that we do. This will not only please our Father which is in heaven but it is just another way of “letting our light shine before men” and spreading the wonderful hope of the gospel that we have been given. Paul explains this to Titus in chapter 2v7-10 “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. Slaves are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.” However we must make sure that we strike a balance and not let our careers take over our lives to the exclusion of the things of God, this is often a balance which is hard to reach but one that we need to work towards.
Questions:
1. What does 1 Timothy 6 tell us is the root of all evil? Note it is the love of this element and not the element itself.
2. Where does the Lord Jesus tell us we should keep our treasure – provide quotes? How can we reflect this in our day to day lives?
3. Who is an example of someone in scripture who was treated badly by their employer but took it graciously and was blessed because of it? (Hint: it is early in the Old Testament record)
4. How can we ensure that we maintain a “work-life balance” that ensures that we deal with honesty and integrity with regards to our employment yet ensure we have time for the things of God?