Life at Work
About this series
This 11-part series will help us to understand and apply the Bible’s teaching on God’s plan for us to steward the gifts he has given us and therefore the type of people he is calling us to be in our day.
The entire message of the Bible reflects the statement in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (cf. Psalm 89:11). And yet we must balance that with the fact that God has also called mankind to steward his creation: “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to the human race” (Psalm 115:16) In making the distinction between God’s rule and our delegated rule, John Stott says, ‘Our possession of the earth is leasehold, therefore, not freehold. We are only tenants; God himself remains...the “landlord.”’
It’s also clear from the creation account in Genesis that mankind was specifically created to bear God’s image and to rule on his behalf over his creation:
Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
William Edgar defines this mandate given to Adam: ‘The creation mandate is the on-going charge to humanity, in the power and blessing of God, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and to gently subdue and cultivate the earth.’ This mandate relates not only to the physical ‘earth’ but also to our physical selves, what we do with the resources God has given us and to the way we care for the rest of mankind.
About this talk
Scripture: Ephesians 6:5-9
A healthy, biblical theology should lead to a healthy, biblical way of life. Which is very important when it comes to the matter of work. If we consider that someone works an average of 42¹/₂ hours per week, for 47 weeks a year (assuming five weeks annual leave), for a length of 50 years, they would total 100,000 hours at work during their lifetime.
The challenges any person encounters during that number of hours are considerable - physical, relational, motivational, spiritual, mental and emotional. How we view our work and how we respond to those challenges is vital both in terms of wellbeing and fruitfulness.
While Ephesians 6:5-9 doesn’t speak directly of the modern workplace situation, it does address some of the fundamental attitudes God requires of employees and employers - in both cases, the overriding motivation is derived from our knowledge of, and relationship with, God. Life at work, as with everything else in the Christian’s life, is radically transformed by a Christian’s faith.
It will be helpful for the speakers to draw on their own experiences of the challenges and privileges of life at work, but important not to restrict what they say to that experience. It may be helpful to have specific conversations with others to gain a broader range of experiences.
In particular it will be important to address the particular challenges and opportunities of being a Christian at work. For every Christian, there will be opportunities and also points at which their faith interacts with their work responsibilities and possibly even conflicts with them.
Application could include:
What attitudes does Ephesians 6:4-9 teach us to adopt in our workplace? What might that look like in practice?
What are some of the contemporary points at which the Christian faith might collide with responsibilities at work? What advice / principles can be offered to help navigate those situations?
What unique opportunities do we, as Christians, have in our workplace?
Audio only
God gives us reasons for working, without making it the reason. Work, then, becomes an avenue for using the creative opportunities God has given, to serve other people and to love him - all of which we do for his glory.