Your Work Matters to God
Article / Produced by TOW Project
Your Work Matters to God. No matter what your profession or occupation – whether you’re a parent, a sanitation worker, an artist, an engineer or anything else – God cares about your work. But how do we know what God wants for our work? What does the Bible say about work and how we should approach it?
1) Your work is part of God’s big picture, now and eternally. From God’s work of creation in Genesis 1 all the way through to the perfect redemption of the world in Revelation 21-22, work is an essential part of God's process of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Perfection. Read more about how work infuses the creation story in the Theology of Work Bible Commentary on Genesis 1.
2) God provides you with unique skills, gifts and talents, and calls you to particular roles and activities. The Bible says that God gives people gifts for accomplishing the work they are called to do. Although our roles at work might seem different in authority or importance, our callings are equal. There are no second-class callings from God. Read our article on what the Bible says about Your Skills and Gifts.
3) You doing “good work” - in all senses - matters. We are responsible not only for the quality of our work, but also for our faithfulness to God in the way we pursue that work. We are also responsible for our own integrity, and treating others (and ourselves) with respect while working. Never fear, God is ultimately responsible for the outcome and impact of our work. Learn more in our PRS.work Bible Study video on 1 Corinthians Chapters 3-6: All Can Do Good Work.
4) God cares about your hardships at work. In our fallen world, work can be exploitative, unfair, or underpaid. Sometimes work can seem impossible to find. God cares about you regardless of your circumstances, and God calls for an end to bad working conditions. For more, listen to our Making It Work podcast episode, "Barred from the Workforce: The Hidden Side of Life After Incarceration".
5) A rhythm of work and rest is essential to your life. God invites us into a deliberate pattern of regular rest. These periods of rest are intended to be restorative and are also opportunities to deepen our relationship with Jesus. Watch how this might be discussed in a Bible Study group discussion of Nehemiah Chapters 12-13.
To sum up how your work matters to God:
The Bible makes it clear that work - including your work - matters to God. We believe that connecting your work to God’s own work is fundamental to God’s wishes for us. We invite you to explore the Theology of Work’s many resources - including Bible commentaries, devotional plans, small group curricula, and podcasts - to engage more in God’s calling for you and your work.
Note: This article was adapted from 10 Points About Work in the Bible Every Christian Should Know, by Andy Mills.
Image by skyNext / Shutterstock . Used with Permission.
Author: Theology of Work Project
Theology of Work Project Online Materials by Theology of Work Project, Inc. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Based on a work at www.theologyofwork.org
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© 2014 by the Theology of Work Project, Inc.
Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, Copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.
