Community Post: My Son Wears the Mask of God in His Work

“What else is all our work to God–whether in the fields, in the garden, in the city, in the house, in war, or in government–but just such a . . . [way] by which He wants to give His gifts in the fields, at home, and everywhere else? These are the masks of God, behind which He wants to remain concealed and do all things.” --Martin Luther

My son helps educate children. He helps heal the sick. He helps run major companies. He helps ease transitions and changes.

Yet he’s not a teacher, a doctor, a CEO, or a counselor.

He’s an operations manager for a local moving company.

He assists schools, doctor’s offices, and businesses with relocating. He works with families in the midst of stress from uprooting an elderly parent or as the result of a divorce or job changes.

He works compassionately, competently, and creatively to protect a family’s history as his employees wrap, stack, and shoulder large objects around tight corners and navigate steep stairs.

He works efficiently to save his clients time and money.

And he follows the company’s core values, which include The Grandma Rule®: to treat everyone the way you would want your grandma to be treated.

Even his OCD tendencies, as frustrating as they can be for him sometimes, uniquely gift him for excellence in his day-to-day duties.

How he performs his job is one way he cultivates God’s creation and shapes culture. It’s a way to love his neighbor. And it’s a way through which God cares for the rest of us, how He unmasks Himself.

As Tim Keller wrote in Every Good Endeavor: "The most modest jobs–like plowing a field or digging a ditch–[are] the 'masks' through which God cares for us. . . These are all God’s callings, all ways of doing God’s work in the world, all ways through which God distributes his gifts to us.Through our work we bring order out of chaos, create new entities, exploit the patterns of creation, and interweave the human community. So whether splicing a gene or doing brain surgery or collecting the rubbish or painting a picture, our work further develops, maintains, or repairs the fabric of the world. In this way, we connect our work to God’s work.”

There’s a lot of chaos in the moving process. My son helps bring order out of that.

He wears the mask of God in his work.

Moving Beyond Mediocrity

This article is part of our series, Moving Beyond Mediocrity. How often in your daily life do you think, “I wish I could do better”? It’s the feeling you get when you realize you aren’t really trying. Your job, your family, even your hobbies: they are worth working harder. But what does it take to move beyond mediocrity? How do you quit using your education, your upbringing, your circumstances, even your faith, as an excuse to keep you from doing your best? Join us as we discuss giving it our all in our workplaces and our homes, in our communities and our churches, for the common good and for the glory of God. Also, consider inviting others to join you by sharing these stories via email, Facebook, Twitter, or networks you are part of.