————
I was leafing
through a newspaper shortly before Thanksgiving and came across a great
political cartoon. It depicted two
Indians carrying a dead turkey on a pole towards a table at which several New
England Puritans were sitting, apparently waiting to eat their Thanksgiving
dinner with the Natives. The Indians
were far enough out of earshot not to be heard when one said to the other “I
don’t care if they have a good work ethic, they are illegal aliens. They should
go back to where they came from and enter the country legally and with our
permission.” I laughed for a good while
about that reversal of the common perspective we hear in America today
about so many illegal aliens. But the
cartoon also alluded to something that it was assumed a broad audience would
readily know all about— the so call Puritan work ethic.
There is something
about Christianity, and particularly Protestant Christianity that seems to
raise to a peculiar degree the issue of how we as a Christians should view work. Is it a blessing or a bane, is it a duty or a
privilege, do we work to live, or live to work? Inquiring minds want to know. One thing is for sure— modern Americans,
including many Christians have little or no understanding of what the Bible
actually says about work, and it hardly informs their views on work vs. play,
or career vs. retirement or other related subjects, subjects we intend to explore
in this little study. And in one sense,
they can hardly be blamed– Christian theologians have seldom addressed the
topic of work!
ON DEFINING WORK
David Jensen in
his recent study on work puts it this way— “[The] topic–human labor–is rather
foreign to most systematic theologies. Not
often have the codifiers of Christian
doctrine explored the topic of work as an explicitly theological theme.”[1] If you survey the topical indexes in works of
Biblical and Systematic theology you will find the topic ‘work’ rarely in the
index, because it is rarely discussed in the text! How odd especially when the Bible has so much
to say about work, past, present and future. For
example consider David Jensen’s helpful summary: “Biblical narratives overflow
with work. Between the opening lines of
Genesis, which portray God as a worker, and the closing chapter of Revelation,
with a vision of new creation, God labors. One of the distinguishing
characteristics of biblical faith is that God does not sit enthroned in heaven
removed from work, willing things into existence by divine fiat. Unlike the
gods of the Greco-Roman mythologies, who absolve themselves of work– [or make
work a punishment for troublesome persons, e.g. Sisyphus]–dining on nectar and
ambrosia in heavenly rest and contemplation–the Biblical God works.”[2] But the Bible is by no means just about God
working, it is also about God’s people working and their participation in work
that God sees as good, endorses, and indeed participates in.
Perhaps part of
the problem is, we have never bothered to ask and answer the question “what is
work?’ from a Biblical point of
view. This is passing strange when we
have so many workaholics in our culture, those who live to work, rather than
work to live. Many economists would
reduce the definition of work to the lowest common denominator–whatever we do to live or survive. The problem with this definition is not
merely that it is too minimalist (after all, running from an oncoming attacker,
or swerving to avoid a car accident is something you do to survive, but that is
hardly what one would call work), but that it has no theological component. Furthermore, eating and sleeping are not
‘work’ though we do them to survive and thrive.
I like Fredrick Buechner’s definition of work–”the
place where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep need”.[3] The problem with this definition is that one
may take delight in making something that the world hardly needs, like the man
who made the world’s largest ball of tinfoil, collecting, combining and toiling
over many years on his pet project. But
to be fair, Buechner stresses that work comes at the intersection of delight
and need.
It is always rewarding to know you are doing
something that helps others, and very rewarding if you know you are doing
something that is so purposeful it saves lives.
But whether you take delight in it or not, if it meets genuine and crucial
needs in the world, it is good work and should be done. Buechner
is suggesting however that deep inside we are made for work, and when we find
our calling, purpose, vocation, ministry it will bring deep satisfaction when
we do it. I can attest to this truth
myself. I love preaching, teaching, and
writing. It’s hard for me to imagine my
adult life without doing one or more of these things. These tasks bring me great joy and hopefully
bring others some considerable benefit.
But at the end of the day Buechner’s definition is not fully adequate.
David Jensen settles for a definition of work that
has a theological component–any activity undertaken with a sense of obligation
to self, others, one’s community or to one’s God.[4] The problem I have with this definition is
that all activities that a Christian
undertakes should fall under that last rubric, as well as others. By this I mean all work should be done as
part of one’s obligations placed on us by God, whatever else may also be the
case, and all work must be doable as something that glorifies God and edifies
others. This is precisely why I would
say it is entirely debatable whether war can be called ‘legitimate work’ from a
Christian point of view– not if the
Sermon on the Mount is supposed to describe how the disciple of Jesus is to
live, work, and behave.
A second attempt at defining work is made by Miroslav
Wolf. He suggests: “Work is honest, purposeful, and
methodologically specified social activity whose primary goal is the creation
of products or states of affairs that can satisfy the needs of working
individuals or their co-creatures, or (if primarily an end in itself) activity
that is necessary in order for acting individuals to satisfy their needs apart
from the need for the activity itself.”[5] In this definition, leisure is contrasted
with work, but of course that still leaves a host of activities that do not
seem to naturally fall into either the category of leisure or work— eating
and sleeping for example, or even just breathing. Notice however the close connection between
work and its purpose–to satisfy human needs (what sort is not specified).
What I find especially unsatisfactory about this
definition is its basic a-theological character. Volf’s real stress is on work as a means to an
end, namely meeting human needs. In this
way he can distinguish work from a hobby.
But in fact the activity undertaken as work can also be undertaken as
hobby, and in both cases be a means to an end of meeting an end which is extrinsic
to the workers need to do it. If I love
building computers and I make one for my son as a birthday present, knowing that
he needs a computer for work, I have made it as a gift for his birthday. I
could have gone out and bought one with the same result. My labor was not compulsory to meet the
need. And yet, just because I exercise
my skills in something I love to do, (and do not do as part of my ‘job’), this
does not prevent what I am doing from being classified as either a hobby
activity or work, or both!
It will perhaps surprise you to discover how little
theologians have actually discussed work, and in fact the first modern full
dress theology of work does not seem to have been written until the 1950s,
which I find astounding considering how much of our waking hours are consumed
by work.[6] But Volf is absolutely on the right track
when he stresses that coming up with a theology of work as vocation based
almost entirely on the creation theology of the OT will not do, if we are
looking to have a Christian theology of work.
The coming of Christ has changed the eschatological
situation. Volf puts it this way: “Christian life is life in the Spirit of the
new creation or it is not Christian life at all. And the Spirit of God should
determine the whole life, spiritual as well as secular, of a Christian. Christian work must, therefore, be done under
the inspiration of the Spirit and in the light of the coming new creation.”[7] Now we
are getting somewhere! And right away
there seems to be a clear implication–work that the Holy Spirit would never
inspire, should never be done by a Christian, say for example, creating pornography,
to take an easy example.
The Holy Spirit’s inspiration of work comes
automatically with an ethical component.
The works of the flesh are not the works of the Spirit. We will say more
on this. But it is not just that
Christian work is Spirit inspired and enabled, it is that Christian work looks
forward to the coming Kingdom on earth, the new creation, it does not merely
live out of the old creation and its applicable rules. Thus one could offer as a Christian
definition of work any necessary and
meaningful task that God calls and gifts a person to do and which can be
undertaken to the glory of God and for the edification and aid of human beings,
being inspired by the Spirit and foreshadowing the realities of the new
creation. To this we may add that
any such work is worthy of fair remuneration for “a workman is worthy of his
hire”.
A great deal of the problem we have in America
in discussing our work is that our approach and attitudes about work are
grounded in unbiblical myths of various kinds. Take for example the myth that
our lives should involve a period of work, which if done well then entitles us
to retirement, maybe even early retirement!
Where exactly is the notion of retirement found in the Bible? Nowhere! Not even in the eschaton envisioned by the
prophets do we have images of a workless paradise.
Work was part of the original creation design, and it
appears to be in the works for the new creation as well. Work should be neither demonized nor
divinized.[8] If we
were to contrast for a moment however, the creation vs. the eschatological
vision of work in the Bible we could say that in the creation accounts work is
what the human was fitted and commanded to do, whereas in the eschatological
accounts it is what the Spirit inspires and gifts them to do, and in which they
find joy. Work is inherent to being in
God’s image for Gen. 1.26 says that we were created in God’s image ‘in order
that’ we might have dominion over creation.
Consider for a moment a famous, and famously
misused and misquoted passage from Isaiah’s vision of the final future: “In the
last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest
of mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream
to it. Many peoples will come and say
‘Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of
Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The Law shall go out from Zion,
the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against
nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, house of Jacob, let us walk
in the light of the Lord.” (Isaiah 2.2-5).
Our concern is
particularly with the end of that quote.
When Isaiah envisions the eschatological age, or the last days, he does
not envision a massive work stoppage. What he envisions is a massive war
stoppage, if we may put it that way.
The point of beating swords into plowshares and spears into pruning
hooks is so that the weapons of war may be turned into the tools of work. When Isaiah envisages the final or
eschatological state of affairs his vision of shalom, well being, peace, is not
of a workless paradise, but of a world at peace worshipping the one true God
and working together rather than warring with each other. We see this very same sort of vision of the
final future in Isaiah 65.20-25:
No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
21 They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of
their hands.
23 They shall not labor in vain
or bear children for calamity,
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,
and their descendants with them.
24 Before they call I will answer;
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
We could compare
these two Isaianic passages to Zech. 8.10-12 where again paradise involves a
war stoppage not a work stoppage, so the crops can be sown, and their fruit
enjoyed in peace. Work apparently isn’t the human dilemma, war and other
sorts of fallen human behavior is.
It is no accident
that Jesus in his inaugural sermon in Nazareth
(Lk. 4) quotes the prophetic vision of Jubilee and suggests that his bringing
of such prophecies to pass, his bringing in of the Kingdom involves
work–including the work of healing people. I quite agree with Miroslav Volf when he says
that a Christian definition of work must take into account where history is
going in God’s hands and thus “a theological interpretation of work is only
valid if it facilitates transformation of work toward ever-greater
correspondence with the coming new creation.”[9]
Thus we must be
constantly asking, is this work that foreshadows the Kingdom and its ends and
aims and character? The goal of human
history, or at least its end, according to Rev. 21-22 is that God, humankind
and creation will finally be brought back into harmony, shalom, positive
ongoing relationship. Our eschatology
must shape our vision of our tasks.[10] These same passages envisage work continuing
in the Kingdom. Thus we must not over-emphasize the discontinuity between this
age and the age to come, when it comes to work.
Presumably,
whatever is true, and good, and beautiful in life and human culture will be
cleansed of sin’s taint and remain in the new creation. Nothing good will be wasted, we will not be
laboring in vain. The inherent value and
goodness of work will be upheld in the Kingdom, just as the inherent goodness
and value of all creation will be upheld—”Creation itself…will be set free
from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious freedom of the children of
God” (Rom. 8.21).
As many
commentators have noticed the vision of our final future in such prophetic passages
as the ones we have cited or alluded to,
seems to be largely a reprise of the vision found in Genesis 2–once a gardener
always a gardener. The Endzeit is like
the intended the original Urzeit in that there is no fallenness any more, no
shadow over the land, no laboring in vain, no winter without Christmas, as C.S.
Lewis once put it. But there is laboring even in Paradise that came, and is to come! [11]
This raises some
very serious questions about the whole notion of retirement either in this life
or the life to come. Is it even a
Biblical idea, or does it even comport with Biblical ideas about our future
whether individually or collectively when the Kingdom comes in full measure on
earth? These are the sort of things we need to
explore in this little book in some depth.
But one more story first.
It was January
2009 and I was on sabbatical from Asbury Seminary, up in Vermont writing. I decided to take a morning and go to Weston
Priory and spend some time in prayer.
Most people’s vision of monasteries is that it is a place where there is
a lot of prayer and worship and singing but otherwise not much goes on and not
much gets accomplished. This could
hardly be more false of most monasteries.
The monks at
Weston priory followed the Benedictine rule of ‘Ora et Labora”, prayer and
labor, or prayer and work, which includes making some wonderful maple syrup and
cheese and engaging in all sorts of charitable activities. These monks are hardly resting on their
laurels late in life nor are they so heavenly minded that they have become no
earthly good. Indeed, I would say they have the right
perspective on things for they knew that the ‘work’ of worship is the most
important activity that transpires on earth, the activity which most
foreshadows both the nature of heaven and the future of the Kingdom on earth.[12]
As I was leaving
the monastery I noticed a banner hanging just outside the little chapel. It
quoted that great sage and prophet Jimi Hendrix who once said “when the power
of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” Well, the monks were working on the basis of
that belief and so was Jesus. Notice I
used the word ‘working’. It’s high time
for us to begin contemplating the meaning of work from a more Biblical, a more
Kingdom point of view. Let this preface serve as our call to wake up,
and get to work on rethinking work.
[1] D.H.
Jensen, Responsive Labor. A Theology of Work, (Louisville:
Westminster/J. Knox, 2006), p. X.
[2] Jensen ,
p. 22.
[3] F.
Buechner, Wishful Thinking. A Seeker’s ABC, (San Francisco: Harper,
1993), p. 119.
[4] David
Jensen, Responsive Labor. A Theology of Work, (Louisville:
Westminster/J. Knox, 2006), p. 3.
[5] M. Wolf,
Work in the Spirit. Toward a Theology of Work, (Eugene:
Wipf and Stock, 2001 rpr. of the 1991 Oxford edition), pp. 10-11.
[6] See
Wolf, Work in the Spirit, p. 71.
[7] Volf, p.
79.
[8] On the
latter, compare Thomas Carlyle who once claimed that work is “the latest Gospel
in this world” a Gospel which elevates
humankind “from the low places of this Earth, very literally into divine
Heavens.” T. Carlyle, Past and Present, (Boston:
The Riverside Press, 1965), p. 294.
In a remarkable transformation of the monastic phrase ‘ora et labora’ Carlyle said “labora est ora”–work is
praying!! (p. 196).
[9] Volf, p.
83.
[10] Volf,
p. 85.
[11] One of
the major problems with the extant exercises in Biblical theology on the
subject of work is that they work forward through the Bible, rather than
backward, and the end result of that is that in most case they never get to an
eschatological or Kingdom perspective on work, work in light of the inbreaking
Kingdom, which is the contribution of this particular study.
[12] On
which see the immediately prior book in this series Doxa: A Vision of
Kingdom Worship.
posted June 14, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Ben,
Darrell Cosden I think has written a good volume on this subject in his “The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work” (Hendrickson, 2006).
posted June 14, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Thanks for the tip Michael.
BW3
posted June 14, 2009 at 3:47 pm
While citing Buddhist values associated with work, the Quaker economist, Ernst Schumacher, who wrote that wonderfully prescient book on our demented uber-capitalist, economic system, Small Is Beautiful, seems to essentially express a Christian understanding of the beneficial role of work for our human well-being, when rightly directed.
Below are a few quotes from his writings I have just garnered from Google (the rest being well, worth reading, as well):
“Man is small, and, therefore, small is beautiful.”
“[A modern economist] is used to measuring the ‘standard of living’ by the amount of annual consumption, assuming all the time that a man who consumes more is ‘better off’ than a man who consumes less. A Buddhist economist would consider this approach excessively irrational: since consumption is merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption. The less toil there is, the more time and strength is left for artistic creativity. Modern economics, on the other hand, considers consumption to be the sole end and purpose of all economic activity.”
“It is clear, therefore, that Buddhist economics must be very different from the economics of modern materialism, since the Buddhist sees the essence of civilisation not in a multiplication of wants but in the purification of human character. Character, at the same time, is formed primarily by a man’s work. And work, properly conducted in conditions of human dignity and freedom, blesses those who do it and equally their products.”
“The most striking about modern industry is that it requires so much and accomplishes so little. Modern industry seems to be inefficient to a degree that surpasses one’s ordinary powers of imagination. Its inefficiency therefore remains unnoticed.”
It seems to me that, if Christ made scant comment on the subject, it was because he came to teach us the supernatural virtues, and was all too well aware how prone we – particularly the more worldly and infuential among us – are wont to elevate natural virtues to the status of the supernatural virtues; and this at the expense of the latter. The natural virtue of financial prudence for example, at the cost of liberality. The parable of the Widow’s Mite, I expect we could all agree, was not an injunction to natural prudence.
Also, we know, for instance, from his words on the topic of Corban and the scribe and Pharisees wicked exploitation of it – that Christ considered the natural virtues to be so obviously primordial, according to everyone’s understanding, that, for the most part, there was no need to address the matter at all. When he does so, it is to point to the distinction we are required to observe and the emphasis we are to place: “Do not the robbers do as much….?”
So, grace builds upon nature; what Adam Smith, incidentally was clearly alluding to with his term, Hidden Hand – what we call today, “synergies”: “Everything works together for good to them that love God.” Grace building on nature. The inordinate greed of the businessman should be controlled and harnessed for the common good.
One point that also seems to me to be of prime importance is that, whatever task we engage in, no matter how humble and routine, we should do it to the best of our ability, glorifying God, thereby, in our actions, as well as in our minds and hearts.
A striking example of the gusto such an attitude brings to physical labour is seen in the film, “Cool Hand” Luke, as Luke leads the ebullient road gang in their toil. I believe they were singing a kind of shanty. Anyway, the sadistic guard with the mirrored glasses was distraught!
The 18th century, Jesuit writer, Pierre de Caussade, coined the term, “the sacrament of the present moment”, to indicate that it was better to put a piece of paper in a waste-paper basket – I may be mistaken about this detail – if that is what God wants of us at a particular moment, than to give our body to be burnt at the stake if
that is not God’s wish for us at that moment.
The dignity of labour, while mostly theoretical in practice in terms of manual labour (the worldly pecking order is not so easily dethroned), is unequivocally a Roman Catholic doctrine, and is the focus of the Feast of St Joseph the Workman on May 1st.
posted June 14, 2009 at 3:49 pm
See above!
posted June 14, 2009 at 5:47 pm
I highly appreciate this work (hee hee) that you are doing. I agree that there is a severe deficiency in the literature on this subject, mostly because it is not something that many are interesting in reading. I would guess that many view a “theology of work” like a “theology of food”: something too mundane to be worth discussion.
But the Bible itself does take quite an interest in work. Quite frankly, the Bible takes quite an interest in a lot of mundane things including food and rest. For that alone, there deserves to be discussion on the matter.
I wonder, though, whether in your book you treat a comparison between your Christian definition of work and a secular definition of work. One of the advantages of Wolf’s definition is that it can apply to both Christians and other groups as well. This is not true of your definition, and as such it is only appliciable within the Christian community. Therefore, there is a sense that in your mind, work within a Christian community is a different kind of thing that work outside of it. Would you agree to that assessment? Do you treat that angle within your book?
posted June 14, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Ben,
An interesting theology would be a theology of time. How are work, leisure, and rest distinguished from each other with respect to time? How should the time during the day be spent? Worship and prayer are mostly part of leisure. Should we examine entertainment along with retirement? Work situated in a theology of time should help make true the petitions in the Lord’s Prayer.
Jerry
posted June 14, 2009 at 9:13 pm
I’m glad you mentioned Weston Priory. For me, any theology of work would have to be based in part on the Rule of Benedict, which more or less evenly divides the monk’s day into periods for public worship, contemplative prayer, and “real” work–4 to 6 hours per day depending on the season. A stark contrast with corporate America, where mandatory overtime under abusive management is not unknown. How much of the latter stems indirectly from the Calvinist “work ethic”?
posted June 14, 2009 at 10:06 pm
As an indigenous woman (Abenaki), who is also a Christian, I have to say that I find your pathetic attempt at humor offensive. What kind of Christian, especially one who claims to be a theologian, attempts to reduce people to stereotypes, and treats issues, like the inhumane, corrupt and greedy practices that demand the displacement of working poor citizens from their jobs, so inhumane, corrupt and greedy individuals, corporate and other interests can squeeze increasingly more profit for themselves?
Pray tell, on a blog that is supposed to be devoted to spiritual matters, is there not one article written about what is plainly staring bone idle elites like yourself, in the face each day? There are tent cities all across the US, filled with citizens who are on the street because their jobs have been either outsourced, or they were displaced by cheap illegal alien labor, or through the exploitation of the visa programs, ie.. cheap legal alien labor. Such tent cities are filled with construction workers, roofers, drywall installers, factory workers, metal workers, meat packers, cleaning women, teachers, firefighters, IT and other technical workers, nurses. I’ve seen the news reports on videos online, from all across the country. Apparently you don’t seem to have paid too much attention to what Christ demanded of his followers in the Bible, that you care about the poor. One more point, Christ didn’t tell you to steal your neighbor’s goods, their jobs, their sole means of support to give to the stranger, in fact, he would have expected you to give of yourself. What’s more, your neighbors, fellow citizens, albeit less fortunate appear to be strangers to you. So apparently, your motive isn’t kindness and charity, but worshiping the golden idol of blind profit.
Perhaps for such inhumane, corrupt and greedy individuals, those who do not see their livelihoods at risk, the topic of work can be reduced to mere philosophy. They do not expect to find themselves and their children homeless and destitute. But for untold millions of American citizens, who happen to be black, brown and white, the matter is all too different. I have to ask, Mr. Witherington, what do you believe Christ would have thought of your reducing the subject to little more than something to pontificate airily on, reducing the subject to some abstract concept.
posted June 14, 2009 at 10:13 pm
I agree with you Jerry, a theology of time is important, and the thing that interests me is how the Kingdom and the eschatological situation changes how work is viewed in the Bible. I don’t agree that my definition of work is not applicable to everyone. Not everyone will recognize its relevance, because not everyone will see themselves as created in God’s image and in need of redemption in Christ’s image. But that is irrelevant. The issue is whether it is true or not, not whether someone realizes it is true.
BW3
posted June 15, 2009 at 11:46 am
Interestingly, this was close to being the topic of choice for a Hebrew exegetical/theological paper I had to write on Qohelet. Though the books, monographs, and dictionary articles be few, Qohelet’s voice is always readily available!
Good post.
posted June 15, 2009 at 4:51 pm
I have to admit that while reading Jenny’s response above, I had to go back and read the post again and make sure we were reading the same thing. I’m still confused…
“What kind of Christian, especially one who claims to be a theologian, attempts to reduce people to stereotypes, and treats issues, like the inhumane, corrupt and greedy practices that demand the displacement of working poor citizens from their jobs, so inhumane, corrupt and greedy individuals, corporate and other interests can squeeze increasingly more profit for themselves?”
Aside from the fact that this sentence is never finished (how exactly does BW3 ‘treat the issues, such as…?’), its incredibly hard to see how Ben’s blog post has any bearing at all on this long list of grievances , and it certainly isn’t clear where anyone is reduced to a stereotype.
In America (for now at least) we live in a capitalistic society. You don’t have to like it, but that’s the situation we find ourselves in, and this blog post doesn’t touch on these things. What could be possibly be offensive about a scholar taking the time to commentate on something concrete like work (which is a large part of at least some of our lives) and how we as Christians should view that?
In other words, lighten up.
posted June 15, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Dr. Witherington,
This is an exceptional post on an excellent blog! I’ve been thinking a lot about calling, vocation, and work recently. I recently finished John Stackhouse’s book, Making the Best of It: Following Christ in the Real World, and I thought that the strongest section of it was his treatment of vocation and work. I highly recommend it. I’m anxious to read your full treatment of the subject as well. Keep up the good work.
posted June 16, 2009 at 10:31 am
Hi Jenny:
I too am confused by your post, and if you knew me better, you wouldn’t make these kinds of dismissive remarks, especially when you’ve read nothing but the preface to the little book I’ve written. I take very seriously the plight of the poor and the jobless, and certainly do not reduce the issue of work to a mere academic subject, as you suggest. What I do think is that for all creatures created in God’s image to do various kinds of good work and good works, to fail to think theologically about work is to fail to understand why God made us in the first place.
Blessings,
BW3
posted June 16, 2009 at 11:06 am
I have “Reformed” friends who insist that Abraham Kuyper is the man to read on the subject of work. They emphasize that work is worship.
posted June 16, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Hi Percival: Well I’ve read Kuyper and he has good things to say, but work is definitely not worship, nor is it any substitute for worship.
BW3
posted January 30, 2011 at 10:15 am
“laborare est orare”.
If work is performed to the best of one’s ability, for the greater glory of God, and not from personal ambition, it will be a form of prayer, although, generally, it would seem strange to me not to accompany it at times with short ejaculatory prayers.
Still, I think that if a person has the kind of love in their heart characterised by the Sheep in Christ’s description of the Last Judgment in Matthew (“I don’t know you, Lord”), most of what they do will be subliminally inspired on however low-key a level by the Holy Spirit, and hence be akin to vocal prayer. “All things work together for good to them that love God.”