Working It Out
Working It Out
Dear Church Family,
At the time of this writing, we’re exactly one week from Christmas! I hope that you have plans to relax and enjoy some unhurried time with friends and family.
For most of us, our work dominates our thoughts and time each day; it is our most pressing and weightiest responsibility. For many, even Christians, it is how we measure our success in life and our greatest source of both comfort and anxiety. If we thrive at our vocation, we feel accomplished and worthy of respect and admiration; conversely, though, if we fail to meet the expectations at our job, we feel like failures and wonder (though never aloud) if we bring anything important to the table, as it were. Despite the prominence work plays in our self-assessment, we spend so little time reflecting on a theology of work. The Bible has a lot to say on the subject of work and its relationship to the other aspects of our lives, but often we don’t think to bring scriptural wisdom to bear on the questions that we have about our pursuit of our individual callings. And our questions are many:
Does God care what we do for a living?
Are some callings more “spiritual” than others?
How should a Christian worker differ from his non-believing counterparts?
Is it okay to be “married to your work” or, conversely, to “live for the weekend?”
How many hours per week should a faithful Christian work? 40? 50? More?
We also think about where work fits in with the other priorities and obligations in life:
Where should our work rank in our list of priorities?
How do you achieve a balance between work, family and “spiritual” obligations?
Does it matter how we spend our free time?
Should Christians observe some kind of Sabbath?
Is the Christian concept of rest different from the world’s concept?
And we wonder if and how we bring our faith commitments into the workplace:
Is the workplace an appropriate place for evangelism?
Is it important to “Christianize” our workspace?
What are some creative ways to be an effective witness at work?
As a leadership team at Northpoint, we would like to help you in reflecting on these questions. We are excited to announce a new seven-week elective series starting January 11 at 9:00 a.m., in Heritage Hall, called The Church at Work: Calling, Vocation, and the Kingdom of God. (I know, I can’t avoid the long titles … but I tried!) In this course, Pastors Brent and Scott, and Tim East, one of our elders, will consider a biblical perspective on the above questions and many more. Regardless what kind of work you do, or even if you work in the home or are retired, there will be something in this study to challenge your thinking. I hope you’re able to take part beginning January 11.
Peace,
Pastor John