Working for God

"Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men" (Colossians 3:23)

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going." (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

At the meeting for the campus ministry I attend (Cru), we talked about work. You know, having a job. The message was about how... wait for it... work is something given to us by God. In a way, it is our calling on a practical level. Some people have callings as ministers or evangelists. We all have another calling - as a programmer or builder or dish washer or nanny. This puts what I would otherwise consider quite tedious in a more divine perspective.

"Web Devs 4 Jesus"

I know that God gives us gifts in order to do certain things. I am gifted with a knack for computer programming, writing, and ministry. So I've long thought "alright, I will be a Web developer for my day job and a Bible teacher secondarily, with writing as a hobby." In order to spread the Gospel one of the things I ought to do is display a Christ-like character, and try to open venues to discussion about the faith. What didn't occur to me is that, like being called to ministry, one could also be called to a certain vocation!

In Genesis 1:28, God gives Adam and Eve the command to subdue the Earth. Theologians call this the cultural mandate. We are called to cultivate (hence the word "cultural") the raw resources of the world and make something great out of it. Keep in mind, this is before sin entered the world. That means work is not the result of sin. Perhaps it was made more difficult due to sin, but it existed before Satan tempted Adam and Eve. "Work" - the act of devoting one's time to a particular activity - is divinely instituted.

This is new to me. My understanding of work and religion has always been this: my primary goal on this Earth is to reach out to the unsaved and make disciples. Work was just one of the venues created by a money-based society for me to do that. In his foreknowledge, God gave me certain skills so I could provide for myself and whatever family I might eventually have, while somehow evangelizing to my co-workers. I considered it a "necessary evil."

"Called to Work"

But work is more than just something done to provide money to do actual "important" stuff for Jesus. This is what is currently blowing my mind: if I am understanding this right, work is every bit a calling as being called to ministry is. Work's not just a side-effect of society, it's part of God's plan for humanity. Its origin and reason for existence is literally divine. In my mind this makes work, whatever it may be, much more important and respectable than I originally thought.

God could have chosen to routinely make food miraculously appear in front of us at the dinner table. He could have made it so that, at the first prayer, relief shelters would appear in impoverished African nations. But he doesn't do that. Instead he works "behind a mask," as some would say. Through the work of people God provides the needs of the world.

I'm intending to be a Web developer for my career. With what I've said above in mind, I've realized how, even though it is work, it is also part of God's calling for my life. On the Internet there's an often-stated phrase, "You're doing God's work, son." As a computer programmer, my calling, I'm doing God's work. That is intensely profound and motivating.