Tag: Work

This is Part 2 of a two-part series. If you haven’t read Part 1, start there.

While we may not be uniquely called to a specific task or work, what we have been given by God is a tremendous amount of freedom. Rather than moping about, devoid of hope or identity or purpose, we find this truth can bring freedom. 

When we misunderstand God’s call on our lives we trap ourselves. When we believe God will give us a direct, unmistakable command to take up a particular task, job, or type of work then we can (1) fear we are missing out on what God has for us if we’re unsure about what we’re doing, and (2) we can find ourselves expecting our work to satisfy and fulfil us.

But, because of Jesus we have been called into relationship with him and find ourselves called into a new and unending identity and purpose. Through Christ we not only find freedom from sin, but this recalibrates our lives, and our work. 

Through Christ we are set free. 

Freedom From FOMO

The fear of missing out can cripple us. The amount of choice we have in our career, travel, work, and relationships is nothing like has ever been seen before. Unfortunately, rather than making us happier and healthier, it can be a major cause of anxiety, stress, and indecisiveness. There is a tendency to get stuck when there is so much choice.

Add this to believing we are called to something specific and soon enough we are worried about whether we are doing the exact thing God wants of us. 

This can lead us to procrastination, waiting around and hoping that God will send us a lightning bolt of wisdom and tell us exactly what we’re to do. When we fall into this trap our view of God is skewed. We start believing God is hiding something from us and we’ve got to spend months and years and maybe even decades finding exactly what God has for us. It is the proverbial needle in a haystack, our life’s purpose is to find that needle and if we don’t then we may well have missed out on the calling God has for us. 

What a terrible way of thinking. 

What a terrible way of thinking about God. 

Remember, God is a God who gives good gifts to his children. Matthew 7:9-11, Jesus says, 

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

Next, if we think we’ve got to go out and find our purpose and calling, then we are saying that God has purposely hidden his will from us. And if we are saying that God is hiding his will or his call from us then we are worshipping a pretty mean and untruthful God. Remember these words from 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

God has already revealed to us his call and will for our lives. He has done this through the scriptures, and continues to do so through his scriptures. He has given us all we need to be equipped for every good work; every good work that centres our identity and purpose in him. 

When we know that God has called us to follow him and become more like him, then we don’t miss his call. It’s not even a category of thought. There’s no fear to be had. 

Over 20 years ago I lived in a small village that only sold one type of milk, bread, butter, jam, yogurt, and the like. The choice was limited. On coming back to Melbourne I found myself paralysed when out shopping because there was so much to choose from. I remember standing in front of the pasta sauces taking as much time deciding which type I should grab as it would’ve taken to cook the meal!

We have a lot of choice in our world regarding our work, jobs, and careers. When our identity is in Christ and our call to follow him is priority then we are set free from this debilitating choice. We recognise we have been created by God with our own passions, desires, gifts, abilities, and skills and can pursue those things we believe we are fit for. 

Freedom From Expectation

Another reason why making decisions and knowing God’s call for our lives can be so hard is because we expect so much. 

We expect to find happiness and fulfilment in almost everything we do, including our work. As we seek to consume everything in life, not missing out on a thing, we lean toward having unrealistic expectations. Like a curated social media profile, our expectations on what work will achieve for us is unrealistic. 

But the freedom of the gospel, and in the freedom that we have in our calling to Christ, our expectations are in God. Our perspective about what work will achieve for us changes. Work is not, as The Atlantic article suggests, “the centerpiece of one’s identity and life’s purpose”. Rather, the centrepiece and identity of our life is in Christ. In the words of Jesus, he has “come to give us life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

I do understand the book of Ecclesiastes affirms work giving us a certain satisfaction. While more famously known for comments about being meaningless, the Teacher in Ecclesiastes provides us with wisdom about work and how to view it in light of our relationship with God. In Ecclesiastes 2:24-25, after complaining about the emptiness of work, he writes, 

“There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and enjoy their work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand, because who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from him?”

As we are called to different responsibilities in life we find meaning in them because of God. As God gives and takes, as God provides and guides, we can find a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment in life and our work. Apart from God these things become meaningless; but with God, life and work is more than some fruitless exercise. 

Essentially, this leads me to suggest that rather than being overly concerned about God’s plan for your life, particularly the work, job, and career aspect of that, recognise the freedom that comes from knowing him and following his way and rule. 

God has called you to follow him, become more like him, and has given you everything you need to serve him.

As Kevin DeYoung puts it in his book, Just Do Something, 

“So the end of the matter is this: Love God. Obey the Scriptures. Think of others before yourself. Be Holy. Love Jesus. And as you do these things, do whatever else you like, to whomever you like, wherever you like, and you are walking in the will of God.” 

The majority of our week involves some form of work, whether it is paid or unpaid. You would think, then, that the intersection of our faith and work would be important and helpful to understand. 

We live in a culture where work is to be meaningful and fulfilling, with some taking it so far that work borders on idolatry or religion. In his article for The Atlantic, Derek Thompson writes about work as the new religion of our day and times. At one point Thompson says, 

“The decline of traditional faith…has coincided with an explosion of new atheisms. Some people worship beauty, some worship political identities, and others worship their children. But everybody worships something. And workism is among the most potent of the new religions competing for congregants.”

Our sense of fulfilment expected through our work can be off the charts. So much so that it impacts how we view ourselves, our worth, and our purpose in living. 

In Christian culture this is compounded when we believe that the Almighty–the great all-knowing, and all-powerful God in whom we worship–has called us to a particular task, assignment, or work. In other words, we expect to be especially “called” into some particular work. It’s common for us to hear the phrase, “God is calling me to…”, or, “I’m waiting for God’s call”, or “I just don’t know what God is calling me to do”. 

We need to recognise this is a modern issue. We live in a time where there are more options for work and different kinds of work available to us. In previous generations, the concept of being called to a particular work wasn’t a thing. It was simply to find a job and work diligently at it. 

Not only is it a modern issue, it’s also a Western issue (and dare I say the word privilege here too?). Millions of people around the world live in contexts where the options to choose what they do is limited. Economic, cultural, geographic, or linguistic factors limit people in the kind of work they do. The choice of what type of work they partake in is not something they can worry about. 

In the book, The Gospel At Work, it says,

“For most of human history, work was something you did to survive, and often there were no options to consider. Most of the time you did what your mother or father did, and that was the end of the story.” (Traeger and Gilbert, The Gospel at Work, p75)

Today, it is more common to seek work that will bring an inner sense of fulfilment and satisfaction. Something that will fulfil life’s purpose and form one’s identity. 

Calling In The Bible

It shouldn’t surprise you that I believe the Bible speaks to this question of God’s call and our work. 

In the Old Testament we find it is God who does the calling and is the instigator of the call. The majority of times God calls it is in relation to being in relationship with him. First and foremost, this call is to the community of God’s people. This is a corporate call to be in relationship with God and given to a people who God has set his love upon (Deuteronomy 7:6-8). 

In the New Testament we find God’s call continues to be focussed on calling people into a relationship with him. Philippians 3:14 reminds us that all believers have an upward call in Christ to be with Jesus and to be like Jesus. We have been called to freedom, not bondage in Galatians 5:13. And we are reminded in 2 Timothy 1:9 that God has saved us and called us to a holy calling.

When we read scripture we understand that God does call. And that he calls us. But this is a call centred on relationship. Relationship with him in Christ Jesus. It is a call to come and follow. To come and follow him. 

What isn’t taught in the Old and New Testaments is to expect a specific call to a particular task, job, or profession. It just doesn’t seem to be taught in scripture.

Another way of looking at this is how the New Testament uses the word call. It’s there over 300 times and used in 8-9 different ways. However, it’s never used in the sense of being called to a particular work. 

How then shall we use the term call? 

A more helpful way of understanding the call, is in the opening nine verses of 1 Corinthians. In this passage the term call is used in two ways, which are helpful for connecting our faith with our work. 

First, Paul says he is “an apostle of Christ Jesus, called by the will of God”. Here Paul couches this call in the will of God (v1).

Paul has been called by God to be one of his followers. He realises that it is God who has done this calling. God is the initiator, and this call leads to Paul following him. We can say the same thing. We have been called into God’s family by God himself. It is through God’s hand and initiative that we are followers of Jesus.

Second, Paul uses the term call when he turns his attention to the church and tells them they are “called to be God’s holy people” (v2).

This time the focus is who they, as the church in Corinth, are as God’s people. As God’s people they are to be holy. They have been called by God to be holy as individuals and together as a church. This call is a call to Christlikeness. 

Not only that, but this call to holiness isn’t only for the church in Corinth, but for other believers too, “for those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v2).

Given this we can certainly say that God does call, but it is a broader call. It is a call that is always about relationship with him. 

A call to follow him. 

A call to be more like him. 

That’s it. 

Rather than it be “what we do” that shapes our identity, it is “who we follow”. In recognising Christ as the identity-shaper in our lives then we will better understand our purpose. A purpose that is on display no matter what particular work, task, or job we perform. 

Continue on to Part 2.