WORK & MEANING
THE MEANING OF WORK
What Does Success Look Like?
Disclaimer
THE DESIGN OF WORK
In the beginning…….. God worked!
And on the seventh day, God finished His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that he had done in creation Genesis 2:2-3
God worked for the sheer joy of it.
God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
THE DESIGN OF WORK
God instructs us to work
DESIGN OF WORK
Tim Keller – ‘Every Good Endeavor’
SO WHEN DID WORK BECOME DIFFICULT?
OUTCOMES OF THE FALL
Genesis 3:7, 16-19
OUTCOMES OF THE FALL
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility…..in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Romans 8:19-23
WORK CAN BE MEANINGLESS�….ACCORDING TO THE WISEST MAN EVER
“So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
“What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief, even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.”
Ecclesiastes 2:17, 22-23
WORK CAN BE MEANINGLESS
“The great shift from an industrial economy to a knowledge and service economy has improved the immediate working conditions of many, but has locked countless others into low-paying service sector jobs that experience the same alienating disconnection from the fruits or products of their work”. - TK
WORK CAN BE SELFISH
“Come let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves”
WORK CAN BE SELFISH
Now what I want you to get clear is that Pride is essentially competitive – is competitive by its very nature…..Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more if it than the next man. We say people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others.
C.S. Lewis – Mere Christianity
OK, I’M DEPRESSED �SO WHAT’S THE POINT?!?
WORK AND MEANING
THE MAIN POINT
Many modern people seek a kind of salvation – self-esteem and self-worth – from career success. This leads us to seek only high-paying, high status jobs, and to “worship” them in perverse ways. But the gospel frees us from the relentless pressure of having to prove ourselves and secure our identity through work, for we are already proven and secure…..all work now becomes a way to love the God who saved us freely; and by extension, a way to love our neighbor. - TK
BIBLICAL VIEW OF WORK
BIBLICAL VIEW OF WORK
A NEW HOPE FOR OUR WORK
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
“You will never make a good impression on other people until you stop thinking about what sort of impression you are making. Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring two pence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it…..Give up yourself, and you will find your real self.” - C.S. Lewis
A NEW COMMUNITY
NEW AND DIFFERENT “WINS”
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do.
Ephesians 6:5-9
NEW WINS
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward”
Colossians 3:23-24
A NEW LOOK
Generosity - Love Others
“You can accomplish anything in life, provided that you do not mind who gets the credit” Harry S. Truman
Calm and Poised during crisis
A NEW LOOK
Ready to “give an answer”
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” I Peter 3:15
“Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.” St. Francis of Assisi(?)
Humility
“ Nearly all men can stand adversity. If you really want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Abraham Lincoln
“Humble yourselves therefore under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time”. I Peter 5:6
A NEW LOOK
Integrity
“ The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”
Proverbs 11:3
“The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be.” Socrates
Not Judgmental
Open to others views
Ask Questions
IT’S A JOURNEY
THE FINAL WORD…..PART 1
“The marketplace is the great arena of human events – innovating, manufacturing, building, buying, selling, serving customers, making markets. And the main thing happening in your work is that God is sovereignly orchestrating all the seemingly unrelated occurrences of your day to bring you – and the people you touch – into right relationship with Him and right relationship with people.”
Patrick Morley – ‘A Man’s Guide to Work’
THE FINAL FINAL WORD……�WE ARE FREE!
“Christians, you have been set free to enjoy working. If we begin to work as if we were serving the Lord, we will be freed from both overwork and underwork. Neither the prospect of money and acclaim, nor the lack of it, will be our controlling consideration. Work will be primarily a way to please God by doing His work in the world, for His name’s sake.” - TK