Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:23

Many Christians have the impression that church workers — especially evangelists, missionaries, pastors, priests, ministers and the like — have a higher calling than other workers. While there is little in the Bible to support this impression, by the Middle Ages, “religious” life—as a monk or nun—was widely considered holier than ordinary life. Regrettably, this distortion remains influential in churches of all traditions, even though the doctrine of virtually every church today affirms the equal value of the work of lay people. In the Bible, God calls individuals both to church-related and non-church-related work.

God’s guidance can occur just as strongly in non-church-related jobs and professions. Non-church work is as much “full-time Christian service” as church work. All Christians are called (that is, commanded) to conduct everything they do, round the clock, as full-time service to Christ.

The only jobs that do not have equal status in God’s eyes are those that require work forbidden by the Bible or are incompatible with its values. For example, jobs requiring stealing, false witness or greed, usury, damage to health, or harm to the environment are incongruent with God’s heart for the world. This is not to say that people who do these jobs have lesser status in God’s eyes. Jobs of this sort might be the lesser of two evils in some situations. If your job is inconsistent with God’s values, you can seek to determine if it is necessary (and possible) to change jobs, do your job differently, or take action to correct injustice in your current workplace.

Video: Watch the short video “Are We Called by God to Our Jobs?” with James B. Wood. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-HxvtY9wDk

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you that everyone who follows you is called to “full-time Christian service.” Please help us, the body of believers, hear your call. Teach us how to partner with you as we work. Amen.

Author: Theology of Work Project

Theology of Work Project Online Materials by Theology of Work Project, Inc. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Based on a work at www.theologyofwork.org

You are free to share (to copy, distribute and transmit the work), and remix (to adapt the work) for non-commercial use only, under the condition that you must attribute the work to the Theology of Work Project, Inc., but not in any way that suggests that it endorses you or your use of the work.

© 2014 by the Theology of Work Project, Inc.

Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, Copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.