I love the book of Leviticus. In conversations with others at church, I’ve found that my view is sometimes met with a chuckle. These are normally wonderful believers who say that the Bible we hold dear is filled with God’s very words. Yet the fact that there is an underlying skepticism of the worthwhile nature of reading a book such as Leviticus demonstrates that the theology they state might not match their heart’s actual belief. To frame a conversation around work, it will be helpful to discern between these stated and actual theologies.
Stated theology is simply what a Christian says they believe. In the case of faith and work, we normally state that “work is worship” and “work is good.” But within the topic, our stated theology is rarely the issue. What is spoken is correct. It’s our actions (or the actual) that don’t follow.
It is always possible to infer a believer’s true theology based on their actions.
Stated versus actual theology is a “cousin concept” to head versus heart theology. In the latter, we know where our heart doesn’t match our known theology. In the former, we deceive ourselves with what we actually believe, which is eventually made known by our actions. It is always possible to infer a believer’s true theology based on their actions.
Is the Christian’s Work Service to the Lord?
A few years ago, in the lobby of my church, I was talking to a college student who was studying finance. Working in finance myself, I thought I could be helpful with some career guidance. I asked her, “Which areas of finance are you wanting to pursue?”
Her response? “Well, I think that before I go into the workforce I want to serve the Lord for a few years.”
What did she think I did for over 40 hours a week? Not serve the Lord?
We need to ensure that what we say about our theology of work is both correct and aligns with how we live.
We likely hear this story and know it isn’t right. But as a church we don’t have an alternative we can articulate well. The response in our minds is something along the lines of, “I know that’s not true, but my heart believes it and my actions show that I agree with it.” Until we examine our own hearts in this matter, we will deceive ourselves by thinking that because we say that we know God uses and cares about our work, our actions will match. We need to ensure that what we say about our theology of work is both correct and aligns with how we live out our vocations.
So why do we view some jobs as “not service” to the Lord?
Stop Thinking Work Is Unspiritual
We think wrongly about work because we think wrongly about what makes something spiritual. This can be demonstrated with a simple question: What is intrinsically good and spiritual about work? The qualifier “intrinsic” removes answers like evangelism to co-workers and making money at your job to give to church or other ministries. Both are beautiful things to do, but both are also external and not part of work itself.
Without an answer to this question, we will be unable to find joy in work itself.
In Genesis, God Gave Work as a Gift
Because work was given prior to the fall, it is a gift.
If we posed the question: “What did God give to Adam and Eve before the fall that was not good?”, the answer should be, “nothing.” Everything God gave was a gift. And we see this same character of God further revealed in the New Testament; he is a wonderful God that gives us the best gift: his son (Matthew 7:9-11; Romans 8:32).
Because work was given prior to the fall, it is a gift (Genesis 2:15). What do we do with gifts? We delight in them as they reflect the gift giver. They help us see more of the character and beauty of the one who gave it.
If we miss this, we will pass by God’s glory. We will miss opportunities for our own delight. We won’t see his hand at work in the seemingly mundane parts of our day.
We’ll Work in Glory
However, as everyone who works knows, it is frustrating too. This is captured in another Old Testament passage. “I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labours under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it…There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God” (Ecclesiastes 2:20-21, 24).
Strikingly, this doesn’t mean that God will do away with work in the new heavens and the new earth. Rather the frustration of work felt in Ecclesiastes is transformed by the consummation of God’s kingdom.
The frustration of work felt in Ecclesiastes is transformed by the consummation of God’s kingdom.
“Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth…But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands” (Isaiah 65:17-18, 21-22).
In the New Jerusalem, we will “long enjoy the work of [our] hands” fully, as God intended for the gift!
Live Your Stated Theology at Work
We may quickly say “yes, work is a gift.” But if we “live for the weekend” or begin “real” ministry at 5:01pm, after the workday, what would an objective observer guess about our theology of work, based on these actions? Would they infer that we did think work was a gift from God? Or would it demonstrate the gap of our stated versus actual theology as it relates to work?
Is there a gap between our stated and actual theology, as it relates to work?
The frustration many believers have is that we’ve heard work is worship or a gift, but we don’t know how it is. Understanding how anything is worshipful requires us to dig into the character and work of God. Proper theology is the solution, because theology is the single most practical aspect of our lives.
