Work as Worship

Most people see work as…well, work. You might even be reading this article while at work trying to avoid work. Why is that? Is work evil? It can’t be.

It is important to rethink of your work as being a part of your worship.

RELEARN

Work isn’t a consequence of sin – frustration with work is.

Too many people wrongly state that having to work is due to Adam and Eve’s Fall in the beginning. That is simply untrue. Before sin was committed and exile was sentenced, God gave Adam the job of naming the animals and caring for the Garden. Work wasn’t the consequence – frustration with work was (Gen. 3:17-19).

Work is a good thing. God is a Creator and He desires us to cultivate that Creation for good things. We should even pray that He would establish the work of our hands through work (Ps. 90:17).

REORIENT

We must also reorient our way of thinking when it comes to work and money. I am going to say something that might seem shocking to you:

Making money is a good thing.

While the prosperity gospel is dangerous (God wants to meet all of your wants), the poverty theology is also dangerous (God doesn’t want to meet any of your needs or wants). All of us have been the recipients of good things because someone was rich. I have always had my needs met, served all over the world, received the best college and seminary training that you could imagine and all of those things happened because God used people with finances to make them a possibility.

Hard work brings a profit (Prov. 14:23), and that’s how you should find your needs met – through hard work rather than stealing (Eph. 4:28). If you don’t take care of the needs of your family, you are worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim. 5:8). You need money to do that, so working at a job to provide financial security for your family and financialy opportunity for Kingdom opportunities is a great thing!

REDISCOVER

To experience work as worship, you need to work according to how your God made you. You need to rediscover how He has wired you and walk in that workmanship (Eph. 2:10).

Work is best when we find alignment with how we’ve been made.

When you think of Spirit-filled workers, you might think of preachers, singers, or missionaries. Have you ever considered construction workers and artisans? If not, that’s unfortunate. Stop making divisions among sacred and secular employment. When Moses led the people to build the tabernacle, God’s Spirit empowered two construction workers to make it a reality (Ex. 31:1-5). If they would have tried to lead worship when it was finished, they would have failed. If Moses would have tried to build the tabernacle, he would have failed. Rediscover how God made you and work from your gifting!

REPURPOSE

Repurpose why you work. While it provides a paycheck and a title, it is so much more than that. While you live on this earth, think of your work from a Kingdom perspective.

Work is intended to bring glory to God and good to others.

The way a pastor preaches and the way a cleaner cleans can bring glory to God. And both of them should bring good to others. That’s every job if you can change your perspective.

Whatever you do, do it to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). Do your work heartily as if you are doing it for the Lord (Col. 3:23) – because you really are whether you know it or not. Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established (Prov. 16:3).

Your work is more than a 9 to 5. Change the way you work today and realize that God has put you there to bring glory to God and good to others.