Christians are supposed to love God and others, act in a morally upright way and spread the good news of the gospel; but did you know there is another aspect of godly living that is often neglected?
Yes I am talking about the “W” word.
Work.
Work is often viewed in the church as it was by Mark Twain, as "…a necessary evil to be avoided.". It is thought to be something that holds us back and hinders us; something that takes up our time and energy when we could be doing something more “godly”.
Can faith become an excuse for laziness?
Can our hope of eternal life cause us to neglect our present duties? And can our faith in God’s providence cause us to cease to strive for excellence or prepare diligently because we believe God will work everything out?
The old church cliche goes: “Don’t be so heavenly minded that you are of no earthly good.”. But I don’t actually believe that Heavenly minded thinking is the problem. I believe the real problem is a lack of biblically minded thinking.
In the Bible, the principle of work is viewed positively, as something that is to be done unto God.
Colossians 3:23 says:
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,"
If we fully grasped this concept, we would realize that all of us are in the direct service of God Himself when we are executing our duties. Whether they be important, noble tasks or small menial tasks. We are not to view them as being done for our bosses, or ourselves, but rather unto God Himself.
Martin Luther King Jr. said:
"No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."
Our faith should make us better workers and employees, not worse. As Christians, we should strive to leave things better than they were when we found them.
When a Christian employee fails to be diligent in their work do you think it benefits the cause of Christ? When a Christian employee is viewed as “lazy” by their boss or fellow coworkers it often says to them that this person does not care enough to work hard for the good of the company or those within it.
I understand that there are people who will never be satisfied with our efforts. We are only responsible for putting forth our best and leaving the rest to God. We are all limited in our ability to please others, which is why we must work onto God. He will be pleased when we do our best, even if it doesn’t measure up in the eyes of others.
I must also recognize that workaholism is a serious problem and speaks to the need for balance and prioritization. Work should not be placed above God, but instead it should be viewed as a part of our calling. It shouldn’t be the goal of our lives, but rather a way in which we live out our faith.
Mother Teresa summed up well the real reason we should be faithful in our duties:
"There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in - that we do it to God, to Christ, and that’s why we try to do it as beautifully as possible."
Some of us are called to full time ministry like Mother Teresa was, others are called to different vocations. God has gifted us each differently and can work in our lives regardless of the choice in career if we place Him first.
So let’s do our work as unto God Himself! No higher calling than to be in the service of the King; for He is a kind and generous master.
Do you think faith has been used to excuse laziness? Let us know what you think in the comments.