Thank God for the crossings programme today, which I signed up for only at the very last minute. At first, I was a little apprehensive about the joining the programme. The words 'life discovery', 'knowing your calling' seemed rather individualistic, self-help and dull to me to be honest. That was when I realise this was because I was satisfied with my own understanding of God's calling in life (in general). I mean, isn't God's calling for you out of a spiritual conviction given through prayer, through the Holy Spirit? Isn't knowing the His calling for us, as God's chosen people is to 'make disciples of all nations', to serve, to love, to glorify Him in whatever we do? If we stumble upon obstacles, shouldn't the reminder of the Lord's reign being supreme above all things allow us to stand victorious in our minds, because of Christ, even when systems are unjust, messy or even if your boss gives you a lot trouble? Wasn't this understanding essentially enough for any young christian worker entering the workforce?
Oh well, that's the horrible thing about pride I guess. When workshop topics start getting a little boring because you've been through something similar and you probably think, 'aiyah, this one don't need to go!'
But God amazes me and I'm humbled by it. There is really a lot of His divine wisdom that I've yet to learn with regards to workplace issues. Although the simplistic understanding above has taken me thus far the past few years, I realised how different it might be when I start entering the workforce. I can't really say that with the knowledge and and understanding of God's reign being in my life, I will definitely remain victorious in mind when I start working as an auditor. It is always easier said than done; it is only when I experience all that probable, rumoured 'affliction' and stress associated with audit work, will I then probably understand why a much deeper grasp of understanding would be needed.
I'm glad God has given me a month or so left to reflect upon workplace issues with the spiritually mature fellow brothers and sisters I've met today who have 'been there, done that' and still experiencing God's grace through struggles in the workplace. And I was glad to have fellow freshly graduated friends who will be going through this exciting new phase of life alongside me. This was more than a programme of self-discovery, it was more than helping each participant find a marketplace ministry support group, it's main purpose is to help facilitate a biblical understanding of marketplace theology and and to facilitate the discovery and working of God's call in the life of Christians for marketplace ministry and missions.
The worth of 'work' in God's original creative order (Gen 1:1-2:2)
To be honest, when it comes to thinking about 'work', though I appreciate the importance and value of work in and out of our lives (think about the conventional indoctrination since young of having to 'reap what you sow', and how we are workers in God's vineyard wherever he has placed us in, for His glory), I usually also have a rather negative perspective of it. Not because I consider myself slothful at times, but because I have over-anchored some doctrines about 'work' from the Bible. The entire placement of work (as introduced) in the Bible in Genesis AFTER the Fall of Man had made me view Man's need to 'work' as a consequence of the Fall. When seen it that light, one cannot help but view 'work' as something God mandated for us as a a duty, 'just the way it is'. What was worse was that this particular perception of work entrenched further in my head when the Sunday School kids were learning about the reasons why man needed to Work (when we explored genesis 1-3.)
But have we forgotten that God was also working during creation? He was engaging the world in and through creation! If God was so powerful, he could have just said in one voice, 'let the whole earth be formed with all living things, with the sky, the light etc' and then snap his fingers? But in Genesis 1, as we know, that was not what he did. He placed every stars in the sky and called them by name, he created man in His own image by breathing air through his nostrils from dust, created Eve by taking a rib from Adam's body. After God's handi(work), he finally rested on the seventh day. In other words, God chose to work in creation.
Even though work seem to come as a consequence of the fall, work was also part of God's created order :). I never seem to see 'work' in that light though, until today. Churches these days seldom talk about workplace issues, at least not in my church, as there has always been a dichotomy between the secular (work) and the spiritual. This stems from verses such as Romans 2, "do not be conformed to this world." or common interpretations from the gospel of John and 1 John of how we are in this world, but not of the world.
However, perhaps it is good to consider that as God engages the world through creation, we too should engage the world that he has created. Wherever we are, whether we are studying, serving, working, in all aspects of the word 'work', I guess the implication is: how have we allowed the Lord's preeminence to overflow in our daily living? What does it look like to have your faith permeate your work? How do we exhibit Christ's coming kingdom in our work, in our context?
Yet, work is 'tainted' because of the Fall...
A note of humility about the degree of redemption, lest we fall into Christian triumphalism...is that to also remember that as much as we live in His created world, and have experienced redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ, we live in a fallen world. Work has been tainted by the presence of sin, and some of God's original creation has been under the consequences of sin.
In the pursuit of economic, socio-political and individualistic gains, Man have destroyed a good part of our environment. Awareness is one thing, but being stiff-necked about it is another as warned in Proverbs 29:1.
How are we to show forth His coming Kingdom in our campuses, our workplace, and in our associations with people around us? Do we reflect the values of His kingdom in our lives? Are we just like most Singaporeans, results-driven, poor managers of our time and find ourselves incredibly busy all the time? Are we helping fellow workers find rest in God by being shiny and salty workers modeling after our model worker, God?
Redemption and Sanctification in Christ: How does that influence our work as a Christian?
- Work ethics: From self to inculcating a spirit of otherness in service
- Expanded outcomes: From ownership to stewardship.
As Christ lives in us, we must realise that we are not owners of what God has given or assigned to us, but partners of his work. Being partners, the beauty of this is that we know that we are not in control, but God is. And our goal is to be good stewards of the work and responsibilities he has placed us with.
- "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual (act of) worship."-Romans 12:1
"Authentic worship can only be in Christ... Our entirety, not just a narrowed spiritual corridor or mere churchgoing and ministry, is swept up in newly complete living. Work becomes worship, just as worship becomes duty and delight." Harold M. Best (In Unceasing Worship)
We all know of this verse and recognise what it means, but consider it in reality. Do we approach work (studying or working) like we do the altar of God in worship?
- Change in motivation in work: Free to serve, do a thankless job, be thankful for it.
Free to serve. This is in line with Gal 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery."
Do a thankless job
I cannot agree more with this! The thing about compliments is that they may perhaps be insidiously harmful to the person accepting it. Why do I say that? That's because when someone praises you, you are actually allowing him/her to define your self-worth. Pride then kicks in and you end up yearning for such praises from Man. The only praise that we should desire and is most important is the Lord's. Man should not find their worth in themselves or in others' praises, but find worth in God. :) This doesn't mean that we should not accept compliments from others, but the important thing I feel is the mindset and attitude you carry when receiving such praise. And as you encourage and compliment, remember how the Bible reminds us to "speak the truth in love", "love in actions and in truth", "love to be genuine" and abstain from "flattery" for it "ensnares men" (prov 29)!
and be thankful for it ("Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." -1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV) =)
Grace and Works
One of the reasons why I had a negative perception of work was because of the whole meritocracy debacle and the government's workfare policies. They do have their merits, but such a system's overemphasis on works alone in attaining results sadly displaces His hand of grace.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." - Eph 2:8-9 (ESV)
As much as the doctrine of grace is important, the speaker also pointed out how we have sometimes forgotten about the verse that comes right after it in verse 10:
" For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." - Eph 2:10 (ESV)
" For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." - Eph 2:10 (NIV)
He pointed out that the ESV version captures the original greek meaning of the verse most accurately in its literal form, that we should 'walk in them', as opposed to the NIV's translation of 'for us to do'.
In other words, we should see good works as not something 'for us to do', but something that we should be willing to 'walk in' and be engaged with as vessels of Christ.
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