Professions (pt 2 of 2): The Theology of Work

The previous post was titled ‘The Sociology of Work’.  The content was mostly about the economic dimension of work (cash money) vs. the social dimension of work (particularly identity).  For me at least, there’s one remaining dimension that needs to be considered in respect to work: the spiritual.

Maybe I’ll start by setting expectations: I don’t think this will be super theologically heavy.  Instead, I do anticipate it’ll perhaps examine work in a spiritual context that most of us generally don’t, for various reasons

We can trace work all the way back to man’s very first days, in Genesis.  The early chapters (1-3) tell the story.  Previously, when I would try and describe the euphoria that was life in Eden, I would describe it as a world without work, but that’s not entirely true.  In fact, Genesis 2:15 highlights that it was God’s intention for Adam to work in the garden, even prior to his disobedience in eating the fruit, which would come in the very next chapter.  And just like that, we’re faced with an inescapable reality: mankind has been at work since the very start of our existence.  There’s no way around it.  The circumstances, however, surrounding our work have changed markedly.

Read some commentaries on the Garden of Eden.  It goes without saying that those commentaries will describe it as a pretty spectacular place.  Indeed, Eden in Hebrew means “delight”.  I wouldn’t mind living in the Garden of Delight!  Working in the Garden of Delight sounds pretty dope, too.  In almost every sense of the word, it represented heaven on Earth; the parallels Eden has to heaven are indisputable.  The same can be said for the temple, tabernacle, Holy of Holies, and other Old Testament, physical spaces that represented places of worship and/or the dwelling place of God: Eden was a place for man to experience and forever be in communion and fellowship with God, even in spite of work.  As you would imagine, things today, work included, are fairly different.  When Adam and Eve ate from the tree, it changed EVERYTHING.

Every need we have today, work included, is somehow a function of being separated from our creator.  Seriously.  I believe Genesis 1-3 reinforces that very well, but I’ll summarize with 4 key ideas, in no particular order.  The first is that we’re no longer in God’s presence.  In Eden, God was dwelling in the midst of his creation, man and woman.  Since the fall, man had to leave Eden.  Although there was work BEFORE Adam and Eve ate the fruit, the fact that we need money is a direct function of us being here, on Earth, and God being there, in heaven.  As far as we know, there wasn’t any money in Eden and there won’t be any money in heaven.  Why?  Because we’ll be in the presence of God, and all our needs will be met.  Secondly, my observation of work before the fall (Genesis 1-2) vs. after the fall (Genesis 3) is that work before the fall was about obedience and work now is about livelihood.  In the Garden, if God tells Adam to work, it’s about honoring the will of his creator.  Today, we have to work to pay the rent (or mortgage), the car note, school loans, childcare expenses, etc.  As far as I can tell, that wasn’t necessarily what work was about in Eden.  Work is inextricably tied to life and death now; previously it was about honor and reverence for God with obedience.  Third, in Jewish culture, Eden is viewed as a place of abundance and fertility.  Rightfully so!  I can’t imagine God’s garden having a bunch of dead plants.  This is the ideal environment for birth, creation, and life.  Compare that with what we read in Genesis 3:17-19.  God told Adam his ground would be cursed, and it would yield fruit, but not without great difficulty.  My conclusion is work (and life in general) should create a burning desire for the presence of God BECAUSE work (and life) is difficult.  Ain’t that something!  You going to work every day creates a desire for God, because you’re reminded how much better He is than whatever you’re doing at work.  The fourth idea is related to the third: at least in Adam’s case, work was part of his punishment from God (Genesis 3:17).  That’s not to say we can’t find enjoyment or pleasure in work… but it universally means that work (in this context; ie. a means of livelihood) will spectacularly fail in comparison to being in the presence of God, where work had a fundamentally different meaning.  This probably doesn’t paint a very inviting picture of work… let’s try and bring it full circle though.

About 4,000 years after The Fall, we see Jesus and other disciples on the scene.  Professions are diverse, with carpenters (Jesus), physicians (Luke), and fishermen (Simon and Andrew).  In Acts, we see an even more diverse collection, with tentmakers (The Apostle Paul), prominent military leaders (Cornelius), politicians (Sergius Paulus), and members of the government (The Ethiopian Eunuch).  Today, in 2017, our situation is quite different from that of Biblical times.  In America, you can find a job doing almost ANYTHING.  In some ways, the freedom, liberty, and choice can be somewhat overwhelming.  The question for the youth of America, Christians included, becomes, “How will you earn a living for the next 40 to 50 years of your working life?”

If you’re looking for a post to tell you what paths to pursue, I definitely won’t be able to assist you here.  Instead, I’m hoping to offer some general ideas about how to think through the process, no matter what stage you may be in.  For starters, I think we need to do away with the idea that you need to love your job.  “Need” is a strong word… so is “love”.  Jesus was a carpenter.  In those times, you frequently inherited your trade from your family, so we don’t actually know how Jesus felt about carpentry (it was the family business).  I imagine Jesus to be a lowkey, easy-going fellow, so I’m sure he was fine either way.  But what if he only liked it, instead of loving it?  What if he actually hated it?  In truth, the Gospel would read exactly the same.  It goes back to my earlier point: work is a function of separation from our creator… it only matters here and now.  That having been said, the 40 to 50 years of your working life will probably be more pleasant if you have a position you feel better about.  Moreover, I fully support you pursuing opportunities you find exciting, fulfilling, and interesting (I wouldn’t be in a 5 year PhD program otherwise, right?).  But even if you aren’t flattered by your job, not to worry.  At least find something that will allow for you to spend time outside of work doing the things you enjoy most.  Maybe you’re not having fun during business hours, but that’s not to say your life can’t be full (John 10:10).

Find something that works well for you.  A lesser known fact about the Apostle Paul is that he was a tentmaker.  This works really well for him.  For starters, he was a missionary, working with churches all over the world and moving at a moment’s notice (Read Acts).  Beyond that, he was a single man.  He didn’t have a wife or kids to take care of: he had a household of 1.  For the life he wanted to live, and he felt God called for him to live, this was an ideal career choice.  If he had a family to support, maybe that wouldn’t be true.  If he wasn’t a missionary and planted roots in one location, maybe he would have done something else.  But for a single missionary, this fit very well with the lifestyle he wanted to live.  We get tripped up because we let other people tell us the lifestyle we should live (the money we should have, the house we should live in, the hours we should work, etc.).  You have to find something that works well for you.  If you take the glove off my hand and try and wear it, it’s not going to fit you particularly well.  What life do you want to live?

While it’s great to change the world at work, you’re not restricted to changing the world through how you make a living.  Jesus was a CARPENTER.  No offense to Jesus, but I doubt there was anything world changing about how he made tables and chairs, although I’m sure he did it well.  But when Jesus walked outside those doors of the shop, I think he was intent on changing the world.  Millennials in particular are very passionate people, and that’s absolutely wonderful!  But don’t feel like all of your life passions need to manifest in what’s coming across your desk at work.

I think you have to decide what’s important.  Again, I think we get tripped up because we let OTHER PEOPLE tell us what’s important.  Your salary is most important.  Your vacation time is most important.  The prestige of the profession, etc.  YOU have to decide what is most important to you in your career.  For some people it’s the work they do.  For others it’s the people they work with.  For others, it’s the paycheck (Hey, have to pay the mortgage somehow).  You have to decide that.  I can’t tell you what to value.  I mean, I can, but I won’t, because I shouldn’t.  Get the idea?

I’ll revisit the question I’ve included in a few different posts now.  Would you take a job shoveling poop if it meant you could triple your income and work 1/3 the hours?  Makes me think of the cliché question of what would Jesus do.  It’s possible Jesus would prefer his carpenter job.  Jesus probably enjoyed connecting with people, or at least saw it as extremely important.  My observation as a man is that we particularly connect in DOING things together, so working as a carpenter probably catered especially well to connecting with other men.  Suffice to say people may not be as open to connecting in a job where they come to work to shovel poop.  Or perhaps he would have felt committed to supporting the family business.  There’s also the idea that since he came from a family of carpenters, shoveling poop wasn’t a craft where he’d be as well connected, so maybe that would lower his interest in that, as opposed to something that may be a bit more closely related to handiwork.

On the flipside, Jesus was a very practical man, and he was all about his mission.  Paul was a tentmaker in addition to being a missionary, but I’m sure working as a tentmaker imposed certain time constraints (and financial constraints as well) to his ministry.  If you told him he could triple his earnings and improve his availability, I’m sure you’d have his attention.  Similarly, Jesus would probably see shoveling poop as a unique ministry opportunity as well.  I mentioned we need money because we’re separated from our creator.  On Earth at least, that’s true for Jesus, too.  If he wants to build a ministry on this earth, having some financial resources would certainly be helpful.  In this job shoveling poop, he could support himself, all the while building a ministry for the poor, fatherless, and widows; contributing to the workings of the temple; supporting missionaries as they’re sent out to Antioch, (After Steven is martyred in Acts 7, there’s a diaspora of Christians in the following 6 chapters), and perhaps even enrolling the first century disciples in some language classes so they can be more effective in in sharing the gospel to every nation (Acts 2 states Jews from every nation under heaven were baptized, so I’m sure that opened up the door for a lot of international ministry opportunities).  I don’t believe Jesus would think so highly of himself that He wouldn’t recognize what an opportunity he had shoveling poop to triple his income and do 1/3 the hours.  There’s a lesson in humility somewhere in there.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, though.  Shovel poop to triple your pay and do 1/3 your current hours?  What are the spiritual considerations?

Nnamdi