Distorted Work

Many moons ago when I worked in an engineering office,

very unusually there were three of us side by side,

three offices side by side, three of us engineers,

and one of those engineers on one side of me was a great comfort to me.

He was pretty sensible and level-headed from my point of view.

The other one drove me bananas.

And because he saw that his Christian witness

was working harder and longer than anybody else.

And I remember sitting there absolutely resentful one birthday for me.

My birthday is 24th of April, always on a public holiday next door to Anzac Day.

So he had me in there on the Anzac Day public holiday

working because he didn't have confidence I'd get my work done.

So I sat there, not a very happy little camper at all,

throwing off vibes all day and absolutely resentful of where I found myself.

But my friend wasn't married.

He would work until 1 or 2 a.m.

trying to get the absolutely perfect solution to an engineering dilemma,

which is not necessarily possible.

It's sometimes an art, not just a science.

And unbelieving colleagues would laugh behind his back

at his ridiculous work ethic.

And then he would view that as working hard and suffering for the gospel.

My friend in retail was another person

who would work in the back office of a major department store

until 1 a.m., keeping the firm going.

Never home for dinner with his family.

Never managing to fall into bed at the same time as his wife.

The firm asks for more and more.

He's not after the money, though.

He doesn't know anything different.

He doesn't think that anyone will want to employ him.

Any other employer would want to take him on.

And so he burns out with serious mental illness

and work takes no responsibility for him.

Someone else.

The financial high flyer.

Small children.

Leaves home 4 a.m.

gets his work done before anybody else is in the office,

putting their requests in front of him.

And he might get home for a bedside story at 7 p.m.

He's esteemed.

He's getting rich.

He will make such a lot of money one year

that his home will be paid off many, many years

before the loan requires.

And he and his lonely wife

will then begin to renovate their palace

and be debt-free.

His wife does a magnificent job

in her very skilled vocation in the health industry.

She receives a huge amount of kudos

and esteem in her paid work.

She holds the fort together

in the nurture of the children.

They don't need the money.

But they plough on with no adjustment

to how they live

and their family life...

No adjustment to how they live

and how their family life is impacted.

Another woman chooses unemployment

in preference to taking work

below her pay grade.

The hard-working farmer

who's proud of what he has.

He works hard.

He never uses credit.

When you see his wealth,

everybody knows it's his.

And the bank owns none of him.

And then there's all the ways

we go about volunteer work

with sports teams

or community service

or even ministries at church.

I have my place.

I have my identity.

Don't you know who I am?

I fight and I work for acknowledgement

and I don't give way easily

to new people and new ideas.

There are many distortions to work.

Using God as an excuse

for a ridiculous take on work.

Working for a loveless master

and getting consumed.

Pursuing massive material gain

while choosing to put

significant relationships

on the back burner.

Trying to balance

a husband's work

and life against a wife's.

Pride of place and position.

People need to know

how important you are.

Your identity is defined

by what you've done

or what you own.

Laziness.

They're all distortions of work.

So today what I really want to do

is speak about

how when work becomes distorted

and again

we're following

the book

Timothy Keller's book

it's on sale there in the foyer

Every Good Endeavour.

It's a great book

and if you want to read

more broadly

along the lines

of where we're trying to preach

that's a great book

and an accessible book

in terms of

not too hard to read.

But we're talking about

when work becomes

I'm talking about

when work becomes

the means

by which we try

to control our world.

In effect

when it becomes an idol

something we put ahead

of everything else

including God

and we look to it

to provide things

like inner comfort

and meaning

which only a living relationship

with the living God

can give us.

and it becomes

an idol

an idol is something

which enables us

to proudly assert

our independence

from God

and also

from one another.

In mere Christianity

C.S. Lewis says

now I want

what I want you

to get clear

is that pride

is essentially

competitive.

It's competitive

by its very nature.

Pride gets no pleasure

out of having something

only out of having

more of it

than the next person.

We say people

are proud of being rich

or clever

or good looking

but they're not.

They are proud

of being richer

or cleverer

or better looking

than others.

We're a lot like

Mr Burns

in Homer Simpson

Homer Simpson's boss

a man who lives

for wealth

and Homer says

to him

Mr Burns

you're the richest

man I know

and Burns

says yes

but I'd trade it

all for more.

And so

this race

to the top

never finishes

and you know

it's really easy

for us to sit here

we can take shots

at the rich

and those

who have wealth

and in some ways

they are an easy

target

and the Bible

uses them

as an example

of warning to us

that an idol

the love of money

the desire to get it

lies deep

within me

and you

we want

what they have

and work

loses its dignity

when we use it

as a tool

to live independently

of God

it's a distortion

it's what we do

when we pursue

wealth

or relationships

or our own

sense of self-esteem

ahead of our

pursuit of God

in other words

when we put

work

ahead of him

and I'm not

saying this morning

I don't want you

to hear this

to come back

and hide in church

and religious activity

I'm saying

let your faith

in Christ

permeate who you are

in the way

that you go

about your work

and live your life

and if your work

gets in the way

of your faith

it has become

distorted

and so

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 2:17

chapter 2

verse 17

I want to read

some of those

verses again

I hated life

because the work

that is done

under the sun

was grievous

to me

all of it

is meaningless

a chasing

after the wind

I hated

all the things

I had toiled

for under the sun

because I must

leave them

to the one

who comes

after me

and who knows

whether he will

be a wise man

or a fool

and yet he will

have control

over all the work

into which I have

poured my effort

and skill

under the sun

this too

is meaningless

and so my heart

began to despair

over all my

toilsome labour

under the sun

for a man

may do his work

with wisdom

and knowledge

and skill

and then he must

leave it to others

leave all that he owns

to someone

who has not worked

for it

this too

is meaningless

and a great

misfortune

what does a man

get for all the

toil and anxious

striving

with which he

labours under the sun

all his days

his work

is pain

and grief

even at night

his mind

does not rest

this too

is meaningless

and it's sort of like

this is the ultimate

self-made man

he's made his money

by blood

and sweat

and hard work

toil

toil

grievous toil

that's been his lot

in life

he's lived under

the curse of Adam

in Genesis 3

he's worked hard

and he may have used

wisdom

and knowledge

and skill

verse 21

he's even had

sleepless nights

wrestling with work

related problems

ring a bell

when you're sitting

for exams

even at night

his mind

does not rest

and after a lifetime

of effort

he awakes

to the harsh

realisation

that he's going

to pass it on

and so in verse 18

he says

I must leave it

all to the one

who comes after me

and who knows

whether they're going

to be a brilliant

businessman

who will make it

all happen again

and continue

to grow the empire

or it may go

to a fool of a son

you know Luke 15

prodigal son stuff

and you can make

a will

but you can't

control things

once you're gone

wills can be

contested

the lawyers

will get a big

fee

won't you

the old saying

you can't take

it with you

verse 21

he must leave

all that he owns

to someone

who has not

worked for it

and he is

immensely frustrated

and in verse 17

I hated life

I hated all the

things I toiled

for

my heart

began to despair

meaningless

meaningless

meaningless

meaningless

four times

through these

verses

what's it all

for

a puff

a vapour

it's fleeting

what he means

by puff

put some air

in your cheeks

that's a puff

the fleetingness

of life

so this man

has been in

control of his

world

and his wealth

he's used his

work as a

journey to riches

he's busted

his guts

to increase

what he has

and his

conclusion

a puff

I live

for a puff

in Ecclesiastes 5

the teacher

wrestles with

other aspects

of money

and wealth

verse 8

chapter 5

if you see

the poor

oppressed

in a district

and justice

and rights

denied

do not be

surprised at

such things

for one

official is

eyed by a

higher one

and over

them both

are others

higher still

and the

increase

from the

land is

taken by

all

and the

king

himself

profits

from the

fields

and what

he does

is he

draws this

hierarchy

of society

and on the

bottom of the

heap

the poor

who are

oppressed

and the

measure of

oppression

is that

justice and

rights are

denied to

them

and they're

in this

state of

helplessness

and stuff

happens to

them and

they can't

prevent it

they don't

set the

taxes or

the prices

or they

don't make

the rules

but they

bear the

brunt of

them

and at the

top of the

heap is the

rich king

and in

between is a

hierarchy of

officials who

all get their

bit

it's a

description of

the world

that we know

we live like

kings

Sydney Morning

Herald this

week

millionaire

businessman

this is a

quote out of

the paper

millionaire

businessman

Geoffrey

Cousins who

is also a

Telstra

director

has criticised

the wealthy

families in

Australia who

try to avoid

paying their

fair share of

taxes

saying that

they need to

remember that

they have a

civic duty to

contribute to

society

all the evidence

would say that

the percentage of

wealth in the

world and

certainly in

western countries

is falling into

fewer and fewer

hands

Cousins said

if you don't

increase taxes on

the wealthy

inevitably people's

standard of living

is going to

decline and

governments are

going to find it

extremely difficult

to maintain

services let alone

improve them

Cousins has called

that perspective

unethical

saying the

well-off have a

duty to contribute

to society

in a reasonable

way

the idea that if

you somehow

can somehow avoid

paying tax

then you ought to

take that

opportunity

I don't agree with

that at all

he said

the law is the

base level of

behaviour and I

find it very

depressing

when people say

well it's legal

therefore it's

fine

see

people of

immense privilege

and power sit

on top of the

tree with

multi layers of

officials under

them that was

the world

2500 years ago

it's the world

today

and not just

Australia

and some of us

want to climb

that pyramid

that's what we're

trying to do

and if you

don't want to

climb the

pyramid you

want your

children or

your grandchildren

to climb that

pyramid

or if you're a

child or a

grandchild you

feel the pressure

of mum and dad

wanting you to

do those things

and it's really

interesting because

he doesn't say

meaningless

he's really saying

that this is part

of the framework

of the broken

world in which

we live

it is the

state of

things and

it's not

meaningless

but the next

bit is

verses 10

and 11

this is

Isaiah 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5

Ecclesiastes

whoever loves

money never

has money

enough

whoever loves

wealth is

never satisfied

with his

income

this too is

meaningless

as goods

increase so

do those who

consume them

and what

benefit are they

to the owner

except to

feast his eyes

on them

he's got a

house full of

appliances

never enough

never satisfied

and the more

stuff you've got

the less time

you have to

look at it

let alone

use it

isn't that

the truth

we have a

big throw out

just prior to

Christmas

we're doing it

at the moment

aren't we

it's um

what is it

council collection

at the moment

look what goes

out on the

street

and some of

you got wives

or husbands

who pick it

up

but there's

some great

stuff

I visited

a house

the other

day where

the front

veranda was

full of it

the person

warned me

before I

came

they said

you won't

believe my

place

and I

said oh

you're just

being the

woman who

says the

minister's

coming and

therefore you've

got to have

it all cleaned

before you

arrive

I'm used to

that

and she

said no

you won't

believe it

and she

was right

veranda

front room

then out the

back door

the entire

backyard

was full

of the

stuff that

had been

accumulated

on council

cleanups

and was

in your

water

so it

could be

sold on

gum tree

and that

was before

you got

into the

double

garage

which was

full of

the good

stuff

unbelievable

I hardly

ever talk

to a person

around here

who tells

me they're

rich or

wealthy

we live

in a very

affluent

area of

Sydney

where our

homes are

worth anything

from a million

dollars up

overseas

trips are

commonplace

private

schooling

has almost

been the

norm

in the

past

anyway

some of

us have

investment

properties

we have

the shopping

centre on

our doorstep

that draws

most people

from the

north shore

of Sydney

nobody says

they're rich

and strangely

many of us

feel like we

don't have

enough

we'd like

more security

a little

more wealth

we aren't

satisfied with

our incomes

and our

lifestyle

we would

still like

more

I would

I know a few

more things

that I would

like to have

in place

financially

but never

enough

never satisfied

not content

we are much

higher up the

pyramid than

many people in

Australia and

certainly the

world

can you imagine

going to a

dinner party

around here

and one of

the guests

says

you're

sipping

I don't

know what

you sip

around the

pool at a

dinner party

or around the

table

and one of

the guests

says I

think I

could live

on a lot

less and be

satisfied

I don't

need all

I've got

I could

really enjoy

benefiting others

with my

wealth

I'd love

to give a

significant

amount to

the building

development at

church

I'm thinking

giving 60%

of what I've

got to

mission

I really

don't think

it's great

for my kids

to be given

everything

but our

greed is

insatiable

the more we

have the more

our appetite

for more

and it

consumes

and it

destroys us

and our

lives are

described by

this passage

verse 12

the abundance

of a rich

man permits

him no

sleep

the labourer

sleeps

sweetly

verse 13

wealth is

hoarded to

the harm of

the owner

verse 14

wealth is

swept away

by misfortune

I've heard

many stories

of people

losing

everything

and the

rich man

eats in

darkness

with great

frustration

affliction

and anger

he's

entered the

world

with zip

and he

exits

with a

big

fat

zilch

so the

writer declares

the barrenness

of life

live for

money

and possessions

and wealth

hopeless

things to put

in the place

of God

and if that

is what you

live for

you live

for a

distorted

reality

they don't

journey with

us and

protect us

in the

afterlife

they give

us grief

and misery

in this

life

it robs

us of

sleep

it brings

harm to

the owner

it can be

swept away

in circumstances

which we do

not control

a life

never

satisfied

always

wanting

more

and unable

to cry

enough

and the

New Testament

is completely

in agreement

with the

wisdom

of

Ecclesiastes

in Luke

12

Jesus

told the

story

of the

rich

farmer

huge

harvest

what shall

I do

with such

great wealth

such wonderful

success

I'll pull

down the

old barns

I'll build

bigger ones

I'll say

to myself

take life

easy

settle

back

eat

drink

be merry

human

perspective

he'd

made

it

he

thought

his

idol

secured

his

future

to the

end

of

retirement

and

God

says

fool

this

very

night

your

life

will

be

demanded

of

you

and

who

will

get

what

you

have

prepared

for

yourself

his

wealth

is

about

to

pass

out

of

his

control

and

beyond

his

reach

and

Jesus

said

this

is

how

it

will

be

with

anyone

who

stores

up

things

for

himself

but

who

is

not

rich

towards

God

Jesus

calls

us

away

from

our

wealth

and

possessions

and

calls

us

to

trust

him

to

set

good

practices

now

to

work

not

just

for

ourselves

but

for

others

the

New

Testament

teaches

generosity

a

friend

of

mine

used

to

get

$40

a

week

at

Maccas

and

he

gave

$8

a

week

to

Christian

work

20%

$8

not

a

big

deal

income

$40

20%

not

a

bad

effort

in

my

view

but

you

know

when

he

was

getting

$30

grand

a

year

it

was

no

big

deal

to

give

$6

thousand

a

year

why

because

he

set

good

practices

when

he

didn't

have

very

much

so

how

then

shall

we

live

the

writer

comes

to

very

similar

conclusions

about

that

at

both

the

end

of

chapter

2

and

the

end

of

chapter

5

and

he

says

almost

the

same

thing

in

both

places

let's

read

chapter

5

again

verse

18

and

so

and

and

gratitude

being

grateful

for

the

small

things

the

things

that

we

take

for

granted

I

grew

up

in

a

family

where

we

didn't

say

grace

at

meals

it

wasn't

a

religious

family

I

still

don't

think

that

it's

an

essential

thing

to

do

something

that

you

must

do

as

a

Christian

but

what a

wonderful

moment

to

stop

as a

family

three

times

a

day

and

say

thank you

God

thank you

for this

meal

which

sustains

us

thank you

for this

food

which

I

enjoy

thank you

for what

you have

given

from your

hand

even if

it's

tuna

or salmon

or something

other yucky

such

substance

it's

gratitude

but

gratitude

also

reflects

dependence

the

person

who

bows

before

God

and

acknowledges

that

life

is

not

our

own

it's

given

to us

from

the

gracious

hand

of

God

who

provides

for

us

what

we

consume

in

the

work

that

we

do

is

for

a

wise

person

something

that

is

given

from

God's

hand

it

is

God's

gift

and

so

there's

no

such

thing

as

a

self

made

man

or

a

self

made

woman

every

breath

we

take

is

at

the

pleasure

and

the

discretion

of

God

and

we're

not

dependent

on

ourselves

we are

dependent

on

God

for

everything

and so

enjoy

with

gratitude

what

God

has

given

you

humbly

acknowledge

the immense

reality

that God

rules

his world

and controls

these things

we don't

have

a lovely

little

story

in one

of the

books

I

read

as I

prepared

this

message

and it's

a radio

conversation

on US

Navy

radio

two

people

speaking

to one

another

and the

first voice

says

please

divert

your

course

15

degrees

to the

north

to avoid

collision

please

divert

your

course

15

degrees

to the

south

to avoid

collision

this is

the

captain

of a

US

Navy

ship

I say

again

divert

your

course

no

I say

again

divert

your

course

this is

the

aircraft

carrier

enterprise

we are

a large

warship

of the

US

Navy

divert

your

course

now

this

is

a

lighthouse

your

call

see

when we

work for

wealth

it

creates

an illusion

that makes

us think

we're

big

and

powerful

it's

this

idol

that we

throw

ourselves

at the

feet

of

and we

worship

and serve

with all

our

might

and power

and this

good

God

given

gift

is

distorted

and the

writer of

Ecclesiastes

does an

absolute

demolition

job on

its

power

it robs

you of

sleep

it robs

you of

joy

it does

not bring

contentment

you leave

it to

fools

it saps

your energy

it takes

away

gratitude

and you're

gone

and with a

friend like

that who

needs

enemies

and the

New Testament

picks up on this

teaching from

Ecclesiastes

the Apostle Paul

writes to his

young protege

Timothy

he says

godliness with

contentment is

great gain

we brought

nothing into

the world

we can take

nothing out

of it

if we have

food and

clothing

we will be

content with

that

people who

want to get

rich fall

into temptation

and a trap

and into many

foolish and

harmful desires

that plunge

people into

ruin and

destruction

for the love

of money

is a root

of all kinds

of evil

some people

eager for money

have wandered

from the faith

and pierced

themselves

with many

griefs

Jesus said

in the sermon

on the mount

do not worry

saying what

shall we eat

or what

shall we drink

or what

shall we wear

for the pagans

run after all

these things

and your heavenly

father knows

that you need

them

but seek first

his kingdom

and his

righteousness

and all these

things will be

given to you

as well

therefore do not

worry about

tomorrow for

tomorrow will

worry about

itself

each day has

enough trouble

of its own

it's a call

to contentment

and dependence

our work is a

God given

gift

it's what he

calls us

to

God knows

that we

need to

eat and

drink and

be clothed

and be housed

but there is

something that

matters even

more

seek first his

kingdom and his

righteousness and

all these things

will be added

I could apply

this message by

telling you to

do all sorts of

things with your

wealth to

benefit God's

kingdom but I

don't want to do

that this morning

this passage calls

us to choose

between two

mighty objects

of worship

two different

objects as we

go about our

work to choose

today who we

will serve who

who we trust who

we depend on who

we work for

true story

Josh Short's

dad one of

our you know

Josh one of

our student

ministers his

dad ministers in

Canada and he

says the culture

in Canada at

funerals in the

eulogy is to

detail a person's

material successes

it's like Ray's

funeral on Thursday

if we'd read out

all the things he

owned and all the

things he possessed

and he said

his dad's

Josh's dad said

a friend of his

was taking a funeral

one day and he

read the man's

achievements and he

read all the things

that he owned and

then he stood beside

the casket he

crumpled the piece

of paper and he

let it fall to the

floor and he said

and what good is it

to him now

a puff

we can leave life

live we can leave

life with the

illusion of success

but reality will be

concerned when we

run into the

lighthouse who is

our maker

we all know what it

is to exercise faith

and trust and

dependence but what

is it in the God

who is never

satisfied who robs

us of sleep and

contentment and joy

and who can

malevolently take it

all in a moment and

does when we die or

the God and father of

our Lord Jesus Christ

who loves us who

knows our basic

needs who promises

to provide who

gives us sweet

sleep and contentment

as we trust in him

who is able to bring

us to rich and

everlasting life deal

or no deal who do

you work for

happen in the holy

raising

now

you