Work

Let's hear the word of God.

And God said, Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds,

the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground,

and the wild animals, each according to its kind.

And it was so.

God made the wild animals according to their kinds,

the livestock according to their kinds,

and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.

And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,

so that they may rule over the fish in the sea, and birds in the sky,

over the livestock, and all the wild animals,

and over all the creatures that move along the ground.

So God created mankind in His own image.

In the image of God, He created them.

Male and female, He created them.

God blessed them and said to them,

Be fruitful and increase in number.

Fill the earth and subdue it.

Rule over the fish in the sea, and the birds in the sky,

and over every living creature that moves on the ground.

Then God said,

I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth,

and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.

They will be yours for food.

And to all the beasts of the earth,

and all the birds in the sky,

and all the creatures that move along the ground,

everything that has the breath of life in it,

I give every green plant for food.

And it was so.

God saw all that He had made,

and it was very good.

And there was evening,

and there was morning,

the sixth day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

when I studied in my seminary in Jakarta,

I remember once a lecturer taught us

that there are four big questions in our lives

that each of us needs to answer.

There are four big life questions.

The first one is about the object of our worship.

Who is it that we worship?

Everyone must have an object of the worship,

whether it is God, or money, or ourselves.

There should be object that we worship.

Who is it?

The second one is,

how do we live our lives?

Our answer to the first question

will determine how we live our lives.

Then the third one is,

whom will we spend our lives with?

This is about choosing a spouse.

If he or she is not the right one,

then we might suffer for the rest of our lives.

So this is a very important question.

And the fourth question is,

what are we going to do in our lives?

This is about our job.

This evening,

I will address this fourth question.

How should we view our work?

What does the Bible say about it?

I want to start this evening with a story

about three bricklayers.

Maybe you are familiar with this.

A traveler came upon three men working.

He asked the first man what he was doing.

And the man said he was laying bricks.

Then the traveler asked,

why are you doing this job?

The man said,

of course, to make money.

What else?

Oh, I see.

Then the traveler asked the second man

with the same question.

What are you doing?

Oh, I'm laying bricks.

And then he asked the same,

another question.

Why are you doing this?

Then the second man said,

because I like this job.

This is my expertise.

I heard that we are building a church

and it will be the most beautiful church in town.

I just take a small part,

but I'm proud of it.

Oh, I see.

That's wonderful.

Then the traveler asked the third man

the same question.

He gave the same answer.

What are you doing?

I'm laying bricks.

But when the traveler asked,

why question?

Why are you doing this?

He said like this,

we are building a church

and I pray that the people in this town

will come to this church

and worship the Lord together.

So these three men

with the same job,

same activity,

but different attitudes.

If I ask you,

what's the difference among them?

For myself,

I will conclude that the first man

worked for money.

The second man worked for himself,

for his self-actualization.

And the third bricklayer

worked for God.

Now, how does the Bible view

the job that we do?

We have already read

from Genesis chapter 1,

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

especially verse 26 and 27.

Let us make mankind in our image,

in our likeness,

so that they may rule

over the fish in the sea

and the birds in the sky,

over the livestock,

and all the wild animals,

and over all the creatures

that move along the ground.

So there are two great tasks

God gave to the humankind,

to multiply and fill the earth,

and to rule over God's creation,

or subdue the earth.

It is important to note that

it is the second task

that makes humans unique.

If God only gave one task,

the first task,

that is just to increase in number,

then humans are not different

from animals.

I would like to read

from the verse 21 and 22

from Genesis chapter 1.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

So God created

the great creatures of the sea

and every living thing

with which the water teems

and that moves about in it

according to their kinds

and every winged bird

according to its kind.

And God saw that it was good.

And look at verse 22.

God blessed them and said,

Be fruitful and increase in number

and fill the water in the seas

and let the birds increase on the earth.

So dominion over the creation

is what makes humans special.

Based on the story of creation,

how we as Christians

should view our job?

I want to emphasize one point

this evening.

That job is a call from God.

Every work is a call from God.

It is one aspect of being a human,

of being God's image.

Many people in this world

do not like going to work.

You might be familiar with the phrase,

I hate Mondays.

I don't like Mondays.

For many people,

weekend is so enjoyable

that Monday is seen to

rob the fun or the enjoyment.

Then why do people still go to work on Monday

if it's not fun?

Of course, because of money.

If money comes from heaven,

then I will stop working.

Or I will do that as a hobby.

No wonder nowadays,

some best-selling books

sell an idea of how to get more money

with less work.

If you can get more money

with less work,

then it will be great.

In my country,

multi-level marketing

is still very popular.

How to invest money?

The idea is,

don't work for money.

Make it work for you.

Ah, it's beautiful, eh?

Don't work for money.

Make it work for you.

But I want to remind us

that behind this idea,

we can identify a concept

that job is a curse.

Job is torturing.

Avoid it if you can.

And this belief is not biblical.

The passage that we have read in Genesis

reminds us that working

is God's command.

He's calling for us

a part of being a human.

And then we can see

how Adam's sons

responded to this call.

If we skip several chapters

to Genesis chapter 4,

Genesis 4:2

verse 2 said,

Now Abel kept flocks,

and Cain worked the soil.

So here we can see

Abel became a shepherd,

while Cain became a farmer.

They fulfilled their role

to serve God

as his vice regents

over creation.

And so we are called

to do the same role.

In the ancient Near East,

a king would set up

statues of himself

across the land

to manifest his sovereignty

over his kingdom.

In reading that man

is the image of God,

Moses' original audience

would have understood

that as they reproduce

and fill the earth,

they would be

representing

the sovereign creator

to his creation.

Subduing the earth

or having dominion

over it

does not mean

exploiting it,

but nurturing

and protecting it,

caring for it.

A theologian wrote

that work

is part of

God's loving plan.

We are called

to cultivate

and care

for all the goods

of creation.

So I want to emphasize

again this point.

All kinds of good job

can be a calling

from God.

Whether you are

a businessman,

a teacher,

a scientist,

a cleaner,

all kinds of good job

can be a calling

from God.

Some people may think

that only pastors

or church ministers

who are called

by God.

In some contexts,

especially in my own country,

if people ask me,

why do you want

to become a pastor?

I should say,

it's God's call for me.

I cannot say,

it's a hobby.

It's my,

I love to be a pastor.

No,

it should be God's call.

It should be a good answer.

But then,

many Christians

still think

that apart from

being church ministers,

other jobs

are nothing to do

with God's call.

No,

we should remember

that doing our job,

any kind of good job,

is one way

to serve God.

This includes

being a mother

or a housewife.

You know,

William Tyndale,

William Tyndale

is an English scholar

who became

a leading figure

in the Protestant Reformation.

he once wrote,

this is William Tyndale,

if we look externally,

there is difference

between washing dishes

and preaching

the word of God.

But as touching

to please God,

there is no difference

at all.

That's biblical view

of work,

that there's no difference

when done

to the honor

of the Lord

between preaching

and washing dishes.

So,

this is

what should be

biblical view.

We understand

that being a housewife

or a mother

is not easy.

Once,

my wife told me

that she has a friend

who found

raising little children

frustrating.

She couldn't stand

yelling at them

again

and again.

She had

promised to herself,

I don't want to yell

at my kids,

but it doesn't work.

She felt that

it seems easier

for her

to become a missionary

to other parts

of the world

than being patient

to her own

small children.

Being a mother

does not get paid.

There's no promotion

for mothers.

But if you happen

to be one,

that is God's call

for you.

So is the image

of God,

we should find

our own vocation.

Then the problem is,

why cannot we view

our job this way?

Why do people

still say

that they hate Mondays?

We know the answer

from the Bible.

It's because

of the curse

of sin.

I want to read

to you

Genesis chapter 3

Genesis 3:17–19

verse 17

to 19.

This is the story

after the fall.

Then God

said to Adam,

Genesis chapter 3

Genesis 3:17

verse 17

the second part,

Cursed is the ground

because of you.

Through painful toil

you will eat

food from it

all the days

of your life.

It will produce

thorns and thissers

for you

and you will eat

the plants

of the field.

By the sweat

of your brow

you will eat

your food

until you return

to the ground

since from it

you were taken.

For thus you are

and to thus

you will return.

So we can see

that after the fall

work

was not a blessing

anymore.

If people

hate Mondays

it's because

painful toil,

thorns and thistles,

sweat of your brow

have become

part of

people's daily

experience

when they work.

but more

than the painful toil

people

who are

outside of Christ

have also

lost the meaning

of work.

God is the one

who gives

humans the call

to work

and in this call

lies the purpose

the joy

and the blessing.

But when people

reject God

then they don't know

why they have

to work.

They lose

the original purpose

and the blessing.

Now if people

do not work

to respond

to God's call

then what

is their motivation?

I believe

there are

at least

some ways

of how people

view their job

as a consequence

of the fall.

Let's back

to our story

of the three

big layers.

You remember

that the first man

works only

for money.

I believe

that for many people

what motivates

them to work

is to get money.

Money

and money.

I did not say

that working

to get some money

is not biblical.

Don't get me wrong.

Paul wrote

in 2 Thessalonians

3 chapter 10

that the one

who is unwilling

to work

shall not eat.

The problem

is not money itself

but when money

becomes the focus

of their lives.

What Bible

calls the love

of money.

We know

the saying

time is money.

All is

about money.

These people

believe

that money

can buy

anything they want

including happiness.

Then they teach

this belief

to their children

since they first

go to school

at least

in my culture.

So when we ask

parents

why do we have

to go to school

every day?

Then the parents

will teach us

so that when you

grow up

you can work

and make

some money

or make

a lot of money

and live a good life.

That's it.

Then these children

when they grow up

they focus on money

in taking

all important

decisions in life

which subject

to take

when they want

to study

which company

or institution

to work with

all depends

on how much

money that

they will

or can get

in return.

But let us

be careful

with this belief.

What does

Bible say?

The Bible say

about the danger

of the love

of money.

I believe

that you are

familiar with this.

Paul again

wrote

in the first

1 Timothy 6:10

Timothy

chapter 6

verse 10

for the love

of money

is the root

of evil.

The love

of money

is the root

of evil.

Instead of

bringing happiness

the love

of money

bring destruction

to the world

bring destruction

to the human

relationships.

Because of money

people don't

care about

God's creation.

They can

exploit the earth.

They don't

care about

other people.

Other people

are just

viewed as

a means

to get

more money

and more profit.

That's the

first view.

The second view

as a consequence

of the fall

is working

to pursue

self-glory.

For those

who like

their job

so much

money

might not

tempt them.

These people

are passionate

with their job

achieve many

things

and do

their job

excellently.

It's like

the view

of the second

bricklayer

in our story.

But then

they are not

satisfied

with just

being excellent.

They might

become thirst

for praise

and admiration

from other

people.

Our world

adores the

greatest,

the fastest,

the strongest,

the best,

and the

otherest.

For some

people,

work is

like an

arena

where they

compete with

others

and makes

effort so hard

to defeat

their rivals

and to be

number one,

to prove

themselves.

When they

find someone

else is

better than

them,

they feel

so envious

and so

resentful.

I believe

this is what

Apostle John

called in

1 John 2

as pride

of life.

When we

pursue self-glory

in anything

we do.

These ways

of viewing

work

is also

dangerous

because people

who seek

after approval

and admiration

from others

would easily

feel envious

toward those

who are better

or more

successful

than them.

And the

Bible also

says something

about this

feeling of

envy.

This is my

favorite verse

from Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 4:4

chapter 4

verse 4.

It's very easy.

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 4:4

chapter 4

verse 4.

It is said,

And I saw

that all

toil

and all

achievement

spring

from one

person's

envy

of another.

This too

is meaningless.

A chasing

after the

win.

It's interesting

for me.

I used to

believe

and I heard

from one

great preacher

that envy

has a negative

side

and has a

positive side.

The negative

side is that

envy can

make us

hate our

rivals

and want

to harm

them.

But it

also has

a positive

side.

It can

push

ourselves

to the

limit

to learn

more

skills

and to

be as

good

or even

better

than

our

rivals.

However,

the Bible

says

differently.

Envy

is

meaningless.

Brothers

and sisters

in Christ,

do we still

view work

only as

a means

to make

money

or to

get

others'

approval?

There was

one person

in the

Bible

who had

it all,

but he

was not

happy at

all.

I want

to read

the last

passage for

us this

evening,

again,

from

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

Ecclesiastes

is believed

to be written

by King

Solomon,

and we

can believe

that it

might be

his own

experience.

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 2:4–11

chapter 2

verse 4

to 11.

I will

read this

passage for

you.

I

undertook

great

projects.

I built

houses for

myself

and planted

vineyards.

I made

gardens and

parks and

planted all

kinds of

fruit trees

in them.

I made

a service

to water

growth of

flourishing

trees.

I bought

male and

female slaves

and had

other slaves

who were

born in

my house.

I also

own more

herds and

flocks than

anyone in

Jerusalem

before me.

I gathered

silver and

gold for

myself and

the treasure

of kings

and provinces.

He's very

wealthy.

I acquired

male and

female singers

and had

them as

well.

the

delights of

a man's

heart.

I became

greater by

far than

anyone in

Jerusalem

before me.

In all

this,

my wisdom

stayed with

me.

And

then

chapter,

verse 10,

I denied

I denied

myself

nothing,

my eyes

desired.

I refused

my heart

no pleasure.

My heart

took delight

in all

my labor,

and this

was the

reward for

all my

toil.

And then

comes

verse 11,

one.

Yet,

when I

surveyed

all that

my hands

had done

and what

I had

toiled to

achieve,

everything

was

meaningless.

A chasing

after the

wind,

nothing was

gained under

the sun.

Let us

not try to

find happiness

and satisfaction

in wealth,

in pleasure,

or fame.

King Solomon

had them

all,

but he

said they

were

meaningless.

That's why

Jesus Christ

came and

saved us,

so that we

can be

delivered from

the curse

of sin,

and gave

us a

meaningful

and abundant

life.

Our

happiness

does not

depend on

wealth or

pleasure,

but on

our relationship

with God.

God in

Christ has

loved us

and accepted

us just

as the way

we are.

there is

nothing we

should prove.

Furthermore,

God's salvation

has enabled

us to live

as God's

image.

We are

enabled to

recover the

joy and

meaning of

our work

as God's

call for

us.

Let's

bear this

in mind,

and tomorrow

when we

wake up

in the

morning,

let us

remember

that we

are God's

representative

in subduing

this earth

by doing

our job.

Not for the

love of money,

nor for the

glory of

ourselves,

but for the

glory of

God.

Hmm.

And

remember,

of

maybe

do

nothing for the

Lord,

what I

I

ever