This document discusses perspectives on work from both divine and human viewpoints. It summarizes that work was part of God's original creation plan and was not a punishment for sin or curse, though the curse resulted in toilsome work. It also discusses the importance of balance and distinguishing between concepts like calling, gifting, vocation, and work. Several biblical principles are provided that offer guidance on work, including striving for excellence, doing work for God's glory, and being diligent.

1. Work
A Kingdom Perspective

2. A Working Hypothesis

3. N.B. Fascinates has an S
in it

4. Divine vs. Human
Perspectives on Work

5. • Problem---- too little Biblical reflection on what we do
with most of our time.
• This includes too little Christian reflection on work, rest,
play, study, relating, and other mundane subjects.
• There is a distinct paucity of serious theological books on
work.
A Theology of Everyday
Life

6. Common Misconceptions

7. Do we work to live or live
to work?

8. Work--- Curse or Cure?

9. God--- the worker,
the gardener

10. • God is regularly depicted as always working by
Jesus, even though we hear of God ‗resting‘ (perhaps
better translated ‗enjoying‘) after the six days of creation.
• Jesus says he also is working, and indeed makes a point
of working on the Sabbath--- healing all sorts of people
In fact…..

11. In the Beginning…..

12. • Work is part of the original creation plan for humanity, it
is not punishment for sin, nor is it the curse which
plagues us.
• ‗Fill the earth and subdue it‘
• ‗Tend the garden….‘
• But balance is required.
Work– the Original
Design

13. What was the curse???

14. Fleas, Ticks, and Flies??

15. The Whole Earth?

16. • The curse was on the ground, making working with the
earth toilsome.
• It is not work, but its toilsomeness and danger that is the
effect of the curse.
• It is not pregnancy or labor, but pain and danger in labor
that is the effect of the curse on Eve.
More Specifically…

17. • ROMANS 8.19-20—‖FOR THE CREATION WAITS
WITH EAGER LONGING FOR THE REVEALING OF
THE CHILDREN OF GOD, FOR THE CREATION
WAS SUBJECTED TO FUTILITY…BY THE WILL OF
THE ONE WHO SUBJECTED IT, IN HOPE THAT THE
CREATION ITSELF WILL BE SET FREE FROM ITS
BONDAGE TO DECAY AND WILL OBTAIN THE
FREEDOM OF THE GLORY OF THE CHILDREN.‖
BUT…….

18. God’s Plan for Creation—
Fertility not Futility

19. ―Our England is a garden and such
gardens are not made… by sitting in the
shade‖---Kipling

20. • What does it mean to be created in God‘s image?
• In short, it involves being created for ‗good works‘
• Indeed, the Christian is ‗created in Christ Jesus for good
works‖
The Imago Dei– a Work in
Progress

21. • Being and Doing are intertwined.
• But when being is simply defined in terms of doing (you
are what you do) there is a problem. It leads to one
deriving their sense of self-worth entirely from doing,
accomplishing, finishing etc.
• Friend‘s coffee mug….. Do, be do, be, do.
Being and Doing

22. • Work as salvation
• Work as curse
• Faith as opposed to work or works. (no, ‗faith without
works is dead…‘)
• Living to work….
• NO, work is part of a normal life cycle– worship, work,
rest, play, study, relating……There is a need for balance.
Bad Theologies of Work

23. • Calling, gifting, vocation, work are intertwined but can be
distinguished.
• ‗Work is what weaves together the very fabric of a called
person‘s identity, and fulfills it‘
• ‗Work that is really a man‘s own work is play, and not
work at all.‘--- Mark Twain
• Too many people have found a job, but not their calling,
vocation or work.
• Work done well and to God‘s glory is ministry, it is a
sacred not secular activity.
Necessary Distinctions

24. Hard work is one thing…..

25. Sedentary Work
accompanied by
Vigorous Play

26. Labor Saving or Labor
Creating Device?

27. • ―We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by
what we give‖.
• Is work all about getting? Getting ahead?
• Your ministry may differ from what pays your bills at
times. But all good work can be a ministry.
• Read Opus Magnum poem.
Winston Churchill

28. • ‗A Workman is worthy of his hire‘ (e.g. equal pay for
equal work).
• ‗Let him who will not work, not eat‘ (laziness and being a
sponge is not a virtue or Christian value– see the sluggard
in Proverbs)
• ‗Each one should carry his own load‘….but when the
situation calls for it ‗bear one another‘s burdens and so
fulfill the Law of Christ‘ (Gal. 6).
Biblical Guide Lines

29. • ‗Whatever is excellent, think on these things‘. Striving
for excellence in your work is a Christian value. Merely
punching a clock or doing the minimum to get paid is not.
• ‗Work to find yourself approve‘ (by God).
• ‗So that whatever you do, do it to the glory of God and
for the edification of others‘.
• ‗The gifts given you are for use for the common good,
not merely to benefit yourself‘.
Biblical Guidelines

30. • Be diligent, for ‗the night cometh when no one can
work…and you do not know whose watching or the hour
of your visitation‘
Biblical Principles