Part Four: The Right Theology on Work Matters
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth and final part of our “A Theology of Work” series. Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
Here is the final part of my four-part series on a theology of work.
Principle Six: Work allows us to develop diligence.
Let me begin by sharing three Bible verses that have informed me about this principle.
- Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.”
- Proverbs 10:6 “Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”
- Proverbs 12:11 “He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, but he who pursues vain things lacks sense.”
These three verses from Proverbs have one thing in common. They reveal that diligence is rewarded. Diligence has its natural consequence, which is an advantage.
An antonym for diligence is laziness. In the workplace, diligence is rewarded, whereas laziness can lead to dismissal or lack of advancement.
Kevin Miller of Christianity Today shared the following testimony:
When I went to the University of Colorado as an athlete, I discovered we had a track coach who was a sadist. Every Monday for ten months of the year there was a standard workout. We ran twenty-quarter miles each at 63 seconds, with three minutes of jogging in between. It was a devastatingly painful workout. I hated it. I hated Monday with a passion. When the workout was finished, I virtually crawled to the locker room.
There was another man on the team, though, who did that workout alongside of me. After the workout was over and I had left the field, he rested for fifteen minutes and then would do the workout a second time.
His name was Bill Toomey. He went on to win an Olympic gold medal in the decathlon.
Principle Seven: Work allows us to develop integrity.
Proverbs 11:1 says, “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.” A balance was a weighing scale and a means of conducting financial transactions in business. Hence, this Proverbs is addressing integrity issues in business or work.
Within the Old Testament, there are at least seven references to false balances being detestable in the sight of God (Leviticus 19:35-36, Deuteronomy 25:13, Deuteronomy 25:16, Proverbs 11:1, 20:10, 20:23, Ezekiel 45:10-12). It is very evident that the Lord desires us to conduct ourselves with honesty and integrity in the workplace.
Integrity in the workplace begins with one’s resume. In a 2022 survey by StandOutCV, it was discovered that 55% of Americans have lied on their resume at least once.
When I worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative, my boss hired a guy that no one really liked. He was loud and had a coarse sense of humor. The company wanted to fire him. So, they double-checked his resume. He reported that he graduated from college when he didn’t, so they fired him.
If a person lies in their resume, how likely is it that they will be dishonest while employed? The Lord desires to cultivate our integrity in a place where honesty and uprightness are oftentimes lacking. You will be challenged to maintain your integrity.
To be sure, honesty is the best policy, and work will give us ample opportunities to mature accordingly.
Principle Eight: Work allows us to develop servanthood.
Proverbs 27:18 says, “He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit; and he who cares for his master will be honored.” It is very clearly teaching that the one who faithfully and diligently serves his or her boss will be honored.
I have repeatedly counseled one of my granddaughters over the years that her goal at work should always be to make her company and her boss or supervisor as successful as possible. Their success is your success.
As a result, I believe that Tiffany is esteemed at work and has the backing of those above her. Even when her immediate supervisors were less than competent or honorable, her goal has always been to honor and serve them faithfully with the bigger picture of the company in mind.
Unless you are the boss, you are in a subservient position at work. There is someone over you. Being subservient will teach you servanthood if you allow it to.
Christian pastor and author, Gordon MacDonald wrote, “You can tell whether you are becoming a servant by how you act when people treat you like one.”
If you ever struggle with this, remember the words of Jesus when He said, “…and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.” In the world of God’s Kingdom, the first shall be last and the last shall be first, so, at work, serve your boss and your company with all your heart. Do well and the Lord will bless you in ways that the world doesn’t always acknowledge. God will have your back.
Principle Nine: Work allows us to develop our focus in life.
Focus is important. It is the “center of activity, attraction, or attention” or “a point of concentration” (M-WD). Another way of putting it is, “Where is our life centered?”
Where our life is focused, changes everything. Is Jesus at the center of everything we do, even at work?
If I took a two-by-four that was eight feet long and laid it on the ground, and asked everyone here to walk on it from one end to the other, almost everyone would make it.
If I took that board and laid it across two platforms a hundred feet in the air, almost no one would make it. What’s the difference? On the floor, your focus would be to get from one side to the other. Up in the air, your focus would change. You would be focusing on not falling.
In life, we get distracted from what should be our true focus in life. Eventually, the distraction could become the focal point of our life. Work is not supposed to be the ultimate focus of life. It is a part of life, a very important part of life, but it is not the center of life.
There are three motivations for work.
- There is the external motivation. We work for a paycheck. We work so we can pay for things and support our family.
- There is the internal motivation. We work because it makes us feel good. We work because it gives us a sense of accomplishment and purpose. We work because it raises our confidence level.
- There is the eternal motivation. For example, we can work for the Lord and for His glory. Our real boss is the Lord.
Work is a place where God allows us to refine our ability to stay focused on Him. When problems arise at work, do we go to the Lord? When challenges arise with the superior or coworkers, do we go to the Lord? When direction is needed at work, do we seek guidance from the scriptures? What better place is there, to practice the presence of Christ than work?
Harry Emerson Fosdick said, “No steam or gas drives anything until it is confined. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.”
Amazing things can begin to happen when we begin to shift our focus back to the Lord at work.
I have shared with you a four-part series on combatting burnout with a theology of work. It is not exhaustive by any stretch of the imagination, but I hope it will be helpful as you look toward a lifetime of work.
In summary, remember that work allows us to cooperate with God’s purpose, work allows us to supply our needs, and allows us to grow in Christ.
In terms of growing in Christ, work helps develop nine areas of Christ-likeness.
- Principle One: Work allows us to develop our character.
- Principle Two: Work allows us to develop our generosity.
- Principle Three: Work allows us to develop our testimony.
- Principle Four: Work allows us to develop self-esteem and confidence.
- Principle Five: Work allows us to develop our learning.
- Principle Six: Work allows us to develop diligence.
- Principle Seven: Work allows us to develop our integrity.
- Principle Eight: Work allows us to develop our servanthood.
- Principle Nine: Work allows us to develop our focus.
The writer of Ecclesiastes wrote, “What advantage does man have in all his work which he does under the sun?” Ecclesiastes 1:3. I hope this series helps you to answer the question posed in Ecclesiastes.
One final quote by Leland Ryken, an author and Wheaton College professor. He wrote, “Earlier in this century, someone claimed that we work at our play and play at our work. Today the confusion has deepened: we worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship.”
I hope we will learn to work at our work, play at our play, and worship at our worship.
This Is the Way.
Love,
Grandpa
Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series called “Letters from Grandpa.” Each entry is written by Cory Ishida, who was the senior pastor of Evergreen Baptist Church of San Gabriel Valley until his retirement. During the pandemic, he texted devotions to his grandchildren to encourage them while they were apart, and he has continued this tradition to this day. We at the SOLA Network are honored to republish Pastor Cory’s devotions in hopes that they will be a blessing to the church.