This weekend at LCBC, we explored Psalm 8 and what it means to be "crowned with glory" as humans. We explored the capacity and desires that we have to do good work in this world, to have meaning, and live a life that matters. There have been some great questions that have popped up from various people wrestling with their own desires for living a life of meaning and significance. So here are a few I have heard and my responses.
Should I quit my job?
I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. But if you quit your job because you are bored, or because you don’t think God can use you there, that may be the wrong reason.
There is a big difference between vocation and occupation.
Our vocation is to “seek the kingdom” in all things. This doesn’t change no matter what occupation you may find yourself in. Our occupations take various forms. So the real question we should be wrestling with isn’t, “Should I quit my job to pursue building God’s kingdom?” But rather, “How do I build God’s kingdom in the job I am currently in?” How can my relationship with co-workers communicate worth and dignity to them? How can I treat each customer as uniquely loved by the God who made them? How can my skills in organization help move our team at work forward? How can I communicate worthiness to the people who are managing me?
How can I serve my children today as I prepare them meals, fold their laundry, and shuttle them around?
Every moment has sacred potential to be a moment where we build the world God intends, the kingdom, no matter what job we do or don’t have.
Should I work at a church?
Probably not. Sometimes we get this idea that there is Godly work, like volunteering with a local non-profit, serving in orphanages, or working at churches. Then there is the other kind of work, like accounting, designing, teaching, or working drive through. However, in the scriptures the lines between sacred and secular aren’t that distinct. Actually the idea in the scriptures is that all work has the potential to be sacred.
If you are a Christian you are already in full time ministry.
Wherever you find yourself, you are to pour yourself out for the good of those around you. The kingdom is bigger than any one church. It is building the world God intends things it to be. Working with spreadsheets can be every bit as important and “Godly work” as preparing a sermon. If you are seeking the kingdom by hanging drywall, designing websites, and working in sales it is as glorious as working in any church.
It’s all sacred work when you get down to it.
Is there a difference between my passions and my glory?
Maybe. The glory you have been given by God (Psalm 8) translates into living a weighty life, significance, and desire for meaning. It communicates worth, value, and potential given to us by God. This glory demonstrates itself in the unique ways we have been designed to build God’s kingdom, the world he intends.
Our passions, those things that get us up in the morning, don’t always translate into our unique path of living out our glory. Think American Idol. How many people have a passion for singing but it simply isn’t their path. It doesn’t take a successful producer to realize this. Just because you are excited about it doesn’t always mean it is your unique path or that you are even good at it. I am excited about basketball, always have been, but I am not ever going to play in the NBA.
So just because you are passionate about something doesn’t mean it is in your glorious design to do it the rest of your life. And you have got to be okay with that. Because you are still worthy of love and have a glorious path in front of you.
So ask people around you, who are honest and will affirm your worthiness, to shoot you straight and tell you what they see you doing well. Ask them where they see your passions and desires line up with your design.
9 comments:
Loving this series. I needed to hear these so much and there is a lot of echoing between this series and the book "Will of God as a way of life" that I'm reading write now. Thanks for bringing this truth in a fresh way Jason!
Thank you for this series! I need to seek wherever I am - God has put me there!!!
A number of years ago, my job took me to Philadelphia doing interior renovations at one of the clubs.
Nothing about the job itself was benificial to the "Kingdom".
But outside of the club in the streets and parking area, there were a number of homeless people who I began talking to. At first it was just a simple "good morning", but as the days went on conversations began to develope, and my new friends became the highlight of my day. One person in paticular, her name was Dorothy,would greet me with a huge smile everyday. After learning that she had been on the streets for years, I asked what it was that she needed most. "Clean socks" she said. So the next day I brought her 2 huge packs of brand new socks. She held that bag of socks to her chest as if it was a bag of gold.
After about a month had past, the job was done, and I was geting out of my truck to do a final inspection, Dorothy came up to me and gave me a big hug and told me how much she would miss me.
The smell from someone living on the streets is not pleasant, the sneers from my fellow workers was evident, but that one hug was so honest and full of appreciation, it felt like God himself had hugged me.
God can use any of us for the Kingdom, just keep your eyes open for the Dorothys of the world.
Jason
I appreciatated this post so much. I have my discussion group for Psychology class this week. The subject is why we work and how the career path we choose affects our lives. We also have to talk about our jobs and why we chose the occupations we did. Our Professor always asks us to bring in the Spiritual component. Hope you don't mind if I use your post for a little inspiration.
Allen
Allen - Go for it!
Jason you are amazing--you answered every question I had after the service Sunday. And I have already talked to people and realize that I MAY think I am not working for my Glory but several people have said I already do--counseling 2 eating disorder friends and being there for them 24/7 because I am a housewife. I can be there when they need me. I was blessed with the lord in my life this week after begging Him for help with a construction project in my home and today it all came together and my prayers were answered DIRECTLY. In 2 weeks I have been moved and touched. When my furniture came today I hugged them and said praise the Lord becasue at 46 it was the first pieces of new furniture I have ever had and they were perfect. Jesus gave me a true gift this week. he let me know He listened to me, little me. I am so full of spirit right now.
That is why we chose LCBC. Balance! We've been a part of other churches that take certain teachings to extremes only to be sorry for it later. This is a good teaching, good advice and can be lived out in a practical way. My Grandma use to say, "Grow where you are planted." God will line up the bouys in your life and then ask you to guide your boat. He knows we aren't Rock Scientists.
Oops! "Rocket Scientists" Sorry!!
Jason, glory and purpose begin with design. How does a gay person find glory and meaning when the church implies that he/she is flawed by design. What about people with schizophrenia who are made to feel their design is fragmented. What if I'm a clergy woman and certain churches tell me, you cannot be a lead pastor here, in fact, you can not even speak from the platform that addressses the main congregation as a whole. Am I flawed by design (gender). What about people of color who sense covert messages that their design does not meet the standard. There are still groups forming under church names that send overt messages of people not adding up to the ideal design -- White Christian heterosexuals with conservative values.
If I don't fall into the standard design by nurture or nature... Do I still have a glorious road ahead?
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