Sunday Sermonizing: Developing a Manifesto on Work
I need to do this.
Because there was a day when I sinfully viewed certain vocations as higher than other vocations.
And I am ashamed of that.
Sure, I wouldn’t have been so forward and brash and say it out loud. (Actually, I might have. I was pretty forward and brash as a younger man.)
I know I did communicate it in my counseling and conversation.
I was in a pastor/ministry/missionary vocation. I tolerated (and possibly patronized) those in other vocations, but deep down I’m judging them.
Why are you wasting your life? You could use your gifts, talents, knowledge, strengths, and abilities to also become a pastor/ministry/missionary person. Like me. Everyone should enter my vocation and make a real difference in the world.
Which is ludicrous. It’s the same as saying, “Everyone should be a plumber” or “Everyone should join the Air Force.” A mono-vocational society is not only boring, it’s also not sustainable.
It’s not God’s intention, either.
Here is a manifesto of what I believe about work today, in no particular order:
- There is dignity and impact in every kind of ethical work.
- All work affects culture.
- Positioning certain “jobs” as a higher or lower calling is wrong and dehumanizing.
- For a Jesus-follower, there is no “secular employment.” Everything is sacred, including your work.
- An entrepreneur can have just as much of an impact on the Kingdom of God as a church planter. Often, more so.
- Making money is not evil. It’s not even a “necessary evil”. Making money (even making a lot of money) is both good and necessary.
I will be adding to this list and eventually creating my own manifesto on work.
But for now, know this:
Your work is holy. Not just your job. Not just your vocation.
Your work.