The Call to Work

by Skip Moen, Ph.D

Skip Moen, author, speaker and consultant, provides clients with reflective insight into business practice assumptions and practical solutions to human resources issues. He has recently published a book on daily leadership. Skip resides in Florida,USA. You can contact Skip at skipmoen@mac.com or visit his website www.skipmoen.com.
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For most of us, work means a job. It’s something we do in order to pay the bills. Very few people would use the term “calling” when they talk about work. Ministers talk about a “calling”, but for most of us, work is just employment. The average person can only imagine what it must be like to own the business, be the CEO or be independently wealthy. Work is just a means to an end. Surprisingly, many of the most powerful people in the working world might say the same thing if they were asked. While our business leaders have larger responsibilities and more rewards, they often discover that even if work is tremendously rewarding, it doesn’t fill all their needs. We hope that life is more than work. In fact, we criticize those for whom work seems to be all consuming. We intuitively know that the workaholic is out of balance.

There is a long history behind this feeling about work. For our culture, it starts with the Greeks. There are several ancient words associated with the idea of work, but the central one is ergazomai, a verb form of the word ergon. We get the English word ergonomics from this Greek root. Ergonomics is the study of work and motion. Ergon is the word for deed, action, achievement, practice, business and work. Another form of this Greek word is energeia. Its obvious that the English word “energy” is a direct descendent of this old Greek word. It means “force”. Related Greek words that make their way into our culture are synergos (a fellow-worker) and euergeteo (to do good). We get synergy and eulogy from these roots.

Very early in Greek history, the word for work was associated with specific occupations like farming or being a soldier. It draws a picture of someone actively engaged in production or achievement. The antonym is inactivity on the one hand, and mere words (as opposed to deeds) on the other.

The Greeks considered work an important value for men. While they hoped one day to enjoy freedom from trials and troubles of this life, they did not think of another “heavenly” world where they were rewarded with idle time. The blessings of success were to be sought in this world. Work was an essential part of this goal. Many of the Greek writers coined phrases that are still in use today – phrases that define who we are in terms of our work. “Man is known by his works”. “Work is the pathway to riches”. “Excellence is the perfection of work”. When we meet someone, we often use the greeting, “What do you do?” This is a thoroughly Greek concept – a human being is defined by the work that he performs.

Of course, we don’t intend to imply that work is all that makes up who we are. But the phrase is significant. With a little reflection, we must admit that judgments of human value are easily associated with the answer to this question. We give more status to the person who answers, “I am a doctor” than we do to one who answers, “I work at Burger King”. A friend of mine owns a Dairy Queen. He is quite a successful young businessman. He commented once that when he is interested in a girl and she asks what he does, he answers that he works at a Dairy Queen. He does not tell her he owns the store. Within a few seconds, he is able to determine the character of this potential date by the way she reacts to his reply. The fact that it is such a standard way of assessing human worth indicates how deeply Greek our culture is. The bottom line is that we use work as our measuring stick.

But there is something deeper than this measuring stick quality in the Greek idea of work. It is that we see work only within the context of what it means to be human.

The Hebrews had a different perspective on work. For them, work begins with God. “In the beginning, God created” is the foundation of all thoughts about work. God is a God of action. He has work to do. God’s work starts with words. There is no separation between the activity of work and the words of work for the Hebrews. God accomplishes his tasks through the words He speaks. Work and word go hand in hand.

God is also continually active. The history ofIsrael is a witness to God’s interaction with men. God’s work shapes history itself. God’s work directs the course of all events and activities in the human realm to suit His purposes. Work is never outside the context of God’s sovereignty. Work was seen as the assignment God gave to men. The first man, Adam, was duly assigned work, even in the Garden of Eden. Work is not the fulfillment of human potential as much as it is the fulfillment of divine commission.

Because God rules all creation, including the work of all men, God is the final judge of the value of work. The original sacrificial system involved presentation of the results of work as an offering. Work was an expression of the sacred recognition of the lordship of God. It was not simply a measure of the worth of a human being. Work was the fulfillment of the purposes of God. Many of the heroes of Israel performed menial jobs as part of their fulfillment of God’s greater purposes. Moses and David were shepherds. Joseph was a slave. Noah was an amateur shipbuilder. Abraham was a nomadic herdsman. Many of God’s chosen leaders were farmers. Few were wealthy, famous or powerful before God picked them. God gave them jobs to do – not only for them but also for Him.

The Greek Bible uses three different words for our English word “work”. These are ergon, poieo and prasso. Only ergon is used to describe God’s divine work. The same word is also used to describe the activity of human beings, especially in connection with acts of religious significance. A derivative of this word is used to support the idea that the believer is one who works in partnership with God. We are called God’s fellow-workers.

The word also describes human actions that are evil and that will be judged by God. Paul says that every man will stand before God and be judged according to his works. Obviously, the umbrella of meaning stretches far beyond my job or career. It encompasses all of my actions. Finally, the New Testament uses this word in opposition to the idea of righteousness by grace. Trying to work our way to holiness is folly. No human activity can make us acceptable before a God who demands holiness. Only faith in God’s gracious gift of redemption can solve this problem.

The second Greek word for work, poieo, is the basis of our English word “poetry”. It means “to do or make”. It is found 3200 times in the Old Testament and 565 times in the New Testament. One reason for its frequency is that the Hebrew language has very few abstract words so, in order to translate Hebrew into Greek, many times it became necessary to combine a concrete Hebrew expression with a “helping” verb like “to do”. Expressions like “to do good” or “to make a vow” are combination words.

Poieo reiterates the basic tenant of the Bible, that God’s activity is the foundation for all creative action on both the divine and human scale. This word is used to emphasize the thought that no human action is neutral. Every act is either an act of obedience or disobedience. Paul can say, “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”. Jesus expresses the same moral content to all activity when he summarizes the commandments into two moral imperatives – love God and love your neighbor. Love is always associated with action. “If you love me, you will do these things” places right action at the center of discipleship.

Finally, prasso, from which we get practice, pragmatic and occupation, carries the idea of a method of operation. Compared to poieo it is used very rarely, and almost always with reference to evil works that God will judge.

The Biblical record is clear. Work is human activity under the rule of God. Both God and Man have work to do. In fact, Man’s role in God’s universe is pre-eminently about the work of care taking. The first commandment, to subdue the earth, is a word that implies the work of a fastidious gardener, not an exploiter. For a Christian, the Lordship of Christ can only mean that every action taken by a believer is part of “working out our salvation”. Nothing is exempt from the purposes of God.

This fact overcomes a common mistake. We are often told that our spiritual calling is to devote time and energy to the work of the church. This might lead us to conclude that we have jobs on the one hand and spiritual tasks on the other. Even Rick Warren, in his excellent book, The Purpose Driven Life, says:

“Regardless of your job or career, you are called to full-time Christian service”.

“One reason why you need to be connected to a church family is to fulfill your calling to serve other believers in practical ways”.

“There are no insignificant ministries in the church”.[1]

This creates an artificial dichotomy between the work world and service to the church. But notice that Jesus did not minister in the church at all. In fact, the local synagogue rejected him. Jesus fulfilled his ministry by accepting God’s calling no matter where it took him. And it usually took him to places that the good church-going crowd avoided.

If God engineers life, if He is the operating agent behind every detail of my life, then God places me in every one of my circumstances, including my career and job. I don’t live in two worlds – one where I work and the other where I serve. Work is an expression of my submission to God where He puts me. I am called to serve Him everywhere in my life. My assignment extends to every part of my life – my job, my home and my church.

Under God’s authority, all work is sacred. Is there any difference between how I demonstrate my gratitude and humility before God in the office or in the sanctuary? Doesn’t Jesus’ ethics of the kingdom apply equally in both environments? Why have we made the “church” the exclusive realm of Christian service? Jesus spent nearly His entire ministry with non-believers. He didn’t relegate his religious activity to behavior inside the synagogue.

There is no dualism in the world of work. We are not spiritual workers for the church on Sunday and human laborers for the rest of the week. Our lives are to be expressions of the character of Christ in every activity. No matter where God puts us, we are to “be about our Father’s business”.

Now that we realize that all work is part of God’s purpose for us, and that every action is an opportunity to develop the character of Christ, we can ask some other questions:

What behaviors does God expect of me in the place where I have been divinely assigned?

How am I to act in this assignment so that God is glorified?

How will I use my assignment as an influence for the purposes of God?

[1] Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, pp. 229 and 230.