Celebrating Labor
Toward a More Biblical View of Work
Happy Labor Day to our readers in the U.S. We hope you are enjoying some fun on this holiday, which generally marks the end of the summer.
Started in the late 1800s, Labor Day was founded to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.”
A key understanding that current and aspiring leaders of missional enterprises need to develop is a biblical view of the sanctity of work.
As inspiration today, let this classic quote from Tim Keller encourage and guide your view of God’s good creation of work:
“But in Genesis we see God as a gardener, and in the New Testament we see him as a carpenter. No task is too small a vessel to hold the immense dignity of work given by God.”
For even deeper exploration into this critical topic, here are some resources you may find helpful:
- “9 Essential Points on the Theology of Work,” an article by Dr. Art Lindsley, at the website of the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics.
- Several Well-Regarded Books (consider putting one of these on your reading list for the next year):
- Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good, by Amy Sherman (a Christianity Today Book Award winner)
- Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work by Timothy Keller (reviewed in a previous M3 Weekly article)
- The Entrepreneurial God: A Study Guide by Donald McGilchrist (a four-part Bible Study, reviewed in a previous M3 Weekly article)
- Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human by John Mark Comer (reviewed in a previous M3 Weekly article)
- The Theology of Work Project Website, a rich, abundant collection of resources on a Christian view of Work and Vocation. The group has even produced a full Theology of Work Bible Commentary.
We hope you find one or more of the resources helpful.1
Verse(s) of the Week:
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 (ESV)
As many of us rest today, let’s remember that God blessed his image-bearers and gave them work to do. May God grant us the grace to see the work he has given from his perspective.