How Then Shall We Live?The Christian Worldview Applied to

Work Vocation, Calling, and the Purpose of Work, Week 6

Evan Donovan

Five Resources Christian Faith Provides for WorkCreation1. Life is more than work: faith as inner ballast2. All work has dignity and worthRedemption3. Faith as moral compass in world of work4. Christian world & life view guides the means & ends of

workConsummation5. Faith provides hope of fulfillment in work, even in midst

of work’s disappointments

Life is More Than WorkFaith provides inner ballast to avoid the twin dangers of

pride or despairThe “work beneath the work” can drain us because we are

either deriving our value from work or just slogging through it to get to something else

“I have learned in every state to be content.” ~Apostle Paul, Phil. 4:11

Who Are We: Starting with Creation“Christianity is not just involved with ‘salvation’, but with the total man in the total world. The Christian message begins with the existence of God forever, and then with creation.It does not begin with salvation. We must be thankful for salvation, but the Christian message is more than that. Man has…value because he is made in the image of God.”

- Francis Schaeffer

Work’s Dignity & Importance: Our Work as the “Masks of God”Creator

◦Participating in the work of creation – Adam naming the animalsRedeemer

◦Reversing the effects of Fall – “far as the curse is found”Sustainer

◦Helping to keep the world in being and in order

Work’s Dignity & Importance: Four Key Institutions of SocietyThe familyWorkChurchGovernment

The Fall’s Effect on Work: Broken Relationships

Bryant Myers’ diagram of poverty as broken relationships, as adapted by Bryan Fikkert & Steve Corbett of the Chalmers Center. Retrieved from http://network.crcna.org/global-mission/getting-going-helping-without-hurting on 2/5/2016.

The Fall’s Effect on Work: Broken Relationships

Bryant Myers’ diagram of poverty as broken relationships, as adapted by . Retrieved from http://network.crcna.org/global-mission/getting-going-helping-without-hurting on 2/5/2016.

The Fall’s Effect on Work: Three Dimensions of EvilPersonal - sinSystemic / social - oppressionCosmological (Satanic / demonic) – “principalities and

powers”Finding balance:“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins [personal], in which you used to live when you followed the ways of the world [systemic] and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air [cosmological], the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” (Eph. 2:1-2)

Recognizing Work’s BrokennessWe must acknowledge the limitations to what we can

accomplish in this fallen worldWe must neither “strive after the wind” (overwork), nor be

idleWe are not called to selfishness, but serviceWork reveals our idols if we try to find satisfaction in it

rather than in who we are already in ChristWorkplace can become a place of envy, jealousy, gossip,

but this really just reveals what was already in our hearts (Mark 7:20-23; James 4:1)

Redemption: Christ’s Work and OursIn Christ, the creation is reconciled, broken relationships

restoredHe has committed to believers the ministry of

reconciliationThis means bringing people into right relationship with

God, but it also means working in God’s power to reverse the effects of the Fall

Through Jesus’ ministry, He met both spiritual and material needs; we must also

Redemption: Faith as Moral Compass for WorkHuman rights are grounded in knowledge that people are

made in God’s image and in the Christian virtue of loveThroughout the Old Testament, we see the call to ethical

living, both as individuals and in society“He has told you…what is good; and what does the LORD

require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

Redeeming Systems: Globalization & CapitalismGlobalization bringing the world closer together than ever

beforeBringing up incomes in many parts of the world, yet…Negative effects:

◦Homogenization of culture, loss of cultural uniqueness◦Inequality within some nations◦Environmental harm◦Breakdown of traditional communities

Globalization rooted in capitalism, which has great benefits but doesn’t necessarily operate by ethics other than profit maximization

Redeeming Nature: Dominion as Stewardship“The tree in the field is to be treated with respect. It is not to be romanticized as the old lady romanticizes her cat (that is, she reads human reactions into it)…But while we should not romanticize the tree, we must realize that God made it and it deserves respect because he made it as a tree...Christians who do not believe in the complete evolutionary scale have reason to respect nature as the total evolutionist never can, because we believe that God made these things specifically in their own areas” and He made them for a purpose.

- Francis Schaeffer

Redeeming the Professions: Worldview in Work EducationPsychologyMedicineCommunity developmentLawPolitics

Redeeming Art: Worldview as a Way of SeeingChristian worldview can correct one’s vision, point to “the

true, the good, and the beautiful”“Your beliefs will be the light by which you see, but they

will not be what you see and they will not be a substitute for seeing.” ~Flannery O’Connor

Christians in the Workplace: Four Roles“Mole”: identify sins of the organizationWitness: compel people to accept Christ, attend churchTentmaker: earn enough to support one’s church workServant / Steward: work well, “as to the Lord and not

men” (Col. 3:23), seeking to transform the workplace as possible

Nature of a Servant LeaderHumble, yields decision-making authority to othersRetains responsibility but yields powerServes a higher purpose than one’s own

Nature of a StewardPursue truth, goodness, and beautyLive out God’s priorities: care for creation and the

powerlessRecognize that all that we have is a gift from God

Putting on the Mind of Christ“Do not be conformed any longer to the measure of this

world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Rom. 12:2)

God gives wisdom because He gives us the Holy Spirit to transform our character (Keller)

Christ-minded people are salt and light in the world, people like those whom Jesus calls blessed in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-12)

The Church’s Role in Culture & SocietyChurch often:

◦Opposes itself to wider culture, is isolationist◦Fails to affirm those in secular vocations

Church should engage with broader culture because God’s common grace means things are not completely fallen (Keller)

Church calls people together in order to send them back in the world: a place of worship, restoration, and equipping (Tink)

The Sabbath: Rest, Leisure, and Finding BalanceSabbath is:

◦Time for worship (prayer, preaching, praise, sacraments)◦Time for rest & renewal◦Time for community◦Time for service (“works of necessity and mercy”)

Leisure:◦Not sinful, but necessary◦Time for appreciating creation (Josef Pieper, quoted in Keller)◦Time for engaging in re-creation

Sabbath cycle shows that God knows our need for balance, so He gives us rest

Consummation: Hope in the Midst of Work’s Disappointments

Illustration of “Leaf by Niggle” by Alan Lee, from Tales from the Perilous Realm. Retrieved from http://www.dana-mad.ru/gal/image.php?img=708 on 2/5/2016.

“‘There really is a tree!’” – J.R.R. Tolkien, “Leaf by Niggle”

Consummation: The Reward of the Master’s Joy

Illustration of “Leaf by Niggle” by MirachRavaiaRetrieved from http://ladyanaire.deviantart.com/art/Leaf-by-Niggle-257403095 on 2/5/2016.

Conclusion: Beginning with the End in MindAs you consider your calling, ask questions such as these:

What gets you out of bed in the morning? What inspires you?Imagine your funeral & what people will say:

◦ How will you be missed? What vacuum will you leave? ◦ What kind of legacy do you hope to leave behind? ◦ Will anything have been transformed?

Given the limitations of your circumstances, how can you advance your calling from what you are doing today?

For Further StudyFletcher Tink, “Theology of Work for the STEM

Professions,” weeks 1-8 slides (http://www.slideshare.net/techmission/tow-week1)

Tim Keller, “Every Good Endeavor” presentation (in course)

Tim Keller, Every Good EndeavorR. Paul Stevens, The Other Six Days