Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Your Work Matters to God, Part 43 of 45
IDEA: If our job is the will of God for us, then it's on our job that we serve Jesus Christ.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that the work they do is very important to God.
Collier and Horowitz, in their book The Kennedys, write about the primary campaigns of 1960. Jack Kennedy was standing in a mine shaft in West Virginia, shaking hands with miners.
One miner came up to Kennedy and asked, "Is it true that you're the son of one of the richest men in the country?" Kennedy said that he guessed so.
The miner then asked, "Is it true that you've never wanted for anything and that you've always had pretty much anything you ever wanted?"
Mr. Kennedy reluctantly said that it was probably true.
"Is it true that you've never done a day's work with your hands in all your life?"
Jack Kennedy nodded his head.
Then the miner said, "Well, let me tell you this. You haven't missed a thing!"
I. A great many men and women can laugh along with that coal miner.
A few years ago TIME magazine did a cover story on work and estimated that almost 90% of us do not like our jobs or actually hate our work. Do you think that is still true?
II. What concept does the Bible offer that can give a touch of glory in the grind?
The apostle Paul writes to slaves in Ephesians 6:5-8 to give them a new perspective on their work:
"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and with sincerity of heart just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one of you for whatever good you do, whether you are slave or free."
These slaves make an interesting case study:
They didn't have excellent working conditions.
They didn't have rights before the law.
They worked long hours for very small paychecks.
Yet Paul writes to those slaves in Ephesians 6:6 that as they worked, they were doing God's will and they should do it from the heart.
One concept that can give dignity to ordinary labor for a Christian is that "your job is the will of God for you today."
One of the world's best-known paintings is "The Angelus" by Millet. See the painting at http://www.jeanmillet.org/The-Angelus,-1857-59.html, (or by clicking on the link). The word angelus means "prayer." It is the picture of two peasants praying in the field. On the horizon is a church steeple, and we presume the church bell is ringing to summon people to afternoon prayer. To understand the significance of the picture, however, you must study where the rays of the afternoon sun fall:
The rays don't fall on the church steeple, nor do they fall directly on the bowed heads of the man and woman.
The rays of the sun fall on the wheelbarrow and the common tools at the couple's feet.
What do you think Millet was expressing through his art?
Millet understood the significance of what the apostle Paul wrote to workers. Those peasants in their field not only honored God with their prayers, but also with their ordinary work.
