Issue #154, April 29, 2015
We often see worship as an activity for Sunday that is very different from what we do when we wake up on Monday morning. But Paul saw our vocation as an act of worship. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24). Paul understood that worship is to honor God and express to Him our love. This can be done in a public meeting but can also be done through our vocations when we learn to see what Paul recognized.
We worship by seeing our vocation as sacred.
Paul served God as a missionary and church planter. He taught, preached, and evangelized. But he also served God as a tent maker. He saw no distinction between the two and calls all servant leaders to recognize that whatever you do is working for the Lord! Many modern leaders have accepted the Greek world view that divides the world into two different levels with work on the lower level. This is not Biblical! Yet I often hear people talk about being called to “full-time ministry” to describe their call to work in the church. Paul makes it clear that every believer is called to “full-time ministry!” Some are called to full-time ministry as pastors or church leaders. But many are called to full-time ministry in the world of business or as teachers, doctors, engineers, farmers, etc. Servant leaders see that their vocation is a sacred calling from God and therefore an act of worship to Him.
We worship by seeing our vocation as service.
Paul clearly states that in our vocations it is the Lord Christ you are serving. Worship involves bringing gifts to the one we worship. Paul says that our work is an act of service to God. In his letter to the Corinthians he made it even more clear, So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). On Sundays we might glorify God with singing, fellowship, giving, and other acts of worship. But on Monday our work becomes our offering to Him and is offered an act of worship. Servant leaders serve in many of the same ways that other leaders do. They teach, build homes, manufacture products, offer services, manage groups, etc. But they do this as an act of service to the Lord, not simply as a job or occupation. Servant leaders worship as they serve! They see with Paul that their vocation is an act of service to God and they offer it daily to Him in worship. Brother Lawrence, a monk who lived in the 1600’s, had this perspective and learned to see washing dishes as an act of worship. He saw what Paul taught.
We worship by seeing our vocation as significant.
Paul clearly sees our vocation as very significant. It is working for the Lord and he notes that we will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. We often think that the ‘religious’ acts we perform like prayer, evangelism, giving money to the poor, or supporting a missionary, will be rewarded by God. But Paul wants us to see that God will also reward what we do with our hands. Servant leaders see that their work is significant enough to be rewarded by God. An inheritance from the Lord sounds better than business profit or a weekly check! Our work will not last forever, but will be rewarded forever! That should change the way we wake up on Wednesday morning!
Enjoy your day as you worship God through your vocation!
For further reflection and discussion:
- Reflect on how much your own thinking has been influenced by the Greek view of the world as divided into a higher and lower realm with work and physical activity of less importance than spiritual realities. How has this influenced the way you see your vocation and the vocations of others?
- Reflect on Psalm 24:1: The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. What does this verse have to do with your vocation?
- Think about your particular vocation. List below all the ways that you serve God through your work. How does this change your perspective towards your work?
- Think about the concept of your work being rewarded by God. How does this change your view of work? How does this change your perspective on what you receive materially here and now?