On The Office there is a character named Angela – it’s apparent she’s a Christian. It’s not apparent through her sharing her faith or attending church, rather it’s because she’s so judgemental about certain things, the producers have drawn a caricature of a real phenomenon where many Christians don’t know how to reconcile work and their beliefs.
At its worst, this confusion can come out as prejudice, anger or manipulation. Or it can be inappropriate and insensitive attempts to convert everyone they work with.
Instead, sometimes Christians will withdraw. They can either quit working in their industry, feeling the only way to be true to their faith is to work at a Christian ministry. Or they might find a company where all their co-workers are Christian. Or, Christians might compartmentalize their lives and give up their beliefs Monday-Friday, and only live out their faith on Sundays.
Neither extreme is good. In one Christians withdraw from the world that God created. In the other, they see their contribution only as moral police and evangelists.
What if God is calling us to do good work in his world? What if God is calling us to be serving others and creating – not just in Christian ministries, but in industry, education, art, media, business, civil service and more?
How could you tell the difference between a Christian doing God’s work, then, and anyone else? What difference does being a Christian make? Clue in this short little bit of a Psalm, a kind of musical poetry in the Bible:
Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Psalm 127:1-1 ESV
We come back to foundations…something we looked at in last series. The image is of two subcontractors – say two carpenters, perhaps even working for the same general contractor. Or the second image: two soldiers guarding a base. They could both be in the same country, same regiment, same platoon. The difference is one works for God, and the other works for something else. You can imagine the possibilities, they could simply work for the company, dad, greed, comfort and security in life, ego, etc.
That kind of work, the Psalm says, is in vain. It’s an exercise in frustration.
When we think the world revolves around us, we can’t stop. Can’t rest. Up early, go go go, late to bed. Not because there’s something to be done, but something to be proven.
But the one who works for God first, and humans and himself second, does work with purpose – it’s not in vain. Most tellingly, it leads to the kind of satisfied rest in knowing you’ve done your part, and the world doesn’t revolve around you. “God gives his beloved sleep.”
We’ll explore tomorrow how work, of various kinds, can be “for God”.
Question: What kind of work have you done that felt like it was “in vain”? How did it feel useless?
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So far this week, we've seen that Christian faith is not about just the words you say, and not just about deeds you do.
If it were, then Christian faith would be like trying to get to know a celebrity - you would either be guessing the right passcode to get through their mansion gates, or you'd be trying to hop the fence.
It would be easy to know about the celebrity, and never really know them.
But thankfully, God is not like a celebrity who keeps a safe distance from his fans.
In Jesus, God came to earth. He didn’t have to, but he passed through those gates into our world and made it possible for us to know him personally.
God took on human flesh, clothed in the way people were clothed in first century Israel, and spoke their language.
We can actually know God, who came to earth in Jesus, and is active today through his Holy Spirit. Even though Jesus died and rose and since returned to heaven, we can still know him by studying his words, communicating with him in prayer, and with the community he calls his body on earth – the church. Like the one we are forming in Ajax in Durham Region just East of Toronto.
The saying is true: it's not about what you know, or do, it’s about who you know.
Who you know, will then affect what you say and do.
Words and deeds are important, but are no substitute for the full picture of life in God's kingdom given in the Sermon on the Mount.
It's about actually following who you say you follow. Inviting him to transform life…not just saying he does.
The aim is to have him transform our hearts, so they look more like his.
How do we know? That’s what Jesus has been teaching all through the Sermon on the Mount. He's been describing what God’s heart looks like, and wants your heart to look like, so that it transforms the rest of your life. The health of your actual heart matters – blood passes through to all areas of the body.
An unhealthy heart means unhealthy life. No matter how healthy you appear, you aren’t healthy if your heart is hurting.
God wants to transform the heart of our lives, so all other areas of life get healthy.
And he warns us that starting with our words and actions will result in failure.
It starts with openness to Jesus…a willing submission to his will.
Challenge: List some ways to intentionally get to know a new friend, neighbour or colleague better. Now list ways you can intentionally get to know Jesus better. Pick one from each list and try it today.
