Wisdom in Work
Wisdom in Work
“Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, It's off to work we go!” Do you sing like the seven dwarfs in the Snow White movie on the way to work each day? Or does your commute to work feel a little less, shall we say, cheery?
Most people spend half their waking hours each day at work. In these hours, many of us face overwhelming tasks with inadequate training. Many of our workplaces are understaffed and full of difficult people. Over 80% of U.S. workers suffer from work-related stress. So why do we work? Is it just to make money? Is it just to pay the bills? Is it just to buy more stuff? Or does our work have a larger purpose?
As followers of Jesus, sometimes we mistakenly separate out “sacred” and “secular” vocations. We falsely consider Pastors, Missionaries, Seminary Professors, and Para-church workers to have the primary jobs in God’s kingdom and all the rest of vocations to be second-class or a tier below.
The Heroes of the Bible seem to prove otherwise:
Abraham was a real estate owner.
Jacob was a rancher.
Joseph was a property manager.
Joshua was a military man.
David was a shepherd (and musician).
Daniel was a politician.
Esther was a model/beauty queen.
Paul designed camping gear.
Lydia was a clothing manufacturer.
And our Savior and Lord, Jesus was a carpenter.
This Sunday morning, we will continue our series on The Way of Wisdom through the Book of Proverbs by examining the God-ordained calling of work. Not just ministry work, but to see all work as a calling from God. We will look at the life of ants and sluggards in Proverbs 6 with the prayer that we will grow in wisdom in our vocational calling.
After the 9:00am morning worship service, we will be hosting a Serve Fair on the Patio. We will have several ministries promoting ways that you can get involved in serving people this Fall in the life of Calvary Church. Please be in prayer this weekend for how God may be calling you to serve. We need you, we are better together!
This Sunday evening at 6:00pm is our final Wisdom Lecture of the summer, featuring Brett McCracken, the author of “The Wisdom Pyramid.” Brett will be talking about how to orient your knowledge diet around the things that endure. This will help you find wisdom and joy in a fake news, post-truth, alternative facts world. This would be a perfect event to invite both a high school student and a retiree too, you will be so glad you attend, please come!
We can’t wait to see you this Sunday, now get back to work!
Matt Doan
Reach Pastor