Does God care what I do for work?

Well, we are in our second week of our 40 day focus. Use it well. And this week we are talking about work and our jobs. And the question for this week is, does it matter what I choose for a vocation as long as I’m building people up while I’m at my job? And the short answer is no.

There are definitely some jobs which are off limits to Christians. But assuming you’re not working for the drug cartels or running a satanic bookstore, whatever your job is, as long as we are serving God and serving others, we are in line with God’s will. Not everybody can go into vocational ministry.

So some would think that really it’s only serving God if we are in a vocational ministry position. But if everyone was in ministry, then there would be no one else to make the roads or build the buildings or clean the streets.

It takes the entire culture, the entire civilization to make things work and run. So really we need to be in whatever jobs we feel work called to do. And as scripture tells us, whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

So everything we do, whether it’s work or not, whether it’s ministry related work or what we would call secular work, we should do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. The Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon says it like this.

Nothing is secular, everything is sacred. Or to go back to the church. Father Augustine, love God and do as you please. Now he’s saying that if you are loving God, if you are doing what God would have you be doing, then you are pleasing God. You are in accordance with his will.

A book that really helped me understand this is by a pastor named Kevin DeYoung. The book is Just Do A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will. And the point of the book is sometimes we agonize over finding God’s will. What is it that God wants for me in my life? And sometimes that that can lead to a paralyzing fear that we’re not in line with God’s will.

If we’re not doing exactly what God would have us doing, it can lead to analysis paralysis as we’re trying to find out what we should be doing for work. And his point is just do something. God’s will is to love God and love your neighbor. And if you are loving God and loving your neighbor in your work, no matter what that profession is, you are in line with God’s will.

Some people are good at discerning God’s will for their lives.

And through prayer and through study of the Scriptures, feel a specific calling to go into a certain profession. And that’s great. But not all of us can sense God’s will for our lives that clearly. And the point is, don’t wait. Just do something.

Now, DeYoung says it like this. So the end of the matter is, live for God, obey the Scriptures, think of others before yourself, be holy, love Jesus, and do. And as you do these things, do whatever else you like with whomever else you like, wherever you’d like. And you’ll be walking in the will of God.

The point is, God’s clearest instructions to us come from Scripture, His Word.

Scripture is the word of God. And if we are in line with Scripture, we are walking in his will. So whether we’re doctors, lawyers, construction workers, engineers, whatever we are doing, obey Scripture and walk in God’s will, and we will be pleasing to God. Well, I hope this has been helpful for you today.

Keep sending in those questions.

We love the dialogue of answering questions and discussing what God’s will is for our life, for our vocation, for our work, and for whatever we do in our everyday life.