A THEOLOGICAL VISION FOR GOOD WORK

The huge assumption of our social context is that work is bad and leisure is good. Our only hope for a transformed vision for vocation, work and career, and for navigating the transitions of life, is to engage our world with a theological vision for good work—to redeem the very idea of work.

The revolutionary message of the Bible is that work is precisely that: good. Central to the biblical description of the formation of the first man and woman is the mandate they received to till the earth and name the animals (Gen 2:15, 19-20). They were created to work, and their work was meaningful. God made them workers so that they could be co-creators with him—not in the sense that they are creators of the earth, but that their work was a part of God’s continual re-creation, and as such it was important, significant and valued by God.

With the Fall and with sin, work becomes toil (Gen 3:17-19). And thus a crucial part of the Christian mission in the world is to seek and declare a recovery of meaningful and joyful work. Work is a central expression of what it means to be a Christian believer, a critical component of our spirituality. Indeed, in many respects our work is a central context for living out our Christian identity. In this, then, we can and must affirm that not all work is good. Work can be destructive, hurtful and a disservice to Christ and to others. We can violate the very meaning of work whenever, through the skills and energy God has given us, we exploit or injure others or merely gratify our misguided desires. Consequently, our longing for meaningful work must be framed in the context of that which is good, noble and excellent—that which enables us to bring pleasure to our Maker, that which we can with genuine passion say that we do “as unto the Lord” (Col 3:23 KJV).

Unfortunately, we have been deeply influenced by the notion that work is bad and to be avoided, and many people live with the longing to be released from work, looking forward to retirement, when they will no longer work. While retirement does mark an important transition, our ultimate joy is not to be released from work. Jesus promised his followers that if they were diligent and careful in small things, they would be rewarded with more work to do (Mt 25:21). The hope of the new kingdom is not that we will be released from work but rather that our work will be in perfect partnership with God, in the kingdom that is yet to come. The prophet Isaiah spoke of the new heavens and the new earth as a time when we would build houses, plant vineyards and enjoy the work of our hands (Is 65:21-22).

One of the most powerful depictions of good work in the Scriptures is found at the conclusion of the book of Proverbs. Proverbs assumes and demonstrates that we are not wise unless and until we are wise in our work. This theme of good work as the sphere in which we live in wisdom is found in threads throughout this book of the Bible, but it is particularly instructive to consider the theological vision of work that is implied in Proverbs 31.

Many tend to think of Proverbs 31 as the celebration of a woman and a wife. And it is. But implicit in this celebration is another: the affirmation of her work and of thus of work as something we engage with energy, passion, joy and diligence. All of us, both women and men.

Could it be that one of the most helpful ways of reading Proverbs 31 is not to see it so much as an addendum or epilogue, as is so frequently done, but rather as a capstone to the collection of proverbial sayings found in this book of the Bible? What is instructive is that the woman described in this chapter is clearly an embodiment of the wisdom that emerges throughout the book of Proverbs, and further, this wisdom she embodies is most evident in the quality of her work. While there is surely more to wisdom than our work, this chapter celebrates a person who is wise in doing good work. And what is implicit in these verses of Scripture is the contours of a biblical theology of work that has profound relevance for us as we seek to make sense of our lives and recover a theological vision for work.

Consider then the biblical vision or theology of work implicit throughout this text of sacred Scripture. And in passing I would note that perhaps in cultures that have a one-dimensional view of women, who are only judged by their physical...