Slideshow image

How can we emulate God in our work?  We learned this past Sunday that we are to work and keep.  To work is to cultivate and develop.  To keep is to guard, protect and care for.  The question is: Do we do these two things with our work?  

How easy is it to show up a minute late?  How often do we think about cutting corners?  Isn’t it tempting to clock in early and clock out later with no extra work done?  Do you notice yourself working differently when your boss/supervisor is in the room?  This is only a fraction of things that really show us what goes on in our hearts about work.  It is easy to fall into all of these sin traps that wrap our hearts so tight in the callousing shroud of “it’s okay, it’s only this time.”  

Our gaze is set on how close we can get to the line of as little work as possible to still “meet work standards.”  But this isn’t God’s desire for our gaze, let alone our actual practice.  Inherent in the two words work and keep, we find the gaze set differently than that line of laziness.  The gaze we are to have is to develop while guarding and protecting what has already been developed.  Showing up a minute late might not look like much, but what is the attitude when you arrive a minute late?  “Who cares? It’s just a minute?”  But does it keep happening?  Does this develop a habit?  Does it develop a trustworthy testimony?  Cutting corners is doing the exact opposite of guarding and caring for what has been developed.  Lying about your time clock is developing and guarding a calloused soul so it can’t desire truth.  Working differently when your boss is and isn’t around shows that the quality of your developing and keeping changes based on fear of what your boss thinks about your work, not God.  

God finished his work on day 7.  God created humans on day 6.  God created man to work and keep the earth.  And we see it is necessary for man to work (Gen 2:5).  God developed (the whole of Genesis 1) and He keeps (Col. 1:17).  His work was very good (Gen. 1:31).  But He also created man to continue developing and keeping.   Part of God’s developing and keeping is being mediated through us.  Yes, the Fall happened, but we still have the duty to work and keep even in our fallen condition.  This is where we look to Christ for the forgiveness of sins on a daily basis and the strength by His grace to work in a manner that is very good.  

When you wake up for work tomorrow morning, I encourage you not to complain but ask yourself: How can I emulate God in the work He is giving me today? How can I make it very good?