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Series: Working Without Idolatry
Devotional: 3 of 4Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1-2)
[Devotional] Last week, I argued that paradoxically one way to ensure your work doesnât become an idol is to enjoy your work most fully as a means of better appreciating the âbetternessâ of Christ.
But how does that advice match up with todayâs passage? Isnât Paul telling us to ignore âearthly thingsâ like work and focus our mind on exclusively heavenly things?
Not exactly. A few verses later Paul explains what he meant by âearthly thingsâ saying this: "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatryâ (Colossians 3:5-6).
The word Paul used for âearthly thingsâ in verse 2 is the exact same word we translate âearthlyâ in verse 5. Whatâs the point? Paul is condemning our engagement with âearthly thingsâ in a sinful way. He is not condemning âearthly thingsâ in and of themselves. To do that would contradict his command a few verses later to âworkâŠwith all your heartâ in your earthly job (see Colossians 3:23-24).
So, this passage isnât telling us to love our work less; but it does offer us an essential principle for ensuring our work doesnât become an idol. Itâs found in the middle of Colossians 3:5 where Paul says that âgreedâŠis idolatry.â
If greed and idolatry are one and the same then combating greed must be a part of our playbook for enjoying our work in a non-idolatrous way. That brings me to our third principle for this series: Principle #3: Offer your talents generously in service of others.
What might this look like practically? Here are three ideas.
#1: Offer to mentor before youâre asked. I guarantee you that there is someone ten years behind you professionally who would love to be mentored by you but doesn't have the courage to ask. Bless them by making the first move.
#2: Teach a competitor who needs your help. When my friend was vying for a starting spot on a football team, he took time to help a competitor learn his routes. Why? Because thatâs what Jesus would do. And by offering up his talents to serve another, he was keeping idolatry of his vocation in check.
#3: Volunteer to use your professional skills to serve those who canât afford them. Your local church, an orphanage, your favorite non-profitâwhatever God puts on your heart.
Those are just three ideas for offering your talents generously to others. Find your own way to do this today as a means of combating greed and ensuring you arenât turning the good gift of work into an idol.
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Series: Working Without Idolatry
Devotional: 2 of 4âYou have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.â (Psalm 4:7)
Weâre in a series exploring four principles for enjoying our work without turning our jobs into idols. Last week we unpacked Principle #1: Insist that Jesus is better. Today we turn to Principle #2: Delight in your work freely and fully.
Now, I know that may seem oxymoronic. After all, if Jesus is better than my job, shouldnât I try to love my work less, not more? Iâd argue thatâs impossible to do and foolish to try for two reasons.
First, God created you to enjoy your work. Work was Godâs first gift to humankind in the Garden of Eden (see Genesis 1:26-28) and one of the many gifts he has in store for us on the New Earth (see Isaiah 65:17-23). So, to try to love your work less is to fight against Godâs design.
Second, the more you enjoy Godâs gifts, the more you can appreciate the âbetternessâ of God. You see this idea all throughout the Psalms where joy in the Creator is frequently described in comparison to the joy the Psalmist found in some created thing. For example, âBetter is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhereâ (Psalm 84:10). âYour love is better than lifeâ (Psalm 63:3). "You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine aboundâ (Psalm 4:7).
âHow shall we confess this meaningfully, if the grain and wine have never put any joy in our hearts whatsoever?â says pastor Joe Rigney. âTo say that we desire nothing besides [God] is an empty compliment if it is literally true. It would be as if to say, âI desire nothing besides you because I've never desired anything at all.â But surely what the Psalmist means is, âI have desired many things in my life, many things of earth. But compared to you they are nothing.ââ
Now, this is not a license to self-indulgence and materialismâa nuance I will draw out more fully next week. But the general principle is clear: If you want to enjoy your work without making it an idol, the solution isnât loving your work less, but moreâfreely and fully delighting in your God-given vocation in a God-honoring way so that you may more deeply and honestly appreciate the truth that Jesus is better.
Jen Wilkin put it this way: âFind freedom in knowing that your human creativity is an echo intended to inspire worship of your Creator. And then, [work] freely to your heartâs delight.â
Amen! With that in mind, ask the Lord for the gift of delighting in your work as a means of delighting more in him today.
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Series: Working Without Idolatry
Devotional: 1 of 4Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37)
Thereâs a tension we see throughout Scripture.
On the one hand, we are invited to delight in creation and our work with creation. âEvery good giftâ is from God (James 1:17) given to us âfor our enjoymentâ (1 Timothy 6:17). And that includes our work! Ecclesiastes 2:24 says âa person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toilâ because those good things are âfrom the hand of God.â
These verses are good examples of what I call the âdelight in creationâ passages of Scripture. But on the other side of this perceived biblical tension, we find the âdelight in Creatorâ passages that command us to love God above all things. This was summarized most succinctly in Jesusâs articulation of the Greatest Commandment above.
So, we are called to delight in the gifts the Creator has given while delighting in our Creator above all things. Because separating these things is the essence of idolatry. Pastor Joe Rigney (whose excellent book Strangely Bright has aided me greatly in the writing of this series) says that idolatry âis the separation of the gifts from the giver and then a preference for the gifts over the giver.â
In this series, Iâll put forth a framework to help you and I enjoy Godâs gifts (especially our work) in a way that ensures we enjoy the Giver mostâa path to delighting in our jobs without them becoming God-dishonoring, soul-sucking idols.
Hereâs the first of four principles to guide us towards that goal. Principle #1: Insist that Jesus is better.
The next time you celebrate a massive accomplishment with your team, read an email about how your product changed someoneâs life, or hold a baby in your arms after hours of hard labor, resolutely insist that Jesus is better than his giftsâeven if you have a hard time seeing how.
What does this look like practically? Hereâs one idea: Reserve one adjective for God alone.
I know a man who refuses to call anything but God âawesome.â So when he delights in created thingsâan incredible pizza, seeing his book hit the bestseller list, watching his daughter get marriedâhe might describe those experiences as âgood,â âgreat,â or even âexceptional.â But never âawesome.â Why? âBecause God alone is awesome,â he says.
Let me encourage you to choose an adjective that you will reserve for God alone as a means of practically insisting that Jesus is better. And may that small decision put you on a path to enjoying your work in a non-idolatrous way today.
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Series: Wisdom for Work from David
Devotional: 7 of 7
I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. (1 Chronicles 29:17)
After giving his considerable âpersonal treasures of gold and silver,â for the building of the temple, David took the time to examine his heart to see if he had given that treasure with God-honoring intent (see 1 Chronicles 29:3-17). Why? I think because David understood how easy it is to do godly things with a mix of godly and ungodly motives.
I experienced this first hand just a few months ago. I had just made a decision within my business that triggered a significant financial sacrifice. But I was convicted through prayer that it was the right thing to do.
Implementing this decision required that I notify some fellow believers. And as I did, these friends consistently commented on how âproudâ they were of me for taking this action.
It didnât take long for me to realize that I was quietly anticipating this praise. While my motives for making this financial sacrifice were mostly pure, there was a part of me that was secretly hoping my friends would commend my decision.
My confession here and Davidâs words in todayâs passage point to an important truth: It is so easy to take God-honoring actions at work with less than God-honoring motivesâto do the right things for the wrong reasons.
What are we to do with that truth? Let me suggest three responses.
First, confess your sinful motives to God and others. Maybe youâre in a season of working âwith all your heartâ as Colossians 3:23 commands, but if youâre honest, youâre not really doing so âfor the Lord.â You are grinding away âfor the love of moneyâ (see 1 Timothy 6:10). If thatâs you, confess that less than God-honoring motive to God and your Christian community.
Second, be amazed at the grace God has shown you which is big enough to cover not just the âbad thingsâ you do, but even the âgood thingsâ you do for the wrong reasons.
Finally, donât wait for a pure motive before you obey Godâs commands. There had to have been some part of David that was motivated by the praise of others to give his treasure. But that didnât keep him from obeying Godâs commands.
So it should be with us. God is calling you to take some action at work this week. Are your motives pure? No. But if youâre confessing those less than righteous motives and the balance of your heart is to honor God, take action. If youâre waiting for perfectly pure âhonest intent,â youâre going to be waiting forever.
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Series: Wisdom for Work from David
Devotional: 6 of 7
David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, âPraise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlastingâŠ.Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to allâŠEverything comes from you.â (1 Chronicles 29:10, 12, 14)
The context of todayâs passage adds weight to Davidâs words. Hereâs the scene: David is addressing Israel in what was likely his final public address as king. The next day, Solomon will take Davidâs place and soon become the wealthiest man on earth.
What would David say at the close of his forty-year reign? He chose to focus his son and his peopleâs attention on the truth that âwealth and honorâ and âeverythingâ good comes from God.
This is a truth we see reiterated throughout Scripture. James said, âEvery good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lightsâ (James 1:17). The Apostle Paul said that even âour competence comes from Godâ (2 Corinthians 3:5).
Every good thing you haveâfrom your wealth, to your success at work, to the breath in your lungsâis from God. Let me suggest three responses to that truth.
First, praise God for whatever wealth and results he has given you knowing that he will only give you the amount that is perfectly suited for your good and his glory (see Romans 8:28-29).
Second, steward Godâs gifts according to his agenda, rather than your own. Because if heâs the giver of the gift, he gets to dictate how you use it.
Finally, focus on inputs rather than outcomes. This last response is super tough for me and probably you. So allow me to go a bit deeper here.
Letâs say youâre working really hard to achieve a specific goal by the end of this week. If, come Friday, you can honestly say you pursued that goal as best as you know how, you can rest before you even know whether or not you hit your target. Not because the world tells you âyou are enough.â But because the results were never in your hands in the first place.
Because âwealth and honorâ and success come from God alone you can rest anytime you have faithfully put in the work and the âinputsâânot just when youâve achieved your desired outcome.
Christian Olympian Eric Liddell once said, âIn the dust of defeat as well as in the laurel of victory, there is glory to be found if one has done his best.â Amen. Based on that truth, work hard from a position of rest today!
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Series: Wisdom for Work from David
Devotional: 5 of 7
In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. (Psalm 10:4)
In 1517, Martin Luther had an âahaâ moment that would change the world. He realized that âthe merciful God justifies us by faith,â and not by works.
Where was Luther when he had this epiphany? In a grand library? Walking in a beautiful garden perhaps? No. As Luther biographer Eric Metaxas explains, âGod had given [Luther] this insight while he was sitting on the toilet.â
Iâm not surprised, because even in Lutherâs day, the outhouse was a rare place of silence and solitude, free from what C.S. Lewis called âthe Kingdom of Noiseâ that surrounds you and me to this day.
Everywhere we turn we are bombarded by external noiseânonstop emails, texts, information, and entertainmentâwhich leads to a more dangerous internal noise that blocks our ability to think, be creative, and most importantly, listen to the voice of God.
That is what David is primarily concerned with in todayâs passage when he says that âthe wicked manâ has âno roomâ in âhis thoughtsâŠfor God.â
If that doesnât describe most people today, I donât know what does. âWe are always engaged with our thumbs, but rarely engaged with our thoughts,â says pastor Kevin DeYoung. Which means that we are drowning out the One Input we need most. ââWe are inflicting ourselves with what Tim Keller called âthe torture of divine absence.â
The solution to this epidemic is simple, but not easy: We must embrace practices that help us dissent from the kingdom of noise.
Let me offer one simple practice you can start implementing today. I call it my 5 Minutes of Nothing rule. Hereâs what it means. If I have less than 5 minutes unexpectedly at my disposal, I do absolutely nothing at all. I refuse to fill that crevice of my day with noise.
Hereâs what this could look like for you today. When you show up to a Zoom meeting early and youâre waiting for the host to start the meeting, donât check your email. When you head to the bathroom like Luther, refuse to check your phone. When you drive to the bus stop to pick-up your kids, donât press play on your favorite podcast (even if itâs my own).
What do I recommend you do instead? Be still. Pray. And make room in your thoughts for God to speak.
Jordan
P.S. My 5 Minutes of Nothing rule is just one idea for how to dissent from the kingdom of noise. Want more ideas? I share eight more in Chapter 3 of Redeeming Your Time!
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Series: Wisdom for Work from David
Devotional: 4 of 7
You [Lord] reward everyone according to what they have done. (Psalm 62:12)
I donât believe Bucket Lists are evil. But I do believe that Christians of all people should spend less time thinking about Bucket Listsâlists of things you want to do before you die and âkick the bucketââand a lot more time thinking about Anti-Bucket Listsâcatalogs of things you will strive not to do on this side of eternity.
Why? Three reasons.
#1: This life is not our only chance to enjoy the best this world has to offer. As Dr. Randy Alcorn has said, âthe âbucket listâ mentalityâŠis profoundly unbiblical,â because Scripture makes clear that we will have all eternity to enjoy the earthâs greatest destinations (see Revelation 21:10-21), food (see Isaiah 25:6â8), culture (see Isaiah 60:1-11), jobs (see Isaiah 65:17-23), etc.
#2: God will reward believers differently based on how we steward this life. This is what David alluded to in todayâs passage and what the Son of David, Jesus Christ, promised more than 20 times. In Matthew 16:27, for example, Jesus echoed David by saying that âthe Son of ManâŠwill reward each person according to what they have done.â
#3: Eternal rewards are almost always tied to sacrifices we make in the present. For example, in Luke 6:22-23, Jesus said that if you sacrifice your reputation at work âbecause of the Son of ManâŠgreat is your reward in heaven.â In Luke 12:33-34 he promised that if you sacrifice âyour possessions and give to the poorâ you will be rewarded with âtreasure in heaven that will never fail.â
For these three reasons, I have spent a lot of time drafting my Anti-Bucket Listâthings I am intentionally sacrificing in this life so that I can accumulate as many eternal rewards as possible per Jesusâs command.
Let me give you one example from my list to illustrate.
As much as I love my hometown of Tampa, FL, no city fuels my soul more than Washington, D.C. (I knowâIâm a crazy person).
So why donât my wife and I move our family to DC? There are many reasons, but one is that our aging parents and grandparents are within a ten-minute drive of our current home and we feel called to help care for them as they get older.
Thatâs a sacrifice for me personally (less so for my far less selfish wife). But knowing that I will have all of eternity to explore the greatest city of all time, I am happy to put this dream on my Anti-Bucket List, because I trust in Godâs promise that he will reward me âfor whatever good [I] doâ in this life (Ephesians 6:8).
You too can take Davidâs words to the bank: The Lord will âreward everyone according to what they have done.â Plan accordingly.
Jordan
P.S. If you want to go deeper on why the concept of rewards makes believers uncomfortable, what rewards Scripture promises, how you can earn them, and what else is on my Anti-Bucket List, check out Chapter 4 of my book, The Sacredness of Secular Work!
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Series: Wisdom for Work from David
Devotional: 3 of 7
In the spring, at the time when kings go off to warâŠDavid remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, âShe is Bathshebaâ...Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (2 Samuel 11:1-4a)
Many historians believe that this famous scene took place towards the middle of Davidâs 40-year reign as king of Israel. And todayâs passage suggests that David was growing lax on the job.
Samuel says that âIn the spring, at the time when kings go off to war,â David didnât. He âremained in Jerusalem.â Then weâre told that âone evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.â
The picture Samuel paints is of David being bored. He couldnât sleep (perhaps due to a lack of exhaustion from a hard dayâs work) and now he appears to be moseying around the palace roof aimlessly.
Thatâs the context for Davidâs most notorious sin. Boredom. Slothfulness. A lack of hard work. David is Exhibit A, supporting the old adage that âidle hands are the devilâs workshop.â
This passage reminds us that one of the reasons Christians should celebrate the gift of work is that God often uses it to keep us from sinning. How should we respond to that truth?
For those of us who frequently complain about being âtoo busy,â (hand raised) I think we should respond by giving thanks to God. Is it wrong to lament about the âthorns and thistlesâ that make our work âpainfulâ (see Genesis 3)? Absolutely not! But if youâre feeling swamped at work today, Davidâs story should compel you to also praise God for using even painful things like overwhelm for your sanctification and his glory.
But maybe you donât resonate with feeling âtoo busy.â Maybe you, like David, have started to coast through life. Or maybe you dream about spending your final years on cruise ships, beaches, and golf courses. With all due respect, there is no biblical support whatsoever for this version of âretirement.â
Now, could God be calling you to trade the work you do for pay as a marketer, therapist, or general contractor for unpaid work as a mentor, tutor, or guardian ad litem? Absolutely! But to quit being productive altogether in the work of the Lord is a recipe for disaster and unfaithfulness as David so vividly demonstrates.
May we be people who accurately reflect the image of God who âis always at his work to this very dayâ (John 5:17) and join the Apostle Paul in saying, âIf I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for meâ (Philippians 1:22).
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Series: Wisdom for Work from David
Devotional: 2 of 7
[King David] asked, âIs there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show Godâs kindness?â Ziba answered the king, âThere is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.â...When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, âMephibosheth!â âAt your service,â he replied. âDonât be afraid,â David said to him, âfor I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.â Mephibosheth bowed down and said, âWhat is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?â...So Mephibosheth ate at Davidâs table like one of the kingâs sons. (2 Samuel 9:3,6-8,11)
I donât cry much, but I have wept over this passage numerous times. Why? Because I think itâs one of the best pictures we have in Scripture of Christ-like love.
By the worldâs standards, Mephibosheth would have been the least likely person David would have shown kindness to for three reasons.
First, Mephibosheth was Davidâs enemy, at least by extension. When David asked if there was anyone âfrom the house of Saul,â that he could show kindness to, his courtiers would have been flabbergasted. I can imagine them saying, âYou want to show love to one of Saulâs descendants? The guy who used to hurl spears at you while you innocently played a harp? That Saul, David!?â
Second, Mephibosheth was a social outcast, due to being âlame in both feet.â In Davidâs day, the crippled and disabled were not looked upon with compassion. They were kept at arm's lengthâoutside the temple, palace, and social circles of the day. Which is why Mephibosheth was stunned to learn that David would even ânotice a dead dogâ like him.
Third, Mephibosheth was unable to repay Davidâs kindness. He had nothing to offer the king in return because of his social position.
For those reasons, Davidâs announcement that he wanted to show kindness to Mephibosheth would have made absolutely no sense to the world. But it makes all the sense in the world once you understand the motivation behind Davidâs kindness.
In todayâs passage, David didnât ask who he could show kindness to, but who he could show âGodâs kindnessâ to. The Hebrew word there is hesed, and it is the same word David used to describe the kindness God had shown him in Psalm 86:12-13: âI will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heartâŠFor great is your love (hesed) toward me.â
You see, David understood that were it not for the hesed love God had shown him, he would be Godâs enemy; he would be a social outcast; he would be poor. David was amazed by grace. And that is why he is intent on sharing Godâs lovingkindness with othersâespecially enemies, outcasts, and the poor like Mephibosheth.
I pray the same would be even more true of you and me because we have seen Godâs hesed in the ultimate. Christ died for us when we were his enemies; when we were Edenâs outcasts; when we were spiritually bankrupt. And so, we are called to go and do likewise, laying down our lives for the Mephibosheths we live and work with.
Who is a Mephibosheth you can share Godâs kindness with today? Maybe itâs an enemy, competitor, or a co-worker whoâs competing against you for the same job. Maybe itâs a socially awkward team member who has quietly become an outsider. Maybe itâs an intern who is unlikely to ever repay you for serving them and their career.
Whoever just came to mind, commit to showing that person Godâs hesed love today.
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Series: Wisdom for Work from David
Devotional: 1 of 7
David said to Saul, âLet no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.â Saul replied, âYou are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.â But David said to Saul, âYour servant has been keeping his fatherâs sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them.â (1 Samuel 17:32-36)
We open our study of David with one of the most famous scenes from his life: His decision to fight the seemingly undefeatable Goliath.
Saulâs response to Davidâs eagerness was essentially, âPump the brakes kid. Youâre crazy. And massively unqualified to go to battle against this warrior.â
But Davidâs response to Saul is what I want you to focus on today. David didnât flex. He didnât point to his killer slingshot strategy. He pointed to his track record of faithfulness. He essentially said, âSure, Iâve never killed an oversized Philistine. But I have been doing my job as a shepherd with excellence. And so, I can be trusted with this greater responsibility.â
Sometimes we, like David, are eager to take on more responsibility in our work. We dream of âbigger rolesâ and having âgreater impactâ for Godâs Kingdom. If our motives are mostly pure, I think God smiles on those aspirations. But in the meantime, itâs clear that he expects us to focus on our current assignments with excellence. In the words of Jesus, âWhoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with muchâ (Luke 16:10).
So hereâs my question for you today: Based on how you are stewarding your current responsibilities, would you expect God to trust you with more? Here are three exercises to help you answer that question.
#1: Ask God to convict you one way or another. Only you and God know if you are being faithful with the work he has given you to do. So ask the Holy Spirit to reveal this truth.
#2: Take the Keeper Test. Imagine that later today, you gave your two weeks notice to your bossâor, if youâre an entrepreneur, imagine you told a client you could no longer work with them. Now answer this question: How hard would your boss or client fight to keep you? If your honest answer is, ânot very,â youâre probably not being faithful with the work God has put in your hands today.
#3: Pretend your boss spent all last week looking over your shoulder. Would you be proud or embarrassed by how you spent your time?
Take two minutes to work through one of those exercises today as a means of imitating Davidâs character of faithful excellence in âlittle thingsâ in preparation for bigger ones.
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Series: Easter Vocations Part II
Devotional: 4 of 4
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, âFather, into your hands I commit my spirit.â When he had said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23:44-46)
Imagine you live in Jerusalem in the first century. Like so many of your neighbors, you work as a farmer. One day, youâre out harvesting olives, when all of a sudden, the clock strikes noon and the sky goes dark. You canât see your hand, much less the olive trees, and so you are forced to head inside and rest from your labor.
Thousands of people must have experienced something similar the day Jesus died. The darkness that accompanied Christâs finished work on the cross undoubtedly led many people to rest from the work of their hands that first Good Friday.
But it also led to a rest for you and me today. Not a rest from the work of our hands so much as a rest from the work of our soulsâthe work beneath our work that so often leads us to overwork and burnout.
Maybe the work beneath your work is performanceâusing your work to elicit the intoxicating praise of your peers. Anyone who has accomplished any level of professional success can attest that the applause of others never truly satisfies. It only leaves you addicted to the need for more.
The cross is the only thing that can free us from that addiction. Once we see that Godâs only Son died so that you and I could be called âchildren of Godâ (1 John 3:1), we can rest from the exhausting work of using our work to impress others.
Maybe the work beneath your work isnât performance, though. Maybe itâs fear of not having enough. Here too, Jesusâs work on the cross is the only thing that can free you. Once you grasp that God kept his promise to slay his perfect Son, you can trust that he will keep his promise to provide for all of your needs (see Matthew 6:25-34).
You and I are called to work hard with our hands (see Colossians 3:23), but not with our souls (see Matthew 11:28-30). We are called to busy ourselves with the work of the Lord while we experience what Tim Keller called âthe REM of the soul.â How do you experience that REM of the soul? By dwelling on the cross.
Buddhaâs last words were, âStrive unceasingly.â Jesusâs last words were, âIt is finished.â The work beneath your work is finished, believer. So strive with your hands for Godâs glory and the good of others. But refuse to strive with your soul today.
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Series: Easter Vocations Part II
Devotional: 3 of 4
But the whole crowd shouted, âAway with this man [Jesus]! Release Barabbas to us!â (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.) Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, âCrucify him! Crucify him!â (Luke 23:18-21)
For most of my life, I viewed Barabbas as a senseless murdererâthe ancient equivalent of Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer. But thatâs likely an inaccurate portrait of this man.
Many scholars believe that Barabbas (or âJesus Barabbasâ as heâs referred to in Matthew 27:17) was likely a religious zealot. As pastor Daniel Darling explains:
âMany Jewish people in the first century were wary of RomeâŠBut the cohort of zealots to which Barabbas belonged to took resistance to another level. They sought to overthrow the Roman government by any means possibleâŠassassination plots, targeted murder, and terrorism.â
If Jesus Barabbas had a mission statement for his work, it likely would have sounded similar to Jesus Christâsâto see Godâs kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. But the methods of these two men could not have been more different.
While Jesus Barabbas plotted the downfall of the government, Jesus Christ preached respect for the emperor (see Mark 12:13-17). While Jesus Barabbas sought to slaughter Roman soldiers, Jesus Christ âlet the soldiers hold and nail him down so that he could save themâ (see Matthew 27:39-44).
In short, Barabbas pursued the mission of God while neglecting the methods of God. You and I are tempted to do the same thing todayâto, as pastor Skye Jethani puts it, âdivorce the work of Christ from the way of ChristâŠto separate the scope of Godâs mission from the nature of Godâs mission.â
What does it look like for you and me to pursue the mission of Jesus while neglecting the methods of Jesus?
It looks like building businesses so that we can give generously to missions, while failing to pay our employees and contractors fairly (see James 5:1-5). Or working âheartily as unto the Lord,â without ever questioning whether the products our employer sells are âtrueâŠnobleâŠand rightâ (see Philippians 4:8). Or spending so much time doing âthe work of the Lordâ that we neglect abiding with the Lord as we do that work (see John 15:4).
Youâre unlikely to commit murder like Barabbas today. But you are likely to join Barabbas in pursuing Godâs mission apart from Godâs methods. Pray for the Lordâs help to pursue his mission with his methods today.
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Series: Easter Vocations Part II
Devotional: 2 of 4
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, âTake it; this is my body.â (Mark 14:22)
Weâre in a four week series exploring what the vocations of some of the characters of Easter can teach us about our own work today. This morning, we turn our attention to someone in the background of todayâs passage: The unnamed woman or man who baked the bread Jesus used at the Last Supper.
Scripture gives us zero detail on who this person was. But I think itâs safe to assume that they viewed baking this bread as just another mundane task on their to-do list, much like you might view the emails you have to type, the papers you need to grade, or the nails you have to hammer today.
And yet, todayâs passage shows that God used the work of this bakerâs hands to accomplish something extraordinary. Their bread helped Jesus reveal something about himselfânamely the way his body would break to redeem the whole of creation on Good Friday.
This is not the first time Jesus used bread to reveal a spiritual truth. In John 6, Jesus pointed to another piece of bread to point out that he was the âthe bread of life.â
The bakers of the bread in these passages point to an important truthânamely that the things you and I create at work have the power to reveal things about the Creator God. Hereâs how pastor Joe Rigney put it:
ââŠit's not merely that God's creation reveals who Jesus is. Human culture reveals who Jesus is. Jesus says that he is the bread of life, not the grain of life. Grain is something that God makes. Bread is something that people make out of the grain that God makes. That's what culture isâa mixture of God's creation and man's creativity. And this tells us that not only is creation designed to reveal God, but human culture is also capable of showing us what God is like.â
The question then is this: What is your work revealing about God today? Are the emails youâre typing, the papers youâre grading, and the nails your hammering revealing Godâs excellencies? Can people look at your business and see Godâs character of grace, mercy, and justice in the way you treat your team, vendors, and customers? Is the way you engage with your co-workers reflecting a God who loves his enemies?
Like the bakerâs bread, your work has the power to show the world what God is like. Work to ensure youâre revealing an accurate and winsome picture of him today!
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Series: Easter Vocations Part II
Devotional: 1 of 4
âŠa dinner was given in Jesusâ honorâŠ.Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesusâ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (John 12:2-3)
Because youâre subscribed to my devotionals, Iâm confident youâve overcome the unbiblical hierarchy that elevates the calling of pastors and missionaries above the work of mere Christians who work as entrepreneurs, accountants, and baristas.
But if weâre not careful, another hierarchy of callings can slip into our thinkingâone that elevates the work of mere Christians most clearly âchanging the worldâ above the work of those of us who are simply sustaining and serving it. Prosecuting human traffickers matters, but not selling insurance. Curing disease matters, but not waiting tables. Teaching kids matters, but not writing novels.
This too is an unbiblical way of thinking.
All throughout Scripture, God shows that he values work beyond its âusefulness.â He creates trees that are helpful and beautiful (see Genesis 2:8-9). He decorates cities with 5,600 miles of seemingly superfluous gems (see Revelation 21:10-21). He makes it rain in uninhabited deserts, apparently because he thinks that sounds fun (see Job 38:25-27).
In short, God doesnât limit his work to the useful. Sometimes he does work the world would call useless. And in todayâs passage, we see Jesus encouraging Mary to do the same.
This scene took place the night before Palm Sundayâjust days before Jesusâs death. While we canât be certain what Mary did for work most days, on this night, she engaged in the work of washing Jesusâs feet with her most precious perfume.
âBut one of [Jesusâs] disciples, Judas IscariotâŠobjected,â saying, âWhy wasnât this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a yearâs wagesâ (see John 12:4-5).
Judas, like so many of us today, was obsessed with function. âHow impractical!â we can hear him screaming.
But check out Jesusâs response: âLeave her alone,â he told Judas (John 12:7). Because what Mary did brought a smile to Jesusâs face. And that was enough, because bringing a smile to Godâs face is the essence of worship.
What does that mean for you today? It means you can joyfully lean into the job you love making donuts or building softwareâeven if your work isnât solving one of the major problems of our age. It means you can spend a few extra hours on that project for your client in the name of God-glorifying craftsmanshipâeven if you canât point to an increase in ROI.
If you, like Mary, are doing your work in a God-honoring way, then you can feel freedom from the tyranny of utility. Because 1 John 3:22 says that when âwe keep his commands,â we âgive him pleasure when he sees what we are doingââeven if the world canât see the âuseâ of our labor.
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Series: The Most Excellent Way
Devotional: 5 of 5
I will show you the most excellent wayâŠloveâŠkeeps no record of wrongs. (1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:5)
Tim Goeglein collapsed in his White House office. His secret life of plagiarism had been found out and the guilt and shame were literally crippling.
A couple days after his resignation, Goeglein received a call. His former boss, President George W. Bush, wanted to see him.
Terrified, Goeglein entered the Oval Office, looked President Bush in the eye, and began his groveling apology: âSir, I owe youâŠâ
But the President wouldnât let Goeglein finish his apology. âYouâre forgiven,â Bush said.
Goeglein was certain he misunderstood what the President said, so he attempted to apologize twice more until Bush said, âYou know, Tim, grace and mercy are real. I have known grace and mercy in my own life and you're forgiven. We can talk about all of that [referring to Goegleinâs plagiarism] or we can talk about the last eight years.â
Throughout this series, weâve been studying what Paul called âthe most excellent wayâ to live and work, chronicled in the famous âLove Chapterâ of 1 Corinthians 13. Today, we conclude with a look at Paulâs words that love âkeeps no record of wrongs,â a truth beautifully exemplified by President Bush.
But the ultimate example of courseâand the ultimate motivation for us to keep âno record of wrongsââis the love God has shown us by removing our sins âas far as the east is from the westâ (Psalm 103:11-12).
Now, keeping âno record of wrongsâ is not the same as âforgive and forget.â For starters, itâs impossible to literally forget many sins committed against us. Itâs also unwise. If youâre a principal of a school and a teacher is accused of sexual abuse, youâre called to forgive them, but it would be the height of folly to allow that teacher to come back to work the next day.
So what does it look like to keep âno record of wrongsâ at work? At a minimum, it looks like extending forgiveness to the wrongdoer. But I think Christâs example leads us to do more than that. I think it calls us to pray for the wrongdoer and their flourishing, to refuse to consider past wrongdoings when evaluating someoneâs current performance, and to avoid sharing details of a co-workerâs sins and shortcomings with those who donât truly need to know.
Does it sound impossible to live and work in this loving way? It is apart from Christ in us. May we abide in him daily so that weâre so filled up with a sense of his love for us that we canât help but extend the overflow of that love to those we work with. For this is âthe most excellent way.â
Jordan
P.S. If you want to go deeper on what true biblical forgiveness looks like at work, listen to Tim Keller and I discuss that topic here.
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Series: The Most Excellent Way
Devotional: 4 of 5
I will show you the most excellent wayâŠLove is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:4-5)
To the church in Corinth, Paul promised to show them âthe most excellent wayâ to steward their spiritual and vocational gifts. He then proceeded to launch into the famous âLove Chapterâ of 1 Corinthians 13 explaining what Christian love is and what it is not.
Of all the attributes Paul lists, not being âself-seekingâ may be the rarest in the modern workplace. We live at a time when the idea of self-sacrifice is viewed as naive at best and career-ending at worst. But self-sacrifice is the way of The Way, Jesus Christ.
In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul says, âDo nothing out of selfish ambitionâŠRather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.â
You can almost hear Paulâs readers screaming, âHow, Paul!?â To which he says, âHave the same mindset as Christ Jesusâ who âmade himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likenessâ for us (Philippians 2:5-7).
In other words, it is only as we meditate on the example of the One who âchose meekness over majestyâ that we will be able to love in a way that is ânot self-seeking.â
What does it look like practically to work in ways that are not self-seeking? There are infinite answers to that question. Here are just three.
#1: Listen to understandânot to win. Oftentimes we hear what our co-workers are saying, but we donât actually listen, because weâre mentally calculating how we will respond in order to pivot the conversation towards our agenda. Paulâs command to not be self-seeking compels us to truly listen and understand the needs and desires of others.
#2: Open your calendar to those who canât serve you. Any of Ancestry.comâs thousands of employees can get one-on-one time with CEO, Deb Liuâeven an intern. Why? Because Deb isnât self-seeking with her time. She is seeking the needs of her team as she explained on my podcast.
#3: Serve first, sell second. Commenting on todayâs passage, a marketer named Debbie La Bell told me, âOur culture says âlove yourself first,â and then out of the resources of your self-love, you'll have the capacity to love those around you. Whereas Jesus tells us to love one another and trust him to provide what we need.â And that leads her team to create marketing messages that serve way more than they sell.
These three actions arenât meant to be prescriptive, but inspirational. Take a moment right now to pray and think about where God is calling you to replace self-seeking with self-sacrifice in your work today.
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Series: The Most Excellent Way
Devotional: 3 of 5
I will show you the most excellent wayâŠloveâŠdoes not boast. (1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:4)
George Washington Carver had captivated the United States Congress. It was January 1921, and Carver was testifying about the dozens of different foods he had learned how to make out of peanuts: ice cream, cereal, picklesâthe list went on and on.
Amused, one congressman asked where Carver learned how to do this. âFrom a book,â Carver replied. What book? the congressman wanted to know. âThe Bible,â Carver said. âI didnât make these discoveries,â Carver explained. âGod has only worked through me to reveal to his children some of his wonderful providence.â
What a terrific example of the âthe most excellent wayâ Paul calls us to at work: without boasting. The NASB translates this passage as saying, âlove does not brag.â The NKJV says âlove does not parade itself.â Because that is the example we have in Christ, the perfect personification of love.
John 8:53 records a religious leader asking Jesus, âAre you greater than our father Abraham?â Christ, of course, had every reason to boast and answer that question in the affirmative. But instead, he replied, âIf I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies meâ (John 8:54).
Thatâs the rationale behind Paulâs command to ânot boast.â I donât know about you, but it is hard for me to boast about nothing. Maybe Iâm just an excitable, exuberant guy, but I think all of us feel the need to boast in or praise something.
Scripture seems to agree, which is why I think Godâs Word doesnât just tell us what not to boast about. It also encourages us to boast about three things.
#1: Boast about the Lord (see 1 Corinthians 1:31). This is what we saw in George Washington Carver. When offered an opportunity to boast in his professional accomplishments, he pivoted to boast in God.
#2: Boast about your weaknesses (see 2 Corinthians 11:30). Why? Because when weâre transparent about our weaknesses and we succeed, it allows us to point to the Lord as the source of our strength.
#3: Boast about others. Paul had no problem boasting about his co-workers (see 2 Corinthians 7:4). Neither should we. I was reminded of this recently when speaking with a reader who really impressed me. I was about to invite this guy onto my podcast, but before I could, he said, âMan, you should have my boss Tim on your show!â
Hereâs my challenge for you this morning: Identify one thing youâre tempted to boast about todayâclosing a deal, getting a promotion, whatever. Next, jot down how you can reframe your boast to brag not in yourself, but in the Lord, your weaknesses, or others.
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Series: The Most Excellent Way
Devotional: 2 of 5
I will show you the most excellent wayâŠlove is kind. (1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:4)
If you had to describe Fred Rogers (of Mister Rogersâ Neighborhood fame) in a single word, it would likely be kindnessâa virtue he learned from his father.
According to Fredâs biographer, Maxwell King, Jim Rogers made it a habit to âwalk through the rows of manufacturing machines,â in his businesses, âaddressing each employee by name, inquiring about their work and about their welfare.â
Those inquiries helped Jim Rogers discover financial pain in the lives of his employees, which he frequently offered to alleviate. When Jim died, his journal recorded âthousands of âloansâ that were never collected.â
The kindness of Fred Rogersâs father led to extraordinary acts of kindness of his ownâstories of which have literally filled many books.
So it should be with us. As we meditate on the kindness of our Heavenly Father, it should lead us to model that same kindness to those we work with as this is part of âthe most excellent wayâ Paul is calling us to in 1 Corinthians 12-13.
We know what kindness looks like. The challenge for us busy professionals is seeing the needs of those who need kindness the most.
How can we spot opportunities to show Godâs kindness to those we work with? Here are three ideas.
#1: Ask co-workers about their welfareânot just their work. See Jim Rogers as Exhibit A.
#2: Schedule one-on-ones where work is the only thing not on the agenda. If youâre a leader in your organization, consider borrowing this practice from my friend Sean Kouplen, CEO of one of the fastest growing banks in America. As Sean shared on my podcast, managers at his bank are required to spend 30 minutes with every direct report every week just to check-in on them personally. These meetings are crazy costly by the worldâs standards, but crazy valuable by Godâs, as they unearth tons of opportunities to show kindness to those in need.
#3: Refuse to hurry. Itâs impossible to show kindness without first seeing a need for kindness. And itâs impossible to see a need for kindness when youâre constantly in a rush (see Jesus, Jairus, and the hemorrhaging woman as case-in-point in Mark 5:21-43). Want to spot opportunities to show kindness to your co-workers? Budget plenty of margin into your day.
Jesus said the world will know that we are his disciples, not by what we say we believe, but by our love for one another (see John 13:35). Find one opportunity to show your love of Jesus by demonstrating uncommon lovingkindness to a co-worker today!
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Series: The Most Excellent Way
Devotional: 1 of 5
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
With Valentineâs Day just around the corner, youâre bound to see todayâs passage popping up in your social media feeds as a reminder of how God calls us to love our significant others. But the context of this passage was not primarily marital love. Paul was writing about how to steward spiritual and vocational gifts.
After listing out gifts such as teaching, healing, and helping, Paul says this: âAnd yet I will show you the most excellent wayâŠ.If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbalâ (see 1 Corinthians 12:31 - 13:1). And then, a few verses later, he launches into the famous, âLove is patient, love is kind,â etc.
Paulâs point is that you can be the most exceptional teacher, filmmaker, or entrepreneur on the planet. But if you work without love, you are ânothingâ (see 1 Corinthians 13:2). While the world may call your work excellent, God does not.
Over the next five weeks, weâll zoom in on five of Paulâs descriptions of love from todayâs passage that are most difficult to live out at work. Let's start here: âLove is patient.â
That client whose constant delays make your life difficult? That boss who canât stop micromanaging you? That little one whoâs always barging into your home office? You and I are called to show love to these people through our patience with them.
Why? Because âthe LordâŠis patient with youâ and me (see 2 Peter 3:9). We deserved death after just one sin (see Romans 6:23). But God showed immense patience with us prior to salvation and continues to demonstrate patience with us today in our sanctification. Thus, we are called to be ludicrously patient with those we work with.
How? Here are three ways to cultivate patience with those we work with today.
#1: Get specific about where God is patient with you. Iâm in a season of habitually failing to love a certain âenemy.â The Lord is patiently sanctifying me here. And being cognizant of his patience with me has led me to be more patient with others who struggle with different sins.
#2: Remember that if not for Godâs grace youâd struggle with the same shortcomings. If you value punctuality and are impatient with those who are late, remember that were it not for Godâs grace, you too would be habitually tardy.
#3: Pray for patience.
Right now, ask for Godâs power to follow âthe most excellent wayâ of loving those you work with through your patience with them today!
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