How does God intend for us to think about our work? Business leader and entrepreneur Sebastian Traeger says there are two extremes: being idle at work, or making our work an idol. Sebastian helps us understand God’s design for our jobs and life and review his latest book The Gospel at Work: How Working for King Jesus Gives Purpose and Meaning to Our Jobs.
Why was work part of God’s original design? According to Sebastian,
“We see in the Bible that from the very beginning God’s intention was for humans to work. From the Bible’s perspective, from the moment God created Adam and Eve, He gave them a garden and said ‘Work, and take care of it. “
It was meant to be satisfying and glorifying to God. Though our sin affected both the purpose and the process of our work, the initial design was for man to know God in a deeper way by the duties and career that he chose.
Sebastian also offers his thoughts on other points of discussion.
• When our work has become an idol.
• How to approach a ‘menial’ job without becoming idle.
• How to balance serving at work with serving and investing in your family.
• What it means to find fulfillment in Christ in a dog-eat-dog, capitalistic society.
• The importance of keeping hope and focus on Christ in seasons of unemployment.
• Exercising authority over others in a Christ-like manner.
• How to pray for coworkers.
How should we think about our work? Sebastian says, a few things should be true of our lives and our work.
“If we are believers, if we accept the gospel message that we sinned and through Christ are accepted into God’s family… you have a new master; you work for King Jesus. Now your assignment is to do what pleases the Lord. No longer is our confidence or self-worth in ourselves.”
Our main assignment is to love God with all our heart, and our secondary assignment is to work and do all things for God’s glory.
Highlight – The Gospel at work
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