After teaching about the theology of work for twenty years and struggling to truly convey to people the importance of what they do every day, I have found it immensely helpful to compare their work to the understanding of common and saving grace.
In addition, I have discovered how important it is to share and refute certain false teachings that the church has perpetuated about work over the years.
As believers, we need to dedicate ourselves to learning more about this common and saving grace, as well as unlearning these false teachings. This is the only way we will grow in our understanding of work.
Let’s start with grace.
Showing Common Grace Through Our Work
God gives many good things to the just and the unjust—air to breathe, rain, sun, plants, seeds, water, and more. And in the same way, many of us are to deliver that “common grace” through our “common” work. It is the economy that God set up, and we are to do it with excellence for the flourishing of all. And while we don’t always have a vision of the big picture of where our work fits, God does.
While preaching at a church in Burundi in July, I shared with the congregation that for breakfast, I had a boiled egg, and I gave thanks to God for that egg. But there is so much more to be thankful for!
Of course, I thank God for the chicken and the person who raised the chicken. Yet someone made the table where my plate rested with the egg; someone made the plate, someone made the chair I was sitting on, someone made the salt that was taken from the sea; many were involved in the transport, which includes the vehicle and the road; someone made the chicken feed; someone made the pan which boiled the egg and the stove which gave the heat to boil the egg. And I can go on.
So many people—thousands, if not tens of thousands—are involved in this egg getting to me! And from this little egg, I get the energy (my potential was released) to stand in front of these believers and talk about how work releases our potential.
The message was received with joy and laughter as individuals began to see themselves in that story, participating in a world that cooperates together through our common work to make it a better place.
Rejecting False Church Teachings About Work
Many who hear a powerful example like the one above, or simply about the theology of work for the first time, receive the message with surprise and joy. “How did I miss this?” they often ask. Getting that message out to the global church is a daunting task.
But what makes this task more difficult is that there is often unlearning that must be done before learning can take place. Three wrong teachings that we see in the church need to be corrected:
- That work is part of the curse.
- A poverty theology that teaches you will lose your salvation if you have wealth, resulting in people choosing poverty out of fear.
- The prosperity gospel, which teaches that you don’t have to work; you only need to pray and sow seeds.
Let me elaborate a bit on the third teaching because it’s an important one.
Last September, I was invited to speak on the theology of work at a denominational conference in Uganda, attended by about 1000 pastors and church leaders. Unbeknownst to me, another group from the U.S. was also invited to teach at the same conference. Sadly, their theme was the prosperity gospel. These were the words from one of the pastors:
Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. He is sitting down. He is not working. And he will sit there until he returns. And it is the same for you. You do not need to work. You need to sit there and wait for him. It’s like you are in a restaurant. The waiter sits you down. Then he sits other people down. Then he comes back for your order, and you put it in. He then goes to get the orders of the other customers. After some time, you can see that the orders are being brought to those who came after you, and you wonder where your order is! But just wait. God is going to bring you your order!
The attendees were then asked to bring up their seed (money) for anointing and prayer. I wondered where the seed would come from if they weren’t working.
Conclusion
As believers, we need to be reminded that our work goes toward the common good, no matter what it is we do. We also need to be very conscious of these other false teachings that often create confusion and chaos. In fact, we must directly counter them. For myself and others who are giving good information on a theology of work, we know this will not last if these other messages have not been dispelled. May God help us in this endeavor!
