Work and Worship

In the creation account of Genesis, one of the first things God does for man is put him to work. The Bible says, “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it (Genesis 2:13). This was not a punishment, believe it or not. It was for man’s good. God designed work to have a spiritual dimension. Work done to glorify God by making or doing something good and useful goes way beyond pleasing a customer or making a profit—it becomes an act of worship.

The true worship of God just doesn’t happen on Sunday. Worshiping God should be our mind set every day of the week. Consider the Hebrew word avodah. It means both worship and work. For example, Genesis 2:5 reads, “and there was no man to till the ground.” The Hebrew word translated “till” or to work is avodah. Now, here are examples of the same word avodah being used for worship. We read in Exodus 8:1, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, that they may serve [avodah] Me.” Psalm 100:2 declares, “Worship [avodah] the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.”

By using the single word avodah for both work and worship we are being told that our work matters to God. We humans will work because we need to provide for the basic necessities of life. We will work because we want to feel some sense of significance and accomplishment. And our work will produce some temporary benefits. But ultimately, all our toil and sweat will leave us with a sense of meaninglessness. We will wonder, "What was it all for anyway?"

But work doesn't have to be like this for us as Christians. The effect of our redemption in Christ can be felt even in the world of work. To be sure, our work will still often involve hard labor and sweat, but the meaninglessness of it all can be removed. For us now, as Christians, work can take on a whole new significance. For us Christians, there is no such thing as a valueless, no nothing job! In Colossians 3:23, 24 we are told, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

 The great reformer Martin Luther wrote that, “Those who are now called 'spiritual,' that is priests, bishops, or popes, are neither different from other Christians, nor superior to them, except that they are charged with the administration of the Word of God ... but tailors, cobblers, stonemasons, carpenters, cooks, innkeepers, farmers ... have also been consecrated to their work and office... everyone must benefit and serve every other by means of his own work .. so that in this way many kinds of work may be done for the bodily and spiritual welfare of the community.”

The biblical view of work makes all that we do a form of godly ministry. It doesn't matter if we are sweeping the floor or preaching a sermon. The New Testament knows no place holier than another, no believer holier than another and no work holier than another! The New Testament teaches us that all of life - every day, every thought, and every act is to be lived and accomplished in the name of Christ. All of life then, and every form of work, is a means to worship and glorify God. I Corinthians 10:31 says, "... whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

 Cotton Mather, a colonial American Puritan Preacher, said, “The actions of a shepherd keeping his sheep or of a mother caring for home and children, is as good a work as the actions of a judge giving a sentence or of a minister preaching the gospel when all is done with the heart devoted to God.”

The whole of life belongs to God, not just what happens in church. God is not just interested in religious books, but in all literature. He is not just concerned with religious service, but with all kinds of service. God is not just interested in religious education, but in all education. He is interested in life—every aspect of it.

The truth is you can worship and serve God wherever you are and whatever you are doing. The attitude of your heart sanctifies your singing and praying in church and the work you do out in the world. What a difference this can make in our lives. Mopping the floor can bring glory to God—what a thought!