Work:

A “Necessary Evil?”
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The Big Picture (2 minutes)
A frustrated Christian blurts out, “My job is meaningless! I’d like to work in the ministry world where I
could really serve God;” while another laments, “I wish I could serve God full-time in ministry.”

Both of these people struggle with what they regard as unfulfilling “secular” work. They desire instead
what they believe to be more significant “full-time Christian ministry.” Both see a great divide between
the secular and sacred when it comes to work. The assumption is that secular work is mundane and not as
significant as full-time ministry, which in some way is “holy” and more meaningful.

One survey shows that “Americans are growing increasingly unhappy with their jobs…” and that the
“decline in job satisfaction is widespread among workers of all ages and across all income brackets.”
According to The Conference Board, which commissioned this particular survey, “Half of all Americans
today say they are satisfied with their jobs, down from nearly 60 percent in 1995. But among the 50
percent who say they are content, only 14 percent say they are ‘very satisfied.’”1

Dissatisfaction with work is not only caused by issues of low pay or failed promotion, but also by a
general sense of unhappiness and unimportance. Perhaps the two Christians quoted above are dissatisfied
because they see their jobs as disconnected from their true spiritual callings—a necessary evil that keeps
them from their real God-ordained purpose.

In reality, the Bible teaches that our work—all of our work—is a sacred calling. As it turns out, for the
believer there is no sacred-secular divide. Work is not a necessary evil, but a holy occupation intended by
God to bring both joy and fulfillment.

God’s own work is seen in the beauty and magnificence of Creation. He invites us to work, to join Him in
His Creation, and in so doing to worship Him.

In our discussion today we’ll see that the Bible shows our work is a holy calling.

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Life and How We Live It (5 minutes)

How do you view your own job? On a scale from 1 to 5 (highest), how much meaning and
satisfaction do you find in your work?

How do you think God views your current job? Do you think He has a purpose for you there?

Would you consider yourself to be in “full-time” Christian work at your current job? Why or why
not?

1
“U.S. Job Satisfaction Keeps Falling, The Conference Board Reports Today.” The Conference Board. 28 Feb. 2005.
<http://www.conference-board.org/utilities/pressDetail.cfm?press_ID=2582> “This report, which is based on a
representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households, conducted for The Conference Board by TNS, a leading market
information company (LSE: TNN), also includes information collected independently by TNS. This information reveals
that approximately one-quarter of the American workforce is simply “showing up to collect a paycheck.””

© 2003 The Marketplace Community 1

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Truth and How We Apply It (35 minutes)
1. God Himself is a worker—both in creating and in saving his people.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:31 - 2:2 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was
evening, and there was morning-- the sixth day. 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were
completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had
been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

John 5:17 Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too,
am working.”

2. Because God calls us to join with Him in His work, our work is holy and has great value.

Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill
the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every
living creature that moves on the ground."

Genesis 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it
and take care of it.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.

3. All work is God’s work—He does not differentiate “sacred” from “secular.”

Colossians 3:23-24 23 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 Bottom Line ..................

Work is given to us by God and filled with divine meaning and purpose; it is not a “necessary
evil” to be endured. God wants us to participate with Him in His labor and as such, our work is a holy
occupation—where there is no barrier between “secular” and “full-time ministry.” God has made our jobs
and careers to be divinely appointed opportunities to do meaningful and significant things for His glory.
Your job is part of your full-time Christian ministry.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brain-Storming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

What does your company do? What is your role within that mission? What do you feel is the role
God has given to you at your company?

How might this understanding of your dual roles—company and divine—impact your perspective
on your work?

How do you accurately discern God’s role for you at work and in your career?

How might you deal with tension that arises from wanting to fulfill God’s role at work while
perhaps being unfulfilled and dissatisfied with your current role within the company?

2 © 2003 The Marketplace Community

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Take a moment to pray and ask God to show you what His role is for you at your job. Invite God
to work through you in ways you might not yet even know.

.................. Next Steps .....................

Ask the Holy Spirit’s help in taking a spiritual inventory of your work this week to discover areas
where He is at work through you. Write it out. Pray over it, and then keep it someplace where you can look
at it again in one month, six months, and then a year. Look back at it in a year and ask the Lord for His
performance review.

Ponder these questions throughout this week:

• What are the opportunities He has given in your job to be a shining example of His
nature and of His work in your life?

• Why do you think the Lord has given you this particular career and job?

• In what areas do you excel, and how can God be seen in those areas of your work?

• What are the most significant challenges you face in working for the Lord on your job?

© 2003 The Marketplace Community 1