Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God's Work

by Timothy J. Keller

The pastor turned to her and gently said, “Katherine, you work in ministry now. In ministry we call them ‘people.’”

The pressures and practices of the marketplace increasingly cause us to rationalize every aspect of life by analyzing efficiencies.

But while economically speaking some are more valuable than others, theologically speaking all of us are made in the image of God and are therefore equal in importance.

But treating people as human beings with dignity rather than interchangeable resources means being transparent with information, offering extensive two-way communication, and seeking genuinely to persuade rather than merely to control people’s responses.

commitment to human rights could wane. Christians must remain absolutely committed to an understanding of human rights based on the image of God.199

Because there is a whole category missing—wisdom.

norms; it is knowing the right thing to do in the 80 percent of life’s situations in which the moral rules don’t provide the clear answer.

First, we must not merely believe in God, but know him personally. When God’s gracious love becomes not an abstract doctrine but a living reality, it means our heart is less controlled by anxiety and pride,

The gospel keeps us from over- or underestimating our own abilities, because it shows us both our sin and God’s love for us in Christ.

we learn wisdom through experience.

The New Testament calls the Holy Spirit the “spirit of wisdom” (Ephesians

17) and “power” (1:19).

words, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us that . . .” (Acts 15:28). In other words, they used their best thinking and reasoning, their knowledge and their experience, and came up with a sound decision that they attributed to the Holy Spirit.

He says all work should be done “as if you were serving the Lord”:

just as you would obey Christ.

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever

Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him (Ephesians 6:5–9).

to be wholehearted in their work (“with sincerity of heart,” verse

Instead Christians are to be fully engaged at work as whole persons, giving their minds, hearts, and bodies fully to doing the best job possible on the task at hand.

They work “as if [they] were serving the Lord” (verse 5).

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward” (Colossians 3:23–24).

Christians, you see, have been set free to enjoy working.

Second, Christians are to work with “sincerity of heart,” which is literally singleness of heart, a

likely it points to their attitudes and actions, which, like those of slaves, are to be governed by their relationship to their heavenly Lord.

Rather, the clause rejects all forms of manipulating, demeaning, or terrifying slaves by threats.

First, “do not threaten them” means that employers are not to use guilt and coercion to motivate people.

Nevertheless, whether the servant is a Christian or not, employers

are told here not to rely primarily on fear as a motivation for work.

But Christians look to an Audience of One, our loving heavenly Father, and that gives us both accountability and joy in our work.

Christians should be known to not be ruthless.

They should have a reputation for being fair, caring, and committed to others. They

In addition, Christians should be known to be generous,

As business managers, they can be generous with their time and investment in their employees and customers.

As citizens they can be discernibly generous with their time and money, giving away more of their income than others in their economic position.

They can consider living modestly, below their potential lifestyle level, in order to be financially generous with others.

Christians should be also known to be calm and poised in the face of ...

When our meaning in life and identity is at stake, we panic, often acting impulsively, sometimes finding ourselves able to lie and betray others in order to save ourselves, or we simply plunge into despair.

Only if Jesus is your treasure are you truly rich, for he is the only currency that cannot be devalued. And only if he is your Savior are you truly successful, for status with him is the only status that can’t be lost.

So we will respect and treat those who believe differently as valued equals in the workplace—and at the same time we will be unashamed to be identified with Jesus. If a Christian avoids both of these errors, he or she will be striking an unusual and healthy balance.

in communities of faith and practice—how it would be possible for their field of work to be more just and beneficial to more people.

for a bad decision would be evident. In today’s environment, all parties are faceless to one another, and the old accountability system for punishing bad investments and rewarding good ones is evaporating.

based on the factors discussed previously, for managers in pursuit of profit to take actions to boost their share price quickly at the expense of the company’s long-term health,

Christians are to think persistently and deeply about the shape of work in their field and whether (in biblical terms) it accords as well as possible with human well-being and with justice.206

and especially if you are able to begin a new enterprise or business yourself—it may be possible to make significant changes to how work is done in such a way that it influences your profession.

These moves would allow you to “serve the work” at a whole new level.

Work in the hope that God will open such doors for you in the future.

“For many of us, being productive and doing becomes . . . an attempt at redemption. That is, through our work, we try to build our worth, security, and meaning.”207

we later see them continuing their trade of fishing. We see Paul continuing to work as a tent maker while he worked as an evangelist.

what forever changed was the disciples’ relationship to their work. Jesus gave them the big picture; in fact, he was the big picture.

Now they had an identity and significance untethered to their job or financial status.