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

by Timothy J. Keller

This true fear of God means to live in such awe and wonder, and in such intense love and respect, that you fear to dishonor him or grieve him.

Work is to be done with all your heart and might, as skillfully as you can, and it should feel not like a burden, but a privilege.

Second,

Christians are to work with “sincerity of heart,” w...

singleness of heart, a term that connotes both foc...

Third, we are to work “not only to win their favor when th...

Christians are to work with cheerfulness and joy.

Paul is telling masters in the strongest way, “Don’t think of yourself as a better person, in better spiritual condition, than your laborers and slaves.”

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

Second, “treat your slaves in the same way” means, “Look for ways to further the interests of the people under your leadership even as I just charged them to seek to serve you.”

Third, Paul reminds them that class distinctions make no difference to God, and therefore they should not make much difference to us.

Christians should be known to not be ruthless.

“I am a Christian. That means among other things that God accepts me because Jesus Christ took the blame for things that I have done wrong. He did that on the cross.

That is why I have the desire and sometimes the ability to take the blame for others.”

Christians should be known to be generous,

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

If we get our main meaning from peer approval, or money in the bank, or our reputation for success—then these things are our treasures.

The Bible is saying: Only if Jesus is your treasure are you truly rich, for he is the only currency that cannot be devalued.

Christians should not be seen as sectarian.

and at the same time we will be unashamed to be identified with Jesus.

Christians must always be exploring—

how it would be possible for their field of work to be more just and beneficial to more people.

First,

Second,

Third,

Finally,

So in the marketplace, as in every field, there is an urgent need for those with a powerful compass.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart. Colossians 3:23

23

Many people are trying to get a sense of self through productivity and success—

Acedia, she says, means a life driven by mere cost-benefit analysis of “what’s in it for me.”

believes in nothing, cares for nothing, enjoys nothing, loves nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing and only remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.

In the world it calls itself Tolerance but in hell it is called Despair.

acedia is the most subtle idolatry of all. It puts the cynical self at the center of your life.

in the Bible, the very definition of passion—think of Christ’s Passion—is to sacrifice your freedom for someone else.

“zeal” is the translation of a Greek word meaning a combination of urgency and diligence.

Second,

we see that there is more to life than work. With that perspective and rested bodies and minds, we return to do more and better work.

if we can experience gospel-rest in our hearts, if we can be free from the need to earn our salvation through our work, we will have a deep reservoir of refreshment that continually rejuvenates us, restores our perspective, and renews our passion.

Sabbath is therefore a celebration of our design.

Sabbath is therefore a declaration of our freedom.

if you are worrying during your rest, you are not practicing Sabbath.

At that time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music . . . to inspire them to realize more and more of their capacities for living meaningful lives.

Nunc dimittis.

“I could die happy now.

This is what Dorothy Sayers meant when she urged us to serve the work.

Redeemer also has been shaped by a deep commitment to the promise that the gospel changes everything—

We want to help people understand that the more they can recognize their own sin, the more they will experience God’s grace.

A life of gratitude for being saved is far more pleasing than a life based on self-righteousness over being good.

the price God paid for us ...