I remember some years ago having a conversation with a friend who is a lawyer. As we conversed, he made a remark in reference to my work as a pastor. “Yours isn’t a job like mine,” he said. “Yours is a calling.” By this he meant that pastoral work is a calling from God while other professions or jobs are not. And I bet he is not the only who thinks like that.
Before the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, this thinking was also very prevalent. The Church then only tended to regard pastoral work as a calling from God. However, the Protestant Reformation helped to bring us back to a biblical understanding of calling and work.
Both Martin Luther and John Calvin emphasized that all lawful vocations are a calling from God according to the Bible. This teaching is also understood as the doctrine of vocation, related to the Latin word for calling, vocatio. Every Christian has received two calls. The first call is what in Reformed theology is called the effectual call. This is God’s call through the gospel and the Holy Spirit to come to Christ and believe in him for our salvation. Having saved us, the Lord gives us a second call to glorify him by being the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-14).
Our occupations should have in mind the major goal of glorifying God.
Whether it’s pastoral or not, our occupations should have in mind the major goal of glorifying God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Our occupations, then, are an expression of our vocation. Furthermore, bearing in mind the second greatest commandment to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, our work, whether pastoral or not, should also be for the good of our neighbor. The doctrine of vocation has many important implications for every Christian. But I want to highlight just three.
The gospel is for all of life, even work
Firstly, the gospel is for all of life. As Christians, the gospel doesn’t only change our spiritual standing before God, from seeing God as an enemy to accepting God as our father, but also goes further to impact how we live daily. When we wake up in the morning to work on our farm or in the office, we do not set our faith aside. As we work on the farm, we are Christians involved in farming. As we work in our offices, we are Christians working as managers or directors. We do everything coram deo (in the presence of God).
So if I am working with animals on the farm, I must treat them kindly as a good steward. When I am packing the eggs that the chickens have laid for sale, I send to the shops only those eggs that are fit for human consumption. I follow all the prescribed procedures for chemicals that are to be used on the farm so that they are not harmful to the life of the consumers. When I am selling the products of my farm, I do not overprice. As I work as a manager, I make sure to treat all people with dignity, and I don’t steal time from my employer by doing my own business at the time I am supposed to be working for my employer.
God mandated humankind to work before the entry of sin into the world.
God created us for work
Secondly, all lawful work fulfills the creation mandate (Genesis 2:15). Work did not come about because of sin, as some argue. God mandated humankind to work before the entry of sin into the world. Therefore, any lawful work fulfills God’s purpose for us as human beings. This is why work should not be regarded as a necessary evil. Work is a good thing. As already observed, for Christians, work is not only a means of bringing food on the table or providing us with shelter, it is also a means of glorifying our God. It is a calling.
Of all people, Christians should rejoice at every opportunity for work. For our God is a working God. We should also train our children to love work. They should learn to clean up after they play and to help mom or dad in the kitchen. A lazy Christian is an oxymoron (2 Thessalonians 3:10).
Work for the glory of god
Finally, you should enjoy your work and do it faithfully. As Solomon counsels, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
Our vocation is for a limited time on this side of heaven. A day is coming when we will stand before the judgement throne to give an account of our deeds. Our work is included in this. I pray that on that day we won’t be like that servant who was told, “You wicked and slothful servant!” But rather we will be like the three servants who were told, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:14-30).
The Protestant Reformation's doctrine of vocation can be very helpful for our understanding of work and our various callings. It is not only pastors or Christian leaders who are called by God. Every Christian has been called to glorify God and love his or her neighbor. So let us work faithfully and diligently knowing that in the Lord our labor is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Originally published by TGC Africa. Republished with permission.
Confex Makhalira is an ordained minister and a missionary of Mission to the World (MTW). Currently, he is serving as a pastor and church planter of Christ Presbyterian Church in Blantyre, Malawi. He is married to Mwai and together they have two amazing daughters. He also at https://confexmakhalira.com.
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