Why God (Really) Cares About Your Work
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MAIN IDEA:
God cares about the work we do because He cares about us.
Head Change:
To know that work was part of God’s original plan for humanity, and He values all jobs equally.
Heart Change:
To celebrate that we receive an inheritance from our Heavenly Father for the work we do.
Life Change:
To work at whatever we do as if we’re working for God.
Discussion:
Discussion:
Paul writes to the Colossian believers:
Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.
What is your whatever you do?
Do you think Paul is referring to paid work, unpaid work, forced work, volunteer work, or housework?
How do you know?
How would you explain to one of your kids what it means to do a job ‘with all your heart’?
Who are your human masters, in your current season?
What reason does Paul give us for working ‘as for the Lord’?
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Paul, the tentmaker, isn’t talking exclusively about church ministry, teaching, health care, or any of the jobs regarded in the Christian subculture as ‘holier’ than others.
He’s talking about all forms of work, including slavery.
Why would Paul’s instructions have been so revolutionary to slaves in his readership?
What’s the dirtiest, lowliest, most repetitive, most menial, or most dangerous job you’ve ever had to do?
What would it have looked like for you to do that job as if working for God instead of a human boss?
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Mark says, ‘The Lord would hardly ask us to do whatever we do with “all our heart” unless it was of genuine significance to Him, even if it often doesn’t seem very significant to us.’
Is God convicting you of half-heartedness in some aspect of the work you do?
Is there one thing you could start doing or stop doing this week to begin working wholeheartedly in this area?
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Work isn’t the malicious invention of a sadistic god.
It was part of God’s original, good plan, given to Adam and Eve before they rebelled against Him.
Work was, however, made harder by Adam’s disobedience:
19 By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, Until you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
What’s your dream job?
What parts of your current job do you love?
What parts do you hate?
In what way does your sin, someone else’s sin, or the brokenness of the world make your job difficult?
What’s your next step to tackle sin in your work environment?
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Many of the slaves Paul was addressing would’ve been working in less than idyllic conditions.
God tells them – and us – to work, not just wholeheartedly, but as if they’re working to serve Him.
How does working for someone you love change your attitudes and actions on the job?
Share about a time when you were honoured to do a job for a beloved boss, teacher, or some other leader.
Would you have approached the job differently if you’d been asked to do it by someone you didn’t like or respect?
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Mark says, ‘Think of a task, any task and pray, Lord, I commit this task to you...’
Will you be required to do something particularly boring or menial or difficult tomorrow?
What would change if you committed the task to God, carrying it out as an act of worship?
Discuss the idea that being involved in church activities is not a greater, purer form of service to God than the ins and outs of your secular day job.
Can you relate to Mark’s feelings of (unnecessary) guilt for not having ‘done anything for Jesus’ on any given day?
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The fact that God promises us an inheritance when we do what we do for Him is further evidence that He really cares about our work. More than that, He really cares about us.
An inheritance is promised to sons and daughters, not slaves.
When you think about your studies, volunteer work, home management, or career, do you tend to think of yourself more as a slave working for a hard taskmaster, or a beloved child working for a gracious Father? Either way, why?
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God cares about your work because He cares about you.
He invites you to seek His strength and wisdom.
He has given you His Holy Spirit to work in and through you.
He will respond to your prayers for help in the workplace.
How has God come through for you, specifically and undeniably, when you’ve cried out to Him on the job?
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Mark circles back to the perfume and the stuffed elephant he mentions at the start of the session, reminding us of Genesis 2:19:
19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.
Names are important to God, and He was intensely interested ‘to see what [Adam] would name [the creatures]’.
God is intensely interested in you too.
In what spheres of influence do you have naming rights?
What star rating (one to five) would you give yourself for how you’re stewarding the privilege and responsibility?
Bible Study:
Bible Study:
19 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You hand them over to me?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you.”
What decisions do you need to make at work this week?
Have you asked God’s opinion?
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13 The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of mankind;
14 From His dwelling place He looks out On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works.
Turn these verses into a prayer for a colleague who cuts corners instead of doing a thorough job.
Brainstorm some ways you could teach this scripture to a youth group or Sunday school class to help them understand that God notices everything we do, and that everything we do is significant.
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28 The one who steals must no longer steal; but rather he must labor, producing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with the one who has need.
How does this show that God cares about us and our work?
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10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, by having served and by still serving the saints.
11 And we desire that each one of you demonstrate the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end,
12 so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and endurance inherit the promises.
What do these verses reveal about God’s character?
What does God expect of us, in our work?
What is promised to those who do their work as worship to God?
LAST WORD
LAST WORD
It may be difficult for you to believe, but God cares deeply about your work because He cares deeply about you.
He thought of you before the foundation of the earth.
He took months to knit you together in your mother’s womb, with unblinking intent.
It stands to reason He’s interested in what you do with who He’s made you to be.
May you surrender to Him your talents, freedoms, opportunities, and resources, however small or insignificant they may seem.
May you begin to do your work as worship, and with great joy, and may the Lord our God establish the work of your hands.
17 May the kindness of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.