Theology of Work

ME/INTRO

Good morning Together Church!!!  My name is Ryan Hanson and I am so glad to be back with you this week.

Special shout out to the students who are joining us in the back.  Can I just say, as I’ve served with these kids over the last few months, it has been such a blessing for me to see a group of middle and high school kids that not only regularly attend the student’s programming, but regularly serve in other areas of the church, living out the call in James 2 to not just have faith, but to demonstrate that faith through their actions.  If this group is any indication, the future of the church is bright even if they don’t let me win in ping pong (looking at you Israel).

When Kathy asked me to speak today, I accepted before knowing the topic.  And as always, God had something planned with this one.  If you know me, you’ll know that I have been serving in ministry since 2000 but have always had another job.  By day I have been a mechanical engineer, an operations leader, and right now I’m the sales leader for Trane the HVAC company.  In parallel, I’ve served as a student coordinator, adult ministries leader, community engagement leader, and before I came here, I was on the teaching team at a CRC church.  I’m the type of person that believes that you just say “yes” to any opportunity that God puts in front of you and somehow, He’ll sort out the details.

Given my history of overcommitting and having a terrible balance of work / life / rest / etc, Kathy asked me to speak today and the Theology of Work.  I’ve titled today’s sermon “God’s call to balancing work and worship” because since having kids 10 years ago, God has been teaching me that it is not about one or the other, it is about finding the balance of work and rest that God is calling us to at the particular stage of your life that we are in.

Let’s start with a visual that has helped me.  Each day has (96) 15-minute chunks to it.  That’s 96 times that we get to decide how we’re going to spend our time.

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Being a sales leader at Trane my job requires that I work 60-70-80 hours a week depending on the season.  Typically, that means 10-12 hours per weekday + 4-8 hours over the weekend.

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We’ll show the work as green, because that’s where we make the money 😊

My wife and I believe in the work that World Vision does, and we have participated in Team World Vision since 2016.  I’ve done the extreme events (IronMan, Ultra marathons, etc) which require 1-1.5 hours per weekday of training with much more on the weekend.

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We’ll make that time Orange for World Vision 😊

I then have to eat, 3x per day which let’s say takes 2 hours total including cooking and cleaning after.

I take my kids to their activities (Scouts, dance, gymnastics, soccer, etc) which takes about 2 hours per day

I make sure to have a devotional per day, which is about 30 minutes. If you’re counting squares that means I only have 6.5 hours left to relax, spend with family, and sleep.  If you’re wondering, I have averaged 5.5 hours of sleep per night for the last 10 years.

WE

Not sure if this is representative of any of your lives right now.  For me there never seems to be enough time in the day to get everything done.  Something always has to give. No matter if your schedule looks like mine, or something completely different, I think we are all called to ask ourselves if we are honoring God with the way we are choosing to use the time He’s given us.  Today I want to do just that. Today I want to dig through scripture and see what Jesus has to say about balancing all the demands that we have on our lives.  If we are to live out the call in Matthew 28 to be and make disciples of Jesus, then we should be doing everything we can to be as much like Jesus as we can. And let’s be honest if anyone had a reason to be a workaholic it was Jesus.  He literally was given the mission to come to Earth, live a perfect life, serve as a perfect example for all of us, teach people how to live a God honoring life, disciple a group of people to bring His message to the entire world, die for our sins, come back to life, teach some more, and only then ascend to Heaven…basically Jesus was given the mission to change the world.  And…let’s not forget His ministry was only 3 years long.  If I was given that mission and only a 3-year timeframe, I think rest would not be an option.  But…Jesus, as always, shows us a better way.

GOD

Let’s jump right in, please turn with me to Luke 10:38-42.  The story of Martha and Mary.

Luke 10:38–42 NIV

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

It is here that Jesus gives a pretty direct teaching on priorities.  The fact is, according to the cultural expectations of that time, Mary was in the wrong.  Back in the time of Jesus they had a hospitality culture.  When a guest came to your house, you were obligated to feed them.  This is still true in the middle east.  I’ve traveled the holy lands on Bible study tours with my wife, and the hospitality of the people in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Greece is unbelievable.  Nobody seems to have a lot, but everyone shared whatever they had.  That is true of the middle east today, and was true back then. Martha did what she was expected to do.  She cooked a meal for Jesus.  She more than rightly got agitated with Mary who was also expected to help, decided instead to listen to Jesus teach.  Martha did what was GOOD and expected, Mary did was Jesus described as BETTER, by spending time with Jesus and learning from His teachings. Jesus knew that we have expectations and demands placed on us.  We have work that needs to be done.  Martha was expected to cook a meal.  That was her job in that situation.  But…Jesus defended Mary for not doing what was expected of her, and challenged Martha. Jesus calls us to balance both work and worship. A few things to thing about Do you have a daily devotional where you spend time at the feet of Jesus (Bible reading / praying / worship)? If not, what gets in the way of having a regular time with God?

If so, do you make this the top priority, or do you fit it in between other activities? Now Jesus, may have taught that we need to balance work and worship, but I want to look at a few passages and see how Jesus lived this out. Please turn with me to Matthew 14:13-23.

Matthew 14:13–23 NIV

When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,

This passage comes immediately after John the Baptist was beheaded.  Jesus had just found out that His cousin was beheaded by Harod.  He went off to be by himself to presumably grieve.  Yet, the crowds found him and verse 14 says that Jesus “healed their sick”.  Even at a time when Jesus had every right to push the world away and deal with the loss of His cousin, He knew He had work to do. Jesus’ mission as per Luke 19:10 was to “seek and save the lost”. Even while grieving the loss of His cousin, Jesus spent all day healing the sick, teaching the people, and feeding the crowd of 5,000+ people.  He knew at that moment, it was time to work. The Bible is also clear that we were created to work. 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” (NIV) Keep in mind this was before the fall. Exodus 20:9, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work” (NIV) 2 Timothy 3:17, “so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (NIV) Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (NIV)

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (NIV) I don’t know who needs to hear this.  Maybe you are in a job you hate.  Maybe you have a job you like, but find your boss or the culture extremely challenging to deal with. Please know that… God created us to do “good work” that we are to complete with our best effort. Jesus clearly demonstrates here that there are times when work needs to be the priority in our lives.  If you’re in a work situation that you’re struggling with, maybe God is using it to grow something in you that you’ll need later for the work that He created you to do.  Don’t give up, God has a plan for you and it is good. A few things to think about How do you work?  Too much?  Too little? How do you view work?  A means to an end (money)?  An opportunity to serve? How do you approach work?  Just get it done? Or, do it as if you’re doing it for Jesus? How do you work when you really don’t want to? I think it is clear that we have to work and that Jesus not only calls us to work, but that we were created to work, created to do good work, and called to work hard as if we were working directly for Jesus. But after Jesus fed the 5,000, He again retreated to pray by himself.  He went to rest, pray, and spend time with God. Let’s look at one more passage about how Jesus models balancing work and rest. Please turn with me to Luke 5:12-16

Luke 5:12–16 NIV

While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

It is here that we see Jesus do something completely different.  Jesus healed the man with leprosy, but doesn’t say to heal the crowd.  He instead, leaves the crowd and retreats by himself to pray.

What’s going on here?  Why the different approach to the same request?

In praying through and studying this passage, I believe that Jesus is modeling how he wants us to balance work and rest.  Exodus 20:9-10 says…

Exodus 20:9–10 NIV

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.

It’s not clear from the passage if this was the sabbath or not, but it is clear that God calls us to have a balance of work and rest in our lives.

If we look at the word Sabbath in Exodus 20:10 the Hebrew actually means

Sabbath שָׁבַת (šābat) Cease, desist, rest

Jesus knew that His worth was not in His ability to perform miracles.  He knew what His mission was and He had the confidence to say “no” to GOOD things to move on the BEST things.

And this is true for us as well

You are not defined by what we do.  Your worth is given to you by the God that Created you and can’t be taken away from you.

We need rest in our lives.

It is through spending time with and building our relationship with God that we hear that still small voice of the Holy Spirit guiding us to the BEST things that God wants for us to do next.  If we’re so busy doing everything everyone asks of us, we won’t have any time to do the BEST things that God created us to do.

We need margin in our lives so we’ve available when God calls.

Sabbath is God’s gift to us to show us that even when we cease from our work, and the activities that define us 6 days out of the weak, we are still valued, we are still loved, and we are still exactly who He wants us to be.

Sabath doesn’t need to be legalistic.  Jesus speaks about that in other places in the Gospels.  Maybe your sabbath is every Sunday.  When I was in seminary, the professors counseled us to find our “mini” sabbaths every day as our lives were going to be crazy and it will be really hard to block off an entire day.

No matter how you structure it, God calls us to be intentional about building rhythms of rest and worship into our lives.

A few things to think about What defines you?  Your job?  Your family? Something else? Do you feel like you can cease (take a break) from the work that you do all week? Do you take a regular sabbath? How could you start the habit of sabbath in your house this week?

YOU

I don’t know what your relationship with work and rest is. Maybe, like me, you tend to say “yes” to everything, overcommitting and packing your schedule so full you have no margin and struggle to find time to rest or enter into a Sabbath time of relationship building to God. Maybe, unlike me, you’re really good at saying “no” and God is calling you to engage more in the kingdom work He created you to do. No matter where you’re at right now, I think we need some practical steps on how to find a God honoring balance of work and rest in our lives.

WE

When preparing for this sermon I read a book by Gary Preston called “Character Forged from Conflict: Staying Connected to God during Controversy”.  In it he challenges the standard advice for setting priorities.  You may have seen the God Family Work priority list.  But real life is not a priority list.  How we spend our time is not a to-do list with check boxes.  We don’t do our 15-minute devotional with God first thing in the morning, check the box, and consider our duty to God done for the day.  Life is more complicated than that. Instead of putting God, family, and work in numerical priority order, he suggests that we need to view them as all existing within a pie. As we enter into any activity, we need to maintain a balance between all three.

When I go to work, does the work I do honor God, do I behave in a manner that reflects God’s love to my co-workers, do I work hard as if onto the LORD even when I don’t want to, do I place boundaries on my work that serves as an example to my family that we are not defined by our work.

When make decisions on how I interact with my family, do I choose activities and conversation topics that honor God, do I invite them into my study and service to God so they can learn how better to have a relationship themselves with God, do I help them in their work so they can learn how to find a God honoring balance between work and rest themselves, do we practice sabbath together as a family showing them that they have worth just because God created them and not because of anything they can do or accomplish.

I’ve found the pie model of priority setting helpful as I decide on what I say “yes” to and what I say “no” to.

JESUS

For me, God has really challenged me to put some pretty strong boundaries on my schedule since having a family.

The duration of events hasn’t really changed, but the firmness of the boundaries that exist between them has.  Work stops at 4:30 PM no matter what is going on.  Family time is sacred and goes from 4:30 to 9:00.  Sleep is still not where it needs to be, but my family knows that they are priority, and we will do everything we can to honor God with how we spend that family time.  My daughter Ellie and I volunteer at the Feeding America truck every month.  As a family we support World Vision, even the kids run the kid’s marathon and fundraise.  We’re continually improving and doing our best to balance how we spend our time in God honoring ways.

PRAYER

We were created to do GOOD work, but our value lies simply in the fact that God created us and not in what we produce.  The time we spend in worship and relationship with God is just as valuable (maybe even more so) than the work we complete.

So, as we go into this week, I’d challenge all of us to pray through how you use your time. I’d suggest taking a calendar page and filling out the activities you do throughout the day.  At the end of the week, as a family go over your schedules and together pray through it, asking God if there is anything He wants you to change.

Think of what God could do if we all found a healthier balance between work, rest, and worship and intentionally build into our lives margin so that we have time to say “yes” to whatever God calls us to next.

Will you join me in prayer.

Dear God,

The enemy wants us to believe that our entire value lies within the output that we produce.  Culture pushes us to work more and more at the expense of time with you and time with family.  Thank you for the example that Jesus gave us.  There is time for work, but there is also time when we need to put work aside and rest in our presence.  Help us to find a Sabbath rhythm that honors you.  Help us to know, at a deep level, that when we cease from the work that defines us during the week, we are still loved and valued for no other reason than you created us and you love us.  Speak to each of us this week, and help us to find the balance in our schedules that honors you.

We thank you and love you, and it is in the powerful name of your son Jesus Christ that we pray.

Amen.

SONG

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BENEDICTION

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (NIV)

Let us prayerfully enter this week, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit related to our scheduled.  Let’s pursue a God honoring balance between work, worship, and rest.  Let’s follow Jesus’ example, not setting for every GOOD opportunity that comes our way, but prayerfully discerning the BEST God honoring activities.

May you have a week of rewarding work, and deep rest in the knowledge that you are loved for who you are not what you do.

Have a great week.  Go in peace.