Practical Application Exercise: Work

Introduction

This evening we have the teens with us in this session, so we are going to do a bit of a review before we get into some very practical things. Up until now, most of what we have looked at is “theory.” We have discussed some practical aspects of instituting a Biblical worldview in our daily lives, but this evening, we will be really getting into the how to implement and begin a practice that keeps the Biblical worldview front and center.

I think most of us would probably agree that often, we hear things that are good, we have the intention to put those good things into practice, but at the end of the day, we look back and say, “Oh man, I forgot that I was going to do that, practice this, or keep this kind of thought in my head.”

So the goal today is to work toward creating reminders that will help us live out a Biblical worldview in the workplace, at home, at school, at church, and everywhere else we find ourselves.

So, with that being said, let’s review really quickly.

Review

This series is called Salt and Life Living: Eliminating the Sacred/Secular Divide.

The purpose of this study is to help us recognize that nothing is secular.

Teens: How many of you have heard the word “secular” used before? How many of you have looked up the definition of that word? To the best of your ability, how would you define that word?

Merriam-Webster defines secular as “not specifically or overtly religious.” Other dictionaries define it as ”denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis.” Basically, something that doesn’t have anything to do with religion. What we are using as our definition of the word secular is "a perspective that excludes or ignores the presence and significance of Christ.”

Through this study we will assert that when we view things through the lens of the Bible, nothing is secular, every aspect of life is sacred. Christ and His authority should be seen as relevant in every area of our lives, and we should live like it.

To help us understand that, we go all the way back to the beginning - creation.

Why did God create people?

For His glory

To reflect His image

To steward creation

To love and worship Him

Speaking of creation, we have studied that God not only created all things, but He owns all things and sustains all things.

We also studied that He has a specific role and function for people

-Secondary creations glorify God when done well

-Earth-tending is God's assignment for mankind

Since all of this is His creation and He has authority, Christ should be preeminent in all things. He should be the center of focus of every area of our life.

However, the predominant worldview in the United States is called Secular Humanism. Webster defines it as “any system or mode of thought or action in which human interests, values, or dignity predominate.”

Note that the center of the secular humanistic worldview is human interest. There are two humanist manifestos which assent that beliefs and ideologies and religion are to be weighed and tested by each individual and not accepted simply on faith. This provides for the rise of the use of phrases like, “Well, that may be your truth, but it isn’t my truth.” Truth is no longer seen as absolute and objective, but varying and subjective.

This worldview has affected many, many Christians. We have fallen into the trap of dualism - dividing the world into things that are sacred and things that are “secular.” We view church as sacred along with our devotions and things of that nature. But when it comes to work or school or recreation or eating, or hobbies, we often treat those as secular activities, never giving thought to God.

So, before we get any further, let’s review what a worldview actually is. A worldview is "A comprehensive framework of beliefs that helps us to interpret what we see and experience. It gives us direction in the choices that we make as we live out our days." Your worldview informs the choices that you make in life.

A worldview is a “big picture” of reality shaped by conscious or subconscious assumptions about the following five areas: God, Creation, Humanity, Moral Order, and Purpose.

Last week we saw that everyone has a worldview, whether they realize it or not.

We looked at a diagram that helps us to see how important worldviews are.

Here we see 3 concentric circles. This diagram will help us explain the importance that a worldview has upon us.

The outside circle is what the world readily sees about us. What does it represent?

Behavior - this is what we do and say, and also what we do not do and do not say.

But our behavior is driven by something deeper. What drives our behavior?

Values - our values are our goals, concepts, ideologies, and beliefs that drive our behavior. E.g.: If I value hard work as a business owner, I am going to reward that with bonuses and higher pay. However, if I value making money more than I value the employees that make that money, then I will restrict their pay as much as I can while giving myself bonuses and raises.

Teens: If you value good grades and integrity, you will work hard to achieve those good grades. You’ll study, you’ll prepare, you’ll do homework, etc. If you value good grades but have little to no value in integrity and honesty, you’ll look for ways to cheat, you’ll use as many shortcuts as possible, you’ll plagiarize, and it won’t bother you a bit to sneak a peek at your neighbor’s test answers.

Can you see how values drive behaviors?

But what drives our values? What influences us to hold to certain values? Our Worldview.

The worldview answers the “why” behind the values. Why do some people value hard work? Why do some people value integrity while others do not? Why do some people value excellence and others place more value on mediocrity? These questions are answered by the worldview that each of us have.

Earlier, we said that our worldview answers other questions.

Every worldview answers five basic questions.

1. Who or what is the ultimate authority or highest power, and what is the nature and role of this force or entity?

2. What makes up all the stuff of the universe, how did it get here, and is there more to it than meets the eye?

3. Who are human beings, what gives them value, what happens when they die, and how do they know what is true?

4. How do people determine right and wrong?

5. Is there a reason and purpose for all that exists?

Whatever people consciously (or unconsciously) believe (or assume to be true) with respect to these five critical questions will determine their worldview, which will in turn shape their values and influence their behavior.

So, enough of the review, let’s get into practical thinking now.

Applying a Biblical Worldview

We want to get into the application of a biblical worldview at home, at work, at school, and in every other environment we find ourselves in.

I want you to think of your job. If you are a teen, you are likely a student. That is your job for for tonight. If you are a graduated teen, then you possibly have two angles with which to view this - you are either a college student, or, if you are not a college student, then you most likely have a job or are looking for one. So, if you are looking for one, that is your job - a job seeker.

[Ask everyone what their job is.]

Questions for Contextualizing Work

[After everyone answers, pass out the sheets Questions for Contextualizing Work.]

Now, I want you to take these papers and I want you to skim through these questions and pick out at least once in each section to answer concerning your job. There are 5 sections - God, Creation, Humanity, Moral Order, and Purpose.

[Give a few minutes, then, ask a few people what question they answered concerning their job in the one ore two of the different section. Once that is done, pass out the 99 Truths - Short form.]

99 Truths about Work, Economics, and Human Flourishing

This next sheet is a sheet that lists 99 truths concerning work, economics, and human flourishing.

The term “human flourishing” here refers to an abundant life that has meaning, purpose and hope, with a deep sense of satisfaction and completeness that can only come from living life as God intended.

“Flourishing” here refers to an overall well-being and wholeness, whether it is relational, economic or otherwise, that comes only from being in unity with God and His purposes. The biblical word for this is shalom, which we normally understand to be peace.

You will notice that this sheet also is divided into 5 section - God, Creation, Humanity, Moral Order, and Purpose.

Skim through this list of truths briefly and put a star by at least one in each section that stands out to you the most concerning your job. Don’t take too long right now, do this as quickly as possible. There will be time to look through it more thoroughly later.

[Select a couple of people that want to share one or two of the truths that stood out to them.]

Once this is done, pass out the Awesome Activator sheet.

Awesome Activator

This sheet that you are getting right now is called the Awesome Activator. I did not title this resource, but since I didn’t come up with the idea, then we are going to maintain the title of this and give credit where credit is due.

The Awesome activator is intended to help take things from a purely theoretical realm into the practical. The goal for this exercise is to begin thinking about how you could apply a biblical worldview to every activity you do. Not just the job, but each individual activity that is part of that job. For example: If I am a janitor, I am going to do the Awesome Activator not just for Janitor, but for cleaning toilets, vacuuming, taking out trash, etc. See what I am saying?

Select an activity that is common for you to do - something that either happens multiple times throughout the week.

What is an activity that you perform at your job regularly? [Ask a few individuals]

Ok. So, in the circle, write an activity concerning your job - Studying, homework, meetings/presentation (be specific about this - are you attending or presenting, who is the audience - employees or supervisors, etc.), loading a truck, quality inspection (on what item or system?), teaching a class (perhaps too narrow, what do you do while teaching? grade, review, give a test, present new info, etc.).

For the moment, I only want you to write in the activity that pertains to your job, your vocation (your calling), in that circle. Do nothing else. We are going to go over what the next steps are in just a bit.

In a moment, I am going to show you an example of an example of an Awesome Activator that someone might do regarding chores around the house.

So, let’s look at the instructions for this.

1: Think of an activity (project or task) you are going to do. Write this activity inside the bubble shown in the center of the box below. This activity may be as simple as washing dishes, or as big as creating a new computer software program.

We have done this one, so let’s move to the next thing.

2: Brainstorm specific ways in which your activity relates to the “bigger picture of life” [as given in Scripture]. What is the bigger picture of life? First Commission, Great Commission, we are created for God’s glory, we are to love Him and love others as ourselves.

To prompt ideas, you may want to refer to 99 Truths about Work, Economics and Human Flourishing, and Questions for “Contextualizing” Work.

3. Narrow down your key ideas to 5 or 6 thoughts that particularly “speak to you.” Write these ideas in new “bubbles”

around your activity below. (They may be part of the 99 Truths or answers to the Questions Contextualizing Work, or they may not be. Make sure that they do fit in with the bigger picture of life.)

Let’s look at an example of the Awesome Activator:

The particular activity chosen is Washing Dishes.

Note the bubbles on the outside and how the thoughts expressed in them are statements that have to do with the bigger picture of life. It’s not about washing the dishes, it is about loving others as myself. It’s not about washing the dishes, it’s about me doing my best so that God can be glorified in my work. It’s not about doing the dishes, it’s about the fact that washing dishes is governing over creation. It is subduing and exercising dominion over soap and water and dishes.

So, now, what we are going to do is split up into pairs. The way I want to do this is for men to split off with men and women split off with women. Teens, I want you pairing up with an adult that is not your parent. Adults, find a teen to work on this with. Then, once you find your partner, you can start working on it.

Work on filling out five or six bubbles for your paper first. After a few minutes, check to see if your partner needs help and help each other out.

[Give about 5 to 8 minutes to complete this portion of the exercise.

Have everyone turn to the front and then ask a few their bubbles, if time permits.]

Next, we want to go to the next page.

Following the instructions from the first page, we see number 4 is next.

4: On the next page, write down specific ways you could apply your ideas to your work. Ask God for help. Think outside the box. Talk it over with someone.

Some ways I could apply biblical truths (as shown in the outer bubbles) to my work, written as visionary “I could see…” statements:

I could see washing dishes as an act of loving service to my family, and it could be a direct expression of my love for those who are closest to me.

I could see washing dishes as an act of service to God Himself, and as fulfillment of His commission for me to govern over all the earth—including water, soap, cups and plates.

5: Think about any preparation you may need to do in order to be successful. (Any training you need to have? Any research you need to do? Any changes to be made?) Write these things down in the “skills I must develop” section on the next page.

Some skills I must develop (or preparation I must make) in order to succeed: (Training? Research? Changes?)

I must be convinced that dishwashing is the will of God for me, and that He wants His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven through me in this way.

I must be conscious of the fact that when I am washing dishes, I am doing work that God wants done.

I must keep in mind that I am washing the dishes as though Jesus were going to eat on them.

I must fully realize that I am loving and serving God and others through washing dishes.

6: Write down action steps you will to take. Be specific. Give yourself some time-deadlines.

Action steps I will take: (Be specific, and include some time-qualifications.)

I will put a little sign near my sink that reads: “Here I directly serve God, love others, and fulfill my role of governing over the material world.”

I will use my dishwashing time as a time of practical discipleship, putting my faith into action in a very real and practical way.

I will wash dishes regularly and consistently “as unto the Lord,” in a timely and organized fashion.

Analyze

Does anyone want to share any of their statements?

Homework

Focus on this one activity at work throughout the next week. Come back next week prepared to talk about how your renewed thinking affected this area, if at all.