Work properly framed

The Good Life

TLK 6

Bottom line: The good life is fully experienced when work is properly framed

Introduction

In the final two weeks of our series→ this is a sanctification conversation, not a salvation conversation→ this is designed to help us understand how we live out our faith and experience the life Jesus died and rose to give us… he is our good shepherd who gives us the good life→ wisdom living→ go over slides

Looking at proverbs→ wisdom literature from Scripture, but today is going to take a little bit of a different path… eventually we will get into Proverbs but we need to do somethings before we get there

Two questions: what was the first command given to humanity by God? (work)

What thoughts are provoked in you when you hear the word “work”?

Expound→ work is anything we do that requires effort and time

Work is a major part of everyone’s life→ average American will spend 100,000 hours of life working→ that's just the work we get paid to do

Truth I hope to reveal to you today is that we have an improper framework for how to view work in our day→ and God has a lot to say about work→ Proverbs mentions work directly or indirectly 20+ times and work is mentioned all throughout scripture as you will see

To do this well we need to go all the way back to the beginning

Truth

Genesis 1:26-28→ created in God’s image→ to reflect our creator

God Works→ Gen 2:2-3 (creation), John 5:17 (works through history), Phil 2:13 (salvation)

God calls us to work→ to cultivate

Working is Godly because He works and has called humanity to work

Genesis 2:15→ Work is God’s idea

Work is to cultivate for a purpose… human flourishing

Work is tied to worship→ abod→ where we get the word abide from→ work is worship

Work is not a result of sin→ before Genesis 3… part of human flourishing happened through work→ reflecting our creator and continuing human flourishing

Work has significant meaning in the kingdom of God→ work in heaven

But we have a thief… Sin has corrupted its meaning and purpose→ this is what Satan does… think about this… Adam was given everything for human flourishing… will to follow, woman to love, work to continue flourishing… this has all been corrupted, tainted and counterfeited

This is why our framework for work has been distorted

Genesis 3:17-19→ sin made the process of work hard and frustrating

While work is not a result of sin, the corruption of work can lead to sin

Irish Proverb→ for every mile of road there is two miles of ditch… this is true of work

First ditch is laziness→ Proverbs 6:6-11→ slacker→ extreme laziness

Laziness is not just a physical/mental thing… it is a spiritual thing… laziness rejects God’s design for humanity, makes comfort and convenience and idol

To not work means to not be productive towards the call to continue human flourishing… insulting to God→ language is so strong here→ think dad kicking in door on saturday morning work days→ I don't want to belabor this but it is a serious alarm to your spiritual condition

Most of us are not in this ditch… in fact we can so desperately want to avoid this ditch that we back ourselves right into the other side→ Proverbs 23:4-5

Wear yourself our→ labor yourself to tiredness/the loss of something valuable

Don’t make work your idol→ when work is our idol the thief steals our most valuable gifts

Your peace→ rest feels like sin

Your relationships→ presence is robbed→ intimacy with spouse, children, friends, church body all suffer→ Provision without presence poisons relationships

Your identity→ false identity owned→ you are not your job, performance, production→ identity crisis and salvation found in these things

Your intimacy with God→ He gets pushed to the margins→ not through rebellion but through preoccupation

Your witness→ lose your integrity and character

Your health→ chronic stress

I have been here→ my framework of work was completely distorted

Our framework of work is not properly framed… there is no freedom, peace, joy, significance, or hope… this is where the good shepherd comes in and gets us back to the good life

Colossians 3:1-4→ gospel→ when Jesus is your life everything changes… fulfilled and free to flourish the way God designed… framing all of life properly including work

V. 12→ Therefore→ V. 23-25 (ESV) → Paul helps us properly fram work because of Jesus’ work on the cross

Work is not to prove your yourself worthy→ Jesus did that

Work is not to earn status/favor/significance→ Jesus did that

The proper framework for work is that it is received as God’s gift, done for His glory, and used for human flourishing→ no secular sacred divide

Mom’s→ not just keeping kids alive but cultivating hearts, Dad’s→ Not just providing but modeling what our Good Father is like, Teacher’s→ not just trying to get kids to pass a test but poting them to Jesus, Farmers→ not just herding animals and growing crops but providing for God’s prized creation, Food service→ same, Construction→ not just roads and structures but pathways and homes for God’s Kingdom to grow, Health Care→ literal answer to prayer of healing, Emergency Response→ literal answer to a cry of help, Financial→ stewarding God’s resources, Lawyers→ pause…. Helping justice and order be maintained

Nothing we do is meaningless… Everything is sacred… The good life is fully experienced when work is properly framed

Work is properly framed when it is received as God’s gift, done for His glory, used for human flourishing

Christians should be the hardest, most intentional workers on the planet if this is how we are to see our work

Application

How have you framed work? Which ditch are you in?

Repent→ allow God to reframe your perspective on work

When it comes to work→ work hard, rest hard, do it all to his Glory

The good life is fully experienced when work is properly framed