In this chapter, Michael Frost loks at how working righteously changes the world. ...
For the people whom Frost describes as "exiles" there is no divide between "religious" and "secular". The church often sees work outside the institution as profane or at least religiously neutral. Many church going people get the impression that what they do for the bulk of their time in the week is completely unimportant to God compared with the few hours they spend each week in church.Of course God is concerned with every part of our lives. We need to see our work as a part of our mission. This isn't just about using the workplace as a venue for personal witnessing. We need to see our work as an opportunity to serve God.
Part of the problem is that we have divided the world into two dualistic entities which never touch- religious ("in here") and secular ("out there"). But God does not make that division. He is everywhere, including at work.
We can see our work as a part of God's creative redeeming of the world in various ways:
* teachers bring truth
* healing professions show compassion and bring health and wholeness
* scientists name things, processes, activities
* artists, computer programmers, designers imagine and produce works of art and technology
* builders, tradespeople, entrepreneurs, business leaders create things which hopefully benefit people.
When I worked as a Chemical Engineer half a lifetime ago I saw that my work was essential to the safety of the workers I supervised. As the Engineer in charge of a city's sewerage system I was contributing to the health and well-being of half a million people. On my worst days I was just a cog in a bureaucratic machine. But by showing compassion to the others "cogs" I was also able to bring the love of God into that work place.
We need to see our work in that kind of light- a place where we are able to glorify God with our actions, words and attitudes- as well as our creativity, productivity, problem-solving and the other arts we bring to our work.
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