DAY 41 - JOY IN YOUR TOIL
KEATON TUCKER, YA GROUPS TEAM LEAD
“I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil -- this is God’s gift to man.” Ecclesiastes 3:12-13
Work. About one-third of our lives are dedicated to working. 20-somethings tend to ask two big questions more than any other: about relationships and about work. These are GREAT questions to ask because these two things make up the bulk of your life. Having a biblical perspective on work will change how you think about work and has the power to bring more joy to your life.
God created work. Work is not a punishment from God because of the fall of man. He created it prior to the fall. From a biblical perspective, work has three overarching attributes: it’s a means to you contributing to society as a whole, creates value and dignity within you, allows you to enjoy non-work times.
Your work contributes to society as a whole. Your contribution matters. In order to see how you are contributing to society, you need to look at the impact, not the job description. My father was an electrician. If you look at his job description it would say something like “pulling wire” or “installing lights”. It sounds kind of boring… But what was the impact? He would say “I bring light to rooms so families can enjoy each other’s company over dinner and conversation and other activities”. That is a very different perspective on his work! When you begin to focus on the impact of your work rather than your job description, your perspective will begin to change and you can start to have joy in all your toil. Ask yourself often “what impact does my work have on____”. Every single job has some form of impact on the world.
Work creates value and dignity within you because your work contributes to the needs of God’s children. As soon as work becomes solely about you, that is when joy starts to fall away. Imagine your work as a service to the rest of society and as Jesus said it is better to be a servant. Being a servant isn’t just in the task but also in the perspective and it isn’t reserved for volunteering at your church. Your work is your service to society and anyone who gives themselves for the good of others finds lots of value and dignity within themselves. That’s how God designed it. Work at the grocery store? Awesome! Literally everyone needs food and your job makes sure people can eat. Work as a barista? Thank you, coffee makes the world go round. Work in construction? You make roads for us to use, homes for us to live in, and buildings for us to work in. Thank you.
Work allows you to enjoy non-work times. There is a belief that a permanent vacation lifestyle is ideal and Eden like… it’s not. Because man was designed to work, taking work away to live solely in leisure is actually destructive. So is working all the time. God designed us to work and to rest, we need both. Also, work is for income but we will talk about that another time.
One other caveat: Don’t chase passion. At some point, no matter your passion, work will become work. Passion also changes depending on your life circumstances. Keep your passion focused on serving the world through your work and you will find joy in all your toil. It is better to ask “what am I good at?”. This helps you discover how God designed you.
By switching your perspective from your job description to the impact it has will help you open yourself up to take pleasure in all your toil and that is God’s gift to man.