Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with
God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and
coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He
humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of
the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not
as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will
and to do for His good pleasure.
Philippians 2:5-13
As we looked at the just living by faith last week, one
of the first battles of that faithful walk, comes as we do our work. Naming the
animals was the work God gave Adam in the Garden of Eden. With the advent of
sin and manÕs expulsion from the garden, by the sweat of his brow, man has
earned his place on this earth ever since.
Sunday afternoon, while looking at a potential place to
live, I had the opportunity to meet Barbara, a missionary with over thirty
years of experience in Pakistan, China, and Korea. Part of that conversation
dealt with the fact that Barbara was unable to communicate most of what
happened, during those years on the mission field, with the people who now
worshiped with her in the local church.
Through this conversation and other events that have
happened over the last week, I realize that there is a great chasm that
separates three distinct groupings within the church, and that pertains to
their understanding of work. Related distinctions could also be developed in a
more secular community. Hence, for the next few weeks we will look at that
daily event, given by God to each person, saint and sinner, and see if we can
make any sense of our work and work place activities.
Oh, those three church groupings:
We have the work of the common people, those who in some
circles are called the laity. Pastors and many in the church establishment
speak of a manÕs vocation, the Protestant work ethic, as Òthe means to find
GodÕs calling for your life within the City of ManÓ and such nonsense. No where
in this rhetoric do we find room for Òits just a job to pay the bills, sort
of.Ó
Then we have the true vocation of the professional
clergy, however they are defined these days. Those who receive their livelihood
in exchange for service in some self sustaining ministry. In the same light as with the laity,
the rest of the church does not understand, some of the pressures, these men and
women of God undergo. These include, but not limited to, dealing with spiritual
battles, and also with people who are completely so self absorbed with
themselves, that they donÕt realize that they are the cause of their own
problems.
Then we have the professional missionaries, people like
Barbara, who have forgone the opportunities to fit into the previous classes,
to serve God in distant lands. They too face obstacles, cultural differences,
and heartaches, that are foreign to those whose service and living derive from
within their home country.
I understand that these are somewhat stereotypical
distinctions, but they are really just to give us an understanding, that life
is not always greener on the other side of the fence, Pasture is pasture, and
most of it is overgrazed, for such is the lot of man in this world.
So where do we begin our look at work, vocations, jobs,
callings, service, as it relates to manÕs lot in an attempt to live by faith. I
suppose the best place, would be with Augustine. While perhaps these following
illustrations do not fit with the theology of one of Christendom's patron
saints, his distinction of the City of God and the City of Man, quickly illustrate
our point. Both are theoretically ruled by their namesakes.
First, as practiced today, work, however it is defined,
is essentially a means of earning a living, (beyond just subsistence), within
the urban environment. This is true throughout the world, and probably in its
hard core application, more true in the developing world than in the developed.
Man works, lives, and dies in cities.
Theoretically, the City of God is ruled by God, and in
the abstract sense we must understand that is so, however outwardly things many
times point to the contrary. Hence, the City of Man must be ruled by man. But
in the ultimate sense that is not true either, for God is ultimately in control
here too.
Now in the City of Man we quickly come into theological
paradoxes. Work was created by God for man in the creation account, therefore
work in that sense is good. But what then is work designed to bring about the
furtherance of evil?
As you can see, we could quickly get into a discussion of
some deep issues concerning the nature of man, the attributes of God, sin, and
happiness to name a few. However, before we dismiss these issues, understand
that how you answer some of these questions, will mold your theology, including
your eschatology. They will also have an effect on your understanding of life
and ministry.
Most of modern American Evangelicalism, including that
exported throughout the world would consider the work of the City of man to be
the furtherance of evil, paid in the wages of sin. I would add to this picture,
that really the gross domestic product of ManÕs city, is quite simply the
enterprise of idolatry. ÒWork for stuff, to make you happy, it really doesnÕt
matter what the junk is, just has long as you keep pursuing the dream that
happiness can be purchased with money.Ó
Now Augustine, and the Skid Road drunk, both are still
smart enough to realize, at least in their sober minds, that the above model of
the City of Man is just plain stupid. But turn on the TV and watch the economic
news, and these are the variations on a theme that you will hear. Yet, if you
look carefully there are some good things about civilization, culture, and
service, that this simplistic model of sin does not take into account.
Duel (sic.) citizenship, a fight between two adversaries,
for the hearts and minds of her citizens, is the battle fought each and
everyday in both of the cities of our illustration. Those persons with dual
citizenship must fight that battle daily. To the victor belong the spoils. In
that light, laity, minister, and missionary, have many similarities in their
daily battles. The tactics may be different, so is the culture, but they are
battles fought that all may one day understand the glory of God.
This gives us a context for the passage from PaulÕs
letter to the Philippians quoted above. ÒWork out your own salvation with fear
and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His
good pleasure.Ó Philippians 2:12b-13
So work in the grand context was designed by God to be a
battle between the forces of good and evil. When looking at it in that light
the conquest of the opposing city by the followers of the rulers of that other
city, brings into light the struggle we all face, and should bring grounds to
understand the cultural battles, each of us faces on any given day.
So howÕs work? Too busy IÕll bet. Just not enough time to
do the things I want to do, little lone the time to spend on the things of God.
How to I get and keep my priories straight? For many of you the job is just
plain boring, yet you have to be there for your shift, you need the money, to
take care of your lot in life. ÒYet
someday, I plan on getting my life together.Ó These and other problems
we will look at as we work our way through this series.
All this work seemed to just materialize out of the
question I ask last week, when my final shipment of video equipment arrived.
ÒWell Lord, I now have all the equipment I need to get started to learn
something about video, what would you have me do?Ó
The initial thought was to make a video of a person
living truly by faith in this country. I know a few. Combine that with some
biblical teaching on faith, and include a group of diverse people interested in
learning something about the role of media in our developing world, and presto
you have an award winning, and educational video.
Education is supposed to lead somewhere, to a career or
vocation, or is that just another lie fostered in the City of Man to separate
you from your gold, or more precisely, electronic bits of information that can
be converted into goods and services.
One of my complaints about business last week related to
sales persons lying and telling half truths. Most of that was not the result of
evil intent, but in response to a lack of time, inclination, or smarts. Most
would rather be elsewhere, rather than appeasing the corporate behemoth idol.
They would like to work in their vocation, not just have a job. This is not
necessarily a bad thing. And again it shows the struggles we each face daily in
a society based on stuff and information, but lacking the wisdom of eternal
values and absolutes.
So with that in mind, I head again to Eastern Washington
later this week. Sort of a working vacation. It has been a long time since I
have had a week or more to reflect and yet to get some more of my momÕs estate
details sorted through. Please intercede that this may be a time of refreshing,
and hearing from God about this complex can of worms, it seems I have just
opened.