Living by God’s Economic Plan (Part IV)

Session 4: The J.O.B.

Today we are continuing a series that I am calling “Living by God’s Economic Plan (a Christian Response to the Global Economic “Crisis”)”. We are discussing the foundational truths of the Economic Plan that God has established and documented in His instruction manual, the Bible. We will be looking at what we see out in the world, and comparing it to what we see in God’s Word, and then putting into action the steps that God gives us to establish a sound fiscal policy within our own lives. Our last lesson was called Sow, Now What?, and we discussed three key points:

1. God gives to Givers!


2. Motive is Everything!


3. God is enough, and more than enough!

Well, let’s move on to today’s lesson – The J.O.B. So, if God wants to be our supplier for everything, why are we supposed to work? Haven’t we all been taught that we need to work to make a living for ourselves? And haven’t we all heard things like “work is a four letter word”? How often do we hear people exclaim “TGIF – Thank God It’s Friday” as they look forward to being away from their jobs for two whole days? And how often have we heard people say (or perhaps we say it ourselves) “I hate my job”, and then they explain that they only work because they need the money? Is this really the way God wants it to be? Let’s take a look at the first job ever given:

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (Genesis 2:15)

What do we see here? We see that after God made man, even before He created Eve, God gave Adam a job – to dress and keep the garden of Eden. And here’s the really important point – this was before Adam and Eve sinned and brought on the curse! So anyone who thinks that work itself is a curse, a result of living in this sinful world, is missing something important here from the very beginning of mankind. Let’s take a quick look at the curse that came in Genesis chapter 3:

And unto Adam he said, Because you have hearkened unto the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it: cursed is the ground for your sake; in sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you; and you shall eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, till you return unto the ground; for out of it were you taken: for dust you are, and unto dust shall you return. (Genesis 3:17-19)

After Adam and Eve sinned, the resulting curse wasn’t that Adam now had to work. The result of the sin was that his work was going to be more difficult because the ground was cursed – the earth had been corrupted by sin. So the first thing I want us to note is that work was given to man while he was still in his perfect, innocent state in the garden of Eden! We also want to remember that as Christians we are no longer under the curse (Galatians 3:13 - Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us), so we don’t even have to accept that our work needs to be difficult! OK then, what exactly should be our attitude regarding our jobs? Let’s look at what Solomon wrote:

He has made every thing beautiful in his time: also he has set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor, it is the gift of God. (Ecclesiastes 3:11-13)

And again:

Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he takes under the sun all the days of his life, which God gives him: for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answers him in the joy of his heart. (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20)

So, the first thing I want us all to consider is that God wants us to be rejoicing in our work, in our jobs! He has established that man needs to have something to do, something he can rejoice in. I would like to suggest that if you are one of those people that is NOT rejoicing at your job, if you can’t wait for the end of the workday, you are probably in the wrong job. But then you’ll probably want to point out that you need the job to provide for your needs. In response to that, I want to look at the second thing that I want us to consider:

Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needs. (Ephesians 4:28)

What? Am I reading this correctly? Haven’t we all been told most of our lives that we work a job in order to provide for our own needs? But this verse is saying that we are supposed to labor so that we can give to others that have needs!?

The Bible is perfectly consistent – it only appears to be contradictory when we fail to understand it, or when we fail to accept it. We have been discussing for several weeks now that when we give, when we seek first the kingdom of God, when we trust in Him, then He promises to supply our needs. Let’s review:

Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (2 Corinthians 9:7-8)

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:31-33)

So, why would we think that we need a job to supply our needs? If we accept that God is supplying our needs, and wants us to be motivated to be givers, why wouldn’t we be working in order to be a blessing to others? As a matter of fact, isn’t being a blessing what your job is all about? If you are not being a blessing to your employer, or to your customers, they will quickly find someone else who is!

Today I am rolling into one all Three Key Points: Our J.O.B. is our Joy-filled Opportunity to Bless!

We need to get out of our self-centered mindset, thinking that “I have to supply my need”, that “my job is all about me”. God put us on this earth to bless, and to be blessed. Living a life of faith, living by God’s Economic Plan, is all about blessing – let’s look at Abraham, our father of faith:

Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, unto a land that I will show to you: And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curse you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:1-3)

God promised to bless Abraham, and he instructed Abraham that he was to be a blessing to others – as a matter of fact, ALL the families of the earth have been blessed through him!

So, if you have been thinking of your job as your chore that you have to do to put food on your table, to provide for your needs, you are missing out on one of God’s gifts to you! Your job should be filling you with joy! Your job should be giving you opportunities to bless – to bless your employer and/or customers through the excellent work that you do, and to be able to bless others through your giving! And who will take care of your needs if you aren’t “taking care of number one”? God will! And that is another blessing that you get to enjoy as you take on the Joy-filled Opportunity to Bless that God has given you!

I would like to share how God has impressed this lesson on me. When I was a sophomore in high school, about sixteen years before I became a Christian, I decided I was going to become an “Architect”. I liked drafting house plans, and I liked the sound of the title – “Architect”! So, after completing high school I spent eight years in college getting my Master’s degree, and I then took a job at an architectural firm. I spent several more years preparing for and ultimately passing the licensing exam to finally officially become an “Architect”. I had achieved my goal! There was only one problem – I didn’t enjoy architecture! What I really loved doing was computer programming. My first experience with computer programming had come during my freshman year in college, as I took the required introductory course in programming. This skill perfectly matched how I was wired, and I loved the challenge of getting the programs to work, and I was quite good at it. But my goal was to become an “Architect”, and I was either too focused, or too stubborn, or too dumb to face the facts. I kept taking programming courses because I enjoyed them, and they helped my grade point average, but I was dead set determined on becoming an “Architect”.

So, not too long after I became a Christian, God was able to get me to be honest enough with myself that I decided to drop the charade of being an “Architect”, and to focus on computer programming. But then I allowed myself to be pushed up the corporate ladder, first becoming a supervisor, then a manager, and then the director of the IT department. It again sounded great – Director of IT, but again there was a problem – I hated going to work each day! I hated dealing with budgets, with meetings, with personnel issues. What I loved to do was computer programming!

So once again God had to convince me to be honest enough with myself to admit I wasn’t being blessed by my job and I couldn’t be a great blessing to my employer if I hated going to work each day. And I knew that I would be happiest if I worked as a computer programmer. But again I let my natural mind get in the way, saying that a computer programming job would be far too big of a pay cut for me to support my family, so instead I embarked on starting my own consulting business. Once again, I was doing work that I hated doing in order to feed my family, and now it wasn’t even doing that – the business was at best treading water, paying for its own bills with nothing available to pay its sole employee, me. I was working very long hours for very little income, and hating every minute of it.

So finally I allowed God to direct my steps, and to take a computer programming job. And do you know what? I am thrilled to get up every morning at 4:10 am to get to work by 6:00 (the job is about an hour’s drive from home). I am blessed that I get paid to do what I love to do every day! And my employer is blessed that I am there every day, doing what I am skilled at and doing what I love to do, to help the company to be a blessing to its customers!

So, let’s start looking at our job as our Joy-filled Opportunity to Bless! It may require us to rethink our careers, but that’s ok – it will be worth whatever it takes to be in a position where we love what we are doing. After all, that is the way God intends it to be!

Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him? (Ecclesiastes 3:22)

Join us for our next step in Living by God’s Economic Plan: Where to Sow

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