Tim Keller on work.

God's Work; Our Work

Human beings were put into paradise and given work to do before the Fall, before there was anything wrong with us or with the world (Gen 2:15). Work, then, in itself is not a curse — it is something that we were designed for.

Human work means being partners with God in his work. God's Spirit does not simply save souls, but also cares for, sustains, cultivates, and renews the material world that he delights in (Psalm 104:30; 145, 147.) Therefore God not only sends ministers into the world to preach sermons, but also doctors to give medicine, and teachers to impart wisdom, and so on. Making clothes, practicing law, tilling fields, mending broken bodies, advancing science, or nurturing children all participate in God's work. The view, then, that an artist or a banker is doing 'secular work' while a minister is doing 'spiritual work' does not fit with the Biblical understanding. God is also an artist and an investor in the material world.

God made us inter-dependent creatures. We need the work of others in order to live, and they need our work as well. For example, I do not know how to make or repair shoes, so I am dependent on the work of somebody else. If I pay shoemakers $100.00 for a pair of shoes, it is a marvelous bargain for me. In $100.00 worth of my time, I could never make such a thing. On the other hand, if I am a farmer, I do something for the shoemaker that she couldn't do. All work, then, according to God's design, is service. Through work we enrich one another and become more and more interwoven.

But what work should we do? Many people choose their work on the basis of status—which work will bring the biggest cultural rewards? Others choose their work on the basis of self-fulfillment— which work will make me feel good about myself? But we are not the product of society or of our own choices, but we are created by God. Work is God’s appointed way to care for creation and be useful to others, and you have particular God-given abilities and aptitudes for doing so. We are God’s workmanship, created to do good works that God has prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10.) So we must discover our aptitudes and abilities and work within our giftedness.

How can we do that? First, consider your affinities. This is the existential aspect to determining your calling. It is asking the question: “What people-needs do I vibrate to?” Second, consider your abilities. This is the empirical aspect to determining your calling. It is asking the question: “What kinds of tasks am I good at doing?” Third, consider your opportunities. This is the ‘providential’ aspect to determining your calling. It is asking the question: “What actual doors are opening for me? What needs to be done?”

Ultimately it takes the deep rest in Christ’s finished work for your salvation (Heb 4:1-10) to avoid over-work. Only then will work cease to be an idol, a means of self-definition. Only then will you be free to work according to your gifting and according to the needs of others rather than according to social pressure. Only then will you periodically be able to regularly ‘walk away’ and rest from your vocational work.