The Word Before Work

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com -- Series: A Gospel Perspective in a Post-Pandemic World Devotional: 4 of 4 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the Lord—the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.” (2 Kings 22:3-7) The pandemic has ratcheted up the pressure to do our work honorably and with excellence even when our bosses aren’t watching. Because now more than ever, they’re not. With more of us working from home or in hybrid environments, there are fewer people looking over our shoulders than ever before. And while this may lead some of our co-workers to slack off, it should lead us as Christians to strive to earn an unprecedented level of trust from our employers, modeled beautifully by the temple workers in today’s passage from 2 Kings. King Josiah trusted these workers so much that he said, “they need not account for the money entrusted to them.” That would be the equivalent of your boss giving you the company credit card and not asking for receipts. Can your bosses, business partners, investors, or customers trust you that much? They should, for at least three reasons. First, Scripture commands it. The Apostle Paul said, “obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart” (Ephesians 6:5-6). Second, we’re promised that “the Lord will reward each one” who obeys that command (see Ephesians 6:8)! Sure, you could steal some short-term rewards for yourself by fudging your timesheets or scheduling emails after hours to give the false impression you’re working late. But those rewards won by sin will fade away, while the eternal rewards tied to your obedience will last forever. Finally, when we “show that [we] can be fully trusted” at work, Scripture says we “will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive” (Titus 2:10). As we transition into this new era of work post-pandemic, we will be more tempted than ever to work dishonorably. May we be those who are set apart—the ones our superiors and partners can trust 100% of the time—for God’s glory, our eternal rewards, and the advancement of the gospel!

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com -- Series: A Gospel Perspective on Work in a Post-Pandemic World Devotional: 3 of 4 Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses. (Proverbs 28:27) It didn’t take long after our lockdown two years ago to realize that the pandemic was going to be a massive boon for some businesses—especially tech-centric businesses like Zoom, Uber Eats, and streaming entertaining services mostly staffed by high-wage workers. Conversely, other sectors of the economy such as restaurants and hotels, which are mostly staffed by lower-wage workers, took a massive hit and continue to suffer to this day. Once again, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. How are you and I called to respond to that sobering reality? The way the Church has always been called to respond! As today’s proverb makes clear, we are commanded to give generously to the poor. What could that look like practically in this cultural moment? First, if you’re one whom this economy has blessed financially, it could look like being generous with your money. That could mean overtipping at restaurants, or choosing to donate not just to organizations meeting spiritual needs in your community, but also organizations meeting the material needs of the poor. Second, it could look like being generous with your time. Do you know a single mom who doesn’t enjoy a flexible work schedule like you do? Offer to pick up her kids after school! Are you a talented entrepreneur? Spend some time launching a new business with the explicit intent of creating jobs for those hit hardest by this pandemic. Finally, if you’re a leader of an organization, consider how you can be generous to the poor via your organization’s policies. That could mean choosing to pay your workers every other day instead of every other week to make it easier for them to make ends meet, or raising the question of whether your work from home policies are working for everyone from the top to the bottom of your org. chart. Those are just a few ideas to get you thinking about how you can obey Scripture’s frequent command to be generous to the poor. As you explore your own personal response, remember these words from Proverbs 19:17: “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.” May that promise and the pain of the poor around you compel you to loving action today!

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com -- Series: A Gospel Perspective on Work in a Post-Pandemic World Devotional: 2 of 4 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9) Since Disney’s Encanto was released just a few weeks ago, the movie has been played an embarrassing number of times in the Raynor household. If you haven’t seen it, here’s the gist. Encanto is the story of the Madrigal family who live in an enchanted house that magically blesses each member of the family with a unique and extraordinary talent. But as the family’s matriarch frequently points out, the purpose of those gifts aren’t just to serve the individual or even the family—they are meant to serve the broader community outside the family’s magical home. You see it, right? It’s essentially a story about spiritual gifts. And every time I watch the beautiful film, I’m reminded of today’s passage from 1 Peter 2:9. Here’s the connection. Prior to Christ, there were rooms in the Temple devoted to storing gifts that the Israelites brought in (see Nehemiah 10:37-39). The people would come into the Temple and the priest would distribute physical and spiritual blessings to them. But today, “you yourselves are God’s temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16), and all of us are members of the “royal priesthood” called to carry the gifts the Spirit has given us out into the world to be a blessing to others. The gifts God has given us are not meant to be stored away. They are meant to be shared with the world. That truth should radically transform our perspective on “The Great Resignation” and the unprecedented rate at which people are quitting their jobs in the wake of this pandemic. To be sure, many people are handing in their resignations in order to focus on a better opportunity. Others, especially lower-wage workers, are leaving the workforce temporarily for reasonable concerns for their health on the job. But millions of people are not resigning for these reasons. Many are opting not to work at all or to take early retirement. Believer, I pray that’s not you. Our world is more broken than ever before. Businesses are struggling to survive. The poor are getting poorer. And every day, thousands of people are dying separated from Christ. Now’s not the time to call it quits and sit on the vocational gifts God has given you. Now’s the time to roll up your sleeves and use your gifts to make the world look more like the kingdom of God.

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com--Series: A Gospel Perspective on Work in a Post-Pandemic World Devotional: 1 of 4 You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12) It’s clear that one of the most lasting changes to our work post-pandemic will be where we work physically. Now more than ever, more of us are working from home or in some sort of hybrid environment. And by and large, we are loving it. According to the job search giant Glassdoor, searches for remote work are up an astonishing 460% in the past two years. As someone who has worked from home for the past three years, I get the appeal. Remote work has some wonderful benefits. But it also carries a significant cost. Because as the Apostle Paul makes clear in today’s passage, our workplaces are one of, if not the, primary place where we can “win the respect of outsiders” and share the gospel. So how should we as Christ-followers be thinking differently about these shifts in where we work? Let me suggest three responses. First, if you have a choice in where you work, the gospel may compel you to sacrifice your freedom to work from home so that you can be more intentional about building relationships with unbelievers in person (see 1 Corinthians 10:23-33). Second, if you decide remote work is what’s best for you or your team, spend some time thinking about how to build relationships in a virtual environment. That could look like scheduling casual virtual lunches with your co-workers, or baking time into your Monday morning meetings to ask about everyone’s weekends, or encouraging small talk before your Zoom meetings by allowing participants to enter before the host arrives. Finally, consider whether it’s time to expand your view of your personal mission field to include not just your co-workers, but your physical neighbors. Maybe God’s calling you to be outside with your kids in the afternoons so you can “win the respect” of other parents, or invite a neighbor who also works from home out to lunch, or host a block party for your neighbors on Friday night. Where we’re working is changing. But our call to make disciples is not. Spend some time today thinking deeply about how your personal evangelism needs to shift in relation to the shifting position of your workspace.

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! (Romans 5:8-10)There are two signs that you’ve crossed over to the dark side of discipline. Last week, we looked at the first: a failure to extend grace to those who are less disciplined than you. Here’s the second sign: a failure to extend grace to yourself.I can be hard on myself if I fail to complete my to-do list, get my kids to bed on time, or accurately estimate how long it will take to complete a project. But just as the gospel helps me extend grace to others, it is also the key to extending grace to myself. Let me explain.We talk a lot here on The Word Before Work about how the gospel compels us to be ambitious for and disciplined in our work. But there’s a flipside to that coin. The gospel is also our source of rest. How? Because the gospel assures you that God adores you even on your most undisciplined day!Every night as I put my young kids to bed, I say, “Hey girls, do you know daddy loves you no matter how many bad things you do?” They nod their heads. Then I ask, “You know I also love you no matter how many good things you do?” They nod again. Then I say, “Who else loves you like that?” and they reply, “Jesus.” You and I need to hear those same words spoken over our work today. If you believe that Christ died for you while you were his enemy (see Romans 5), surely you can believe that he’ll love you if you don’t finish today’s to-do list.I want to close this series with the same Scripture I started with. In 1 Corinthians 9:25, Paul said, “Everyone who goes in for athletics exercises self-discipline in everything. They do it to gain a crown that perishes; we do it for an imperishable one.” Our crown is imperishable, believer. True, it may have more or less jewels in it based on how we steward this life. But our entrance into God’s kingdom—our position as princes and princesses—is secure forever. May that security lead us, like Paul, to embrace “self-discipline in everything,” while avoiding the dark side of discipline. As we start this New Year, may we be a people who are purposeful, present, and wildly productive on behalf of our King.

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com--‘Your brother has come [home],’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ (Luke 15:27-30)Self-discipline—whether with time, food, or money—is a good, God-honoring thing (see 1 Corinthians 9:24-27). The problem is when discipline becomes an ultimate thing and thus turns into a life-sucking idol. How can you know when you’ve crossed over to the dark side of discipline? One sign is that you are unwilling to extend grace to others who are less disciplined than you.This is perhaps best illustrated in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Most preaching on this parable focuses on the younger son who “squandered his [father’s] wealth in wild living” (Luke 15:13). But as today’s passage reminds us, Jesus’s parable was about two lost sons, not one.In his book, The Prodigal God, Tim Keller says that while “younger brothers” build their self-image around freedom and rebellion, “elder brothers base their self-images on being hardworking, or moral, or members of an elite clan, or extremely smart and savvy.” Sounds like me and probably you if you consider yourself to be a disciplined person. But here’s the problem: As Keller points out, elder-brotherness “inevitably leads to feeling superior to those who don’t have those same qualities.”That last line stings me to the core. If someone shows up late to a meeting or drops a ball on a project, I won’t telekinetically strangle them like Darth Vader, but I may find myself seething with self-righteous anger that attempts to mask the fact that I have made the exact same mistake before.If this is part of what the dark side of discipline looks like for you, let me remind you (and myself) that the root cause of our failure to extend grace to others is a forgetfulness of the gospel. Everything we have—including our ability to be disciplined—has been graciously given to us. James 1:17 says that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father.” Our ability to be disciplined is a gift of grace, just like salvation, “so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:9).I can’t take credit for being disciplined, and neither can you. God has graciously brought us books, software, mentors, and other resources to help us cultivate self-discipline. And because all of these things were gifts we did not earn, we can be gracious with those who have yet to be given the same gifts.Of course, failing to extend grace to others is not the only sign you’ve crossed over to the dark side of discipline. Next week, we’ll examine a second symptom.

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com Don’t you know that when people run on the race-track everybody runs, but only one person gets the prize? Run in such a way that you’ll win it. Everyone who goes in for athletics exercises self-discipline in everything. They do it to gain a crown that perishes; we do it for an imperishable one. Well then: I don’t run in an aimless fashion! I don’t box like someone punching the air! No: I give my body rough treatment, and make it my slave, in case, after announcing the message to others, I myself should end up being disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)If you’ve read my book, Redeeming Your Time, you know that I’m a disciplined guy. I get eight hours of sleep almost every night, I only check email once a day, and I delete and reinstall Instagram every 24-hours so I don’t drown myself in that infinity pool of content.Some of you may be thinking, Man, Jordan, it sounds like you might be a little too disciplined. Maybe. But I make no apologies for my disciplined lifestyle. Why? Two reasons.First, because Jesus himself was crazy disciplined during his time on earth. Mark chapter one provides a good case study to that end. After a late night spent healing the sick, Jesus disciplined himself to wake up “very early” the next morning to commune with his Father (see Mark 1:35). Then, after his disciples asked him for an encore of healing, Jesus said no, disciplining himself to focus on his essential mission of preaching the gospel (see Mark 1:38).Here’s the second reason why I embrace discipline as a gift: As Paul points out in today’s passage, a disciplined life is part of our reasonable response to the gospel. We haven’t been saved to sit around and wait for eternity. As Paul says in Ephesians 2:10, we have been “created in Christ Jesus to do good works!” That’s why Paul says he doesn’t “run in an aimless fashion” or “box like someone punching the air.” No! Paul exclaims. He ​​exercised “self-discipline in everything” and has called us to do the same.Jesus and Paul show us that discipline is a virtue—one we should embrace in this New Year. But here’s the problem: As with any good thing, we can easily turn discipline into an ultimate thing and thus make it an idol. How do you know when you’ve crossed over to the dark side of discipline? That’s the question we’ll answer over the next two weeks.

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com--Series: Christmas VocationsDevotional: 4 of 4And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord….So [the shepherds] hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child (Luke 2:8-11,16-17)You just discovered a piece of earth-shattering news. You pull open Twitter or Instagram to share it, but you know you’re going to need some help to spread the message. Who will you tag in your post? @CNN? @POTUS? @TaylorSwift13? If the news is religious in nature, maybe you’ll tag @Pontifex or @YouVersion? Those would all be logical choices. But you probably wouldn’t tag a farmer with a dozen followers who hasn’t logged into his Twitter account in years. But that’s basically who the angels share the “good news” of Christmas with first—shepherds—one of the lowliest vocations of that time.Then some 30-odd years later, we see Jesus doing the same thing. When he kicked off his public ministry, Jesus didn’t enlist the help of Pharisees or other religious professionals to help him spread the gospel of his kingdom. Instead, he called fishermen and tax collectors.What’s my point? While God certainly spreads the gospel through pastors and “full-time missionaries” today, he also—dare I say primarily—spreads it through you and me, regular believers working as entrepreneurs, accountants, zookeepers, artists, politicians, and mechanics.Ever since the angels appeared in the shepherds’ field, God has made it crystal clear that the work of proclaiming the gospel is not reserved for religious professionals. It is the call of everyone who believes.So as we look to the New Year, don’t wait for a missions trip to see yourself as a missionary. Like the shepherds, embrace your work today—whatever that work is—as a vehicle for sharing the good news that a “Savior has been born!” 

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:26-28)It’s likely that Mary worked exclusively inside the home as a wife and mother. What can her vocation tell us about our own? At least three things. First, God sees you and your work, even when the world doesn’t. Mary was a peasant teenage girl living in a backwater town. We don’t know what work she was doing before Gabriel showed up, but we can be certain it was obscure. Mary was the anti-influencer. Nobody knew her name. Nobody, that is, except God.God saw Mary’s faithfulness when nobody else did, and for that, she was “highly favored” in his eyes. This reminds us that even when we work in obscurity—as parents, middle-managers, or struggling artists—the God of the universe “will not forget your work” (Hebrews 6:10). He sees it and will one day “reward each person according to what they have done” (Matthew 16:27).Second, Mary reminds us that God gives great dignity to the work of parenting. In Western culture today, work inside the home is often seen as less difficult, important, and appealing than work outside the home. And yet, in God’s Word, we see an entirely different perspective. In both Matthew and Luke’s accounts of the Christmas story, the work of parenting takes center stage. Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Zechariah show us that the work that mothers and fathers do outside and inside the home is of the utmost importance to God.Finally, Mary shows us that parenting is one of our most unique callings. I hate when people say, “God first, family second, work third!” Why? Because Scripture never ranks callings in order of importance. It’s God first, and everything else second. That said, if you have children, parenting is one of your most unique callings. Mary was the only person Gabriel called to mother Jesus. Similarly, God has chosen me alone to father my kids, but he can choose anyone to do the work I do at my laptop. That doesn’t mean my calling as a parent is more important than the call to write these devotionals. But it is far more unique. Thus, I need to be just as, if not more, intentional about the work I do inside the home as the work I do outside of it.If you’re a parent like me, I pray that Mary’s example would encourage you that even the unseen work of parenting is seen by God and dignified, and thus, deserves great intentionality and devotion.

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com …an angel of the Lord appeared to [Zechariah], standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John….he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” (Luke 1:11-13,17-20)Before we break down today’s passage, we first need some context. This was the biggest day of Zechariah’s career as a priest. Luke 1:9 tells us that “[Zechariah] was chosen by lot…to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.” As Daniel Darling explains in The Characters of Christmas, this was a “once-in-a-lifetime event, the highest honor in a temple priest’s life. Zechariah…had waited his whole life for this.”As he’s in the temple on his momentous day, something even more momentous happens. An angel appears and tells Zechariah that he will improbably father a son he is to name John (that’s John the Baptist to you and me) who will “make ready a people prepared” for Israel’s Messiah. But Zechariah “did not believe” the angel’s words.Don’t let the irony of this scene pass you by. Zechariah was at the top of his vocational field, doing the job of instilling faith in the people. And yet he is punished for showing a lack of faith himself.Here’s what I think was going on. Zechariah was clearly doing his work for God. And yet his lack of faith revealed that, at least in this one moment, he was not doing his work with God—communing with him and relying on his promises.So the angel punished Zechariah with silence, which of course would have precluded him from doing much of his work. But Zechariah comes out on the other side months later with renewed faith and trust in the Lord (see Luke 1:67-79). Zechariah’s story is a wonderful reminder that God loves us too much to see his children work for him and not with him. We work for God when we view our office as our mission field, create art that shares themes of redemption, and use our businesses to right what’s wrong in creation. We work with God when we slow ourselves down enough to experience his presence, meditate on his promises, and rest long enough to simply enjoy being his child. In his terrific book With, Skye Jethani cautions us not to put “God’s mission ahead of God himself.” I think Zechariah would reply with a hearty “Amen!” encouraging us all to work for and with God today!