The Word Before Work

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: 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 and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)After spending the first twenty-one verses of 1 Corinthians 9 defending his right to raise financial support to preach the gospel, Paul gives us the clearest explanation as to why he chose to continue to work as a tentmaker. In verses 22 and 23 he writes, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel.”Paul understood that, in order for the gospel to be heard, followers of Christ must first be able to relate to those we are ministering to. And there is perhaps no more effective place to do this than in the workplace where we spend the majority of our waking hours and have a natural environment for building genuine relationships with believers and non-believers alike.For Paul, tentmaking would have been the perfect opportunity to build relationships with those outside of his immediate social circles. As Dr. Mark Russell points out in his extensive study on Paul’s work, “Paul was a Jew and a Roman citizen of high education so he could easily identify with those from similar backgrounds. His work as a tentmaker was a deliberate strategy that enabled him to identify with another, primarily different, group of people. By participating in [tentmaking] trade associations and guilds he would have become enmeshed in [previously inaccessible] social networks.”Before the gospel can be heard, the messenger must win the respect of the intended audience. Paul knew that being an excellent tentmaker outside the four walls of the church was one of the most effective ways to win the respect of non-Christians, which is why he encouraged the Church at Thessaloniki and us to follow his example, saying, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).Once we’ve won respect of outsiders, we, like Paul, will be put in positions to preach the gospel in word and deed. And that brings us to the second reason Paul chose to work which we will explore next week. 

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. (1 Corinthians 9:20-23)The apostle Paul is one of the great heroes of the Christian faith—the man the risen Christ chose to help spread the gospel and accelerate the growth of Christianity throughout the world. While Paul’s work as an effective preacher is well-known, what the Church almost never talks about is the fact that throughout his career planting and preaching to churches, Paul also worked as a tentmaker (Acts 18:2-3).The lack of discussion in the Church about Paul’s work as a tentmaker appears to be a symptom of a deeper problem—namely that many Christians tend to treat some callings (such as preaching) as more eternally significant than others (such as tentmaking). But Paul’s own writings make clear that he never fell for this unbiblical myth. As we’ll see throughout this devotional series, Paul didn’t view his work as a tentmaker simply as a means of financing his preaching ministry. He viewed his work as a tentmaker as a core component of his strategy to make disciples of Jesus Christ. But before we more deeply explore why Paul worked, it’s critical that we understand what wasn’t motivating Paul to work as a tentmaker.First, it’s important to point out that Paul did not need to work as a tentmaker. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul makes it abundantly clear that he had the right and the ability to live as a “donor supported missionary,” focusing 100% of his time and energy preaching the gospel in the churches and synagogues. But he chose not to exercise that right. In 1 Corinthians 9:15, he says, “I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me.”Not only did Paul not work out of necessity, he also appeared to work tirelessly—far more than was needed to fund his preaching ministry. In 1 Thessalonians 2:9 and 2 Thessalonians 3:8, Paul says he worked “night and day,” and in Acts 20:34 it says that Paul earned enough money to provide for others, suggesting that there were at least seasons of Paul’s career as a tentmaker in which he was earning far more than he needed to support himself.So, if Paul could have raised support to finance his preaching, why didn’t he? Furthermore, why would the great preacher spend more time than was necessary in his work as a tentmaker?As we will see over the next three weeks, Paul didn’t view his work as a tentmaker as a distraction from his work to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Rather, he chose to work as a part of a deliberate strategy to “become all things to all people” (1 Corinthians 9:22), to preach the gospel in word and in deed, and to disciple other believers. And this, as we will see, has tremendous applications to our own work today.

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. (James 5:1-5)In the final chapter of James (and verses 1-5 in particular), the author has some strong words of warning for the rich and powerful. In verse 4, James condemns how the “rich” he’s addressing in this passage acquired their wealth, by unfairly withholding wages from their workers. While this isn’t the place to comment on what does and does not constitute “fair pay,” it is important for us Christians to be cognizant of both overt and subtle abuses of power that might put us into the category of those James is condemning. Modern day examples of these abuses in pay include misclassifying workers as contractors instead of employees and paying women and minorities less for doing the same job as others.In verse 4, James appears to be admonishing employers exclusively. But in verses 1, 2, 3 and 5, James has words of warning for anyone who is more privileged, powerful, and wealthy than somebody else, sharply criticizing the hoarding of wealth, as well as “self-indulgence” and living “in luxury.” The question of what constitutes luxury and over indulgence is a complex and personal one. But when reading these verses, it’s important to keep in mind that James’s chief concern in this passage (and much of the book) is the poor. So, a good question to ask to discern whether or not we are ones James is calling “self-indulgent” may be “Does the way I spend my personal wealth and the profits of my business endeavors enhance or diminish the lives of the poor?”Finally, as busy, ambitious professionals, we would be wise to take James’s words in verses 2 and 3 to heart, remembering that the wealth we accumulate in this life will fade away. But the acts of service we do unto others won’t. And that is really the heart of the entire book of James. When you and I love our neighbors and employers by doing our work exceptionally well and when we focus on the needs of the powerless and poor above our own careers, we are living more closely in line with the image of Christ, glorifying the Father, and storing up for ourselves treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20).

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13-16)Busy professionals love to plan. We meticulously plan out our days and weeks. Some of us even plan out our careers five years at a time. Planning is a good thing, as it is the process by which we steward the time, money, and other resources the Lord has entrusted us with. But as James 4:13-16 points out, our planning is “evil” and dishonoring to the Lord when we plan without humbly recognizing that it is the Lord—not us—who is in control of the outcomes of our planning.This is an especially hard truth for busy professionals to grasp and remember day-to-day, as so much of our time is spent planning for the future. We spend weeks putting together strategic plans. We sell investors and customers on visions of the future. We set-up meetings and appointments weeks and months in advance. With so much confident planning, it can be easy to fall for the lie that we are the ones controlling the future. But as James reminds us, this type of planning is better known as “boasting” and “evil.” Why? Because when we confidently predict the future without even a mention of God’s sovereignty, we are sending a message to ourselves and those around us that we are not truly trusting in the Lord’s grace and daily provisions. We are relying solely on ourselves and our plans for the future.Planning without recognizing the Lord’s sovereignty can also cause us to forget to be on the lookout for where the Lord might be moving to take our plans in different directions. The Christian professional who humbly submits their plans to the Lord and watches for the Holy Spirit to mold them over time will be more at peace, more aligned with God’s design for their lives, and even more effective.Finally, in verse 14 James reminds us of the brevity of life, comparing our time on earth to “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” This sobering reminder gives us all the more reason to plan, but to do so by humbly recognizing the Lord’s ultimate control and being willing to surrender our plans to the Lord’s will.

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. (James 3:14-17)In James 3, we find plenty of wisdom for busy Christian professionals. Which of us doesn’t need a reminder to tame our tongues so that we might be more accurate reflections of Christ amongst our colleagues? But today, I want us to dig into the second part of James 3, and look at what the Scriptures have to say about ambition.In verse 14, James warns us not to deny “selfish ambition,” but to recognize it for what it is: “earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” Those are some strong words. But James isn’t finished. He goes on to say that “where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”What exactly does selfish ambition look like? This is what James and we have already explored in James 2 with the admonition not to focus on what the rich and powerful can do for us and our careers, but instead being primarily concerned with how we can serve the powerless. Selfish ambition is when our work is primarily motivated by our own advancement, fame, and fortune, rather than service to others.But while James comes down hard on selfish ambition, we must be careful not to write-off ambition altogether. Ambition itself isn’t what James is condemning here. Selfish ambition is. The Bible makes clear that there is a different kind of ambition that is not only acceptable, but commanded by the Lord.Colossians 3:23 demands that “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” You and I aren’t called to simply punch a clock. We are called to lean fully into the work God has called us to do, and to do so ambitiously for his glory and the good of others. In the words of 1 Corinthians 10:31, “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”How do we glorify God in our work? By obeying his commands, summarized by Jesus when he called us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). When God’s glory and the good of others is our primary motivation for our work, our ambition will be anything but selfish. Our ambition will be as James says in James 3:17, “pure…peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” Let that encourage us today as we ambitiously pursue the work the Father has given us to do.

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. (James 2:1-9)This week, we’re taking a closer look at James 2:1-9, where James strongly commands that “believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.” Right off the bat, James gives us an example of favoritism from his own cultural context, comparing how first century Christians might treat two very different people who show-up to the same church gathering: a rich man “wearing a gold ring and fine clothes” and “a poor man in filthy old clothes.”It’s clear that James is referring to favoritism based on something deeper than the physical appearance of these men. James is pointing out something that hasn’t changed in the centuries since he authored this letter: There will always be two groups of people in our lives—those that have the power to serve us (the rich) and those we have the power to serve (the poor).In our modern context, the rich man might not be flashing a gold ring as he walks in the door, but he might have two million Instagram followers and be connected to someone on LinkedIn that we really want an introduction to, while the poor man could be someone who, on the surface, has nothing to offer that would advance our careers or social status. Or the poor woman might be the intern at our office that has little to offer our careers today, while the rich woman might be a boss we are trying to impress.In this passage, James is encouraging us to view the world through the lens of those who can serve us and those we can serve. And he’s saying crystal-clearly that showing favoritism to the rich and powerful is nothing less than sin. What exactly is the offense? The sin is not loving our neighbor as ourselves (verse 8). The sin is paying particular attention to those who can serve us, while neglecting to serve those we are in a position to help.Obeying this command to not show favoritism to the powerful is far from easy. After all, God often uses the rich and powerful to pull us along in our careers. This can lead us to justify showing favoritism to these people. But all throughout Scripture, Jesus and authors like James instruct us to focus first on serving those who can’t do a thing for us in return, while trusting that God will provide for our every need. Often times, it is that type of “servant leadership”—of spending noticeably more time and energy serving those less powerful than us—that is noticed and rewarded at work.Every day, we are faced with multiple opportunities to show favoritism to the rich and powerful. Be mindful of those opportunities today and look for opportunities to love and serve both the powerful and the powerless well.

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. (James 1:5-8)This morning, we start in chapter 1 with a focus on James’s call for us to ask God for wisdom. In verse 5, James writes, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James leaves it open-ended as to what specifically we are to ask for wisdom about, leaving us to assume that he is inviting us to ask the Lord for wisdom about anything—including the seemingly big and little things related to our work.Often times, I’m afraid we expect far too little from God, welcoming his wisdom as we seek to make major life decisions (such as where to move or who to marry), but failing to ask for his wisdom in the more routine matters of life and work (such as when we can’t see how we will meet a deadline at work, or we’re trying to discern product market fit, or when we’re trying to navigate a relationship with a difficult co-worker). James is inviting us to ask God for wisdom in all of these things and more.Why does James place such a strong emphasis on asking God for wisdom? Well, most practically, as James 1 makes clear, God is the giver of all wisdom (verse 5) and “every good and perfect gift” (verse 17). God is the source of all true wisdom, so we would be fools not to ask him for wisdom as we work. But there’s a second reason we are called to explicitly ask God for wisdom: Asking for wisdom is one way in which we recognize that God is God and we are not, thus demonstrating our ultimate trust in him. As busy professionals, it can be easy to forget that it is God—not us—who produces results through our work. Regularly asking for his wisdom as we go about our work reminds us that it is God alone that gives us the wisdom to do our work well.The Christian life is a matter of trusting God to provide all things, including wisdom as we work. Take a moment to humbly ask God for wisdom for specific things regarding the work ahead of you today.

Here's what you can expect from the podcast!

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (Colossians 3:23)When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandments were, he replied, “Love the Lord your God…and…Love your neighbor as yourself.” As we saw last week, excellent work is one way in which we fulfill Jesus’s command to love God by revealing his character of excellence to those around us. As we’ll see today, excellence is also necessary for keeping the second commandment in our work.As Christians, we can’t say we are seeking to love our neighbor as ourselves and then do our work with mediocrity. Think of the extreme example of a Christian doctor. While that doctor may pray with her patients, share the gospel with her co-workers, and donate money to her church, her most basic form of ministry is in being an excellent doctor. If she were a mediocre medical professional, her patients’ lives might be at risk. The doctor’s first responsibility in her work ought to be the ministry of excellence—serving her patients as best she knows how, giving them the same level of care she would expect for herself and her family.Now, for most of us, the relative skill of our work isn’t going to mean the difference between life and death. But we all have an opportunity to obey Jesus’s command to love our neighbors as ourselves by choosing to do excellent work and going far beyond the minimum standards required in our jobs. I love what Matt Perman says on this topic: “Slack work is like vandalism because it makes life harder for people—just like vandalism. Christians are to be the opposite of vandals and slackers in their work. We are to do work that will truly benefit people by going the extra mile rather than just doing the minimum necessary. Excellence in our work is actually a form of generosity and love, and poor quality is a form of stinginess and selfishness. Shoddy work is not just shoddy work; it’s a failure of love.”As Christians, we shouldn’t seek to do the bare minimum in our jobs to collect a paycheck. If we believe our work is a calling from God, we will “work heartily, as working for the Lord (Colossians 3:23),” seeking to glorify God and love others well by being the most focused and excellent doctors, entrepreneurs, teachers, artists, carpenters, and executives we can possibly be. Excellence in our work isn’t just a means to some personal gain. Excellence is our most fundamental form of ministry in our work. Let this truth encourage you to focus on pursuing mastery of your craft, becoming the most exceptional version of yourself for God’s glory and the good of others!

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com 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)The purpose of our work is no different than the purpose of our lives, namely to glorify God in everything we do (1 Corinthians 10:31). “Glorify” is a word we throw around so much that it can become difficult to define. As John Piper says, to glorify God simply means to “reflect his greatness” or reveal his character to others.So, if the purpose of our work is to reveal the Lord’s character to the world, what exactly are his characteristics? The Bible describes God in many ways, but it is his character of creative excellence that is perhaps most visible to us. You can’t stare out at the Grand Canyon and not marvel at the masterful work of God. You can’t go to a zoo without appreciating the creative supremacy of the Creator. And you can’t take a baby by its hand and not stare in wonder at the excellence it takes to make millions of cells form together to create life. As we saw in last week’s devotional passage, God’s character of excellence also shone through in Jesus’s life on earth, with his contemporaries marveling that “he had done everything well.” We worship the preeminent God. A perfect God. “Excellent” is far too trite a word to describe the God of the universe. But it is the closest we as mere mortals can hope to understand and attain.As God’s children, we are called to be image bearers of our exceptional Father. In Ephesians 5:1, Paul instructs the Church “as beloved children” to “be imitators of God.” Commenting on this passage, theologian Andreas Köstenberger says, “How should we respond to God’s excellence? In short, we should seek to imitate and emulate it…As God’s redeemed children, we are to strive to be like God. This, it appears, includes striving for excellence.” John Piper puts it this way: “God created me—and you—to live with a single, all-embracing, all-transforming passion—namely, a passion to glorify God by enjoying and displaying his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life.”In other words, we glorify God when we imitate his character of excellence and in doing so “proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). We live surrounded by darkness in a world that is desperate for something excellent and true. There is perhaps no more influential “sphere of life” for us to shine the light of Christ than in our chosen work. When we work with excellence, we have the great privilege of glorifying God and proclaiming his excellencies to the world around us. Go forth and do your work with excellence today!