By Gary Johnson
Is a Christian vocation only for certain occupations? Martin Luther: Every worker is the hands and “fingers of God”. Does God care only about spiritual flourishing and not about material and cultural flourishing? In the Genesis stories, God worked–to create our material world. And it was good. God had not sent rain since there were no humans “to work the ground”. So God created us to work. He created Adam and Eve (and Noah after the Flood) to cultivate or “fill the earth”; to “have dominion [stewardship] over” his creation. Christ calls us to love our neighbor through our work.
Vocare, the Latin derivation of vocation means “call”. A Christian calling involves more than earning a living and seeking my own self-fulfillment. Robert Bellah urges reviving the “idea of vocation or calling, a return in a new way to the idea of work as a contribution to the good of all and not merely as a means to one’s own advancement.” William Diel: “[A]ll jobs—not merely so-called helping professions—are fundamentally ways of loving your neighbor. Christians do not have to do direct ministry or nonprofit charitable work in order to love others through their jobs.” Lester DeKoster: “Work is the form in which we make ourselves useful to others . . . in which others make themselves useful to us.” The Vocation of the Business Leader, a Roman Catholic document (coauthored by a University of St Thomas professor: “The vocation of the businessperson is a genuine human and Christian calling. Pope Francis calls it “a noble vocation, provided that those engaged in it see themselves challenged by a greater meaning in life; this will enable them truly to serve the common good by striving to increase the goods of this world and to make them more accessible to all.” The importance of the businessperson’s vocation in the life of the Church and in the world economy can hardly be overstated.”
How might you reimagine your work as a Christian vocation? Read below about the biblical story of how God used Joseph in Egypt’s governmental work, and a prayer for government workers.
How God Used Joseph in Egypt’s Government Work
The brothers of Joseph sold him into slavery to Egypt. Joseph used his talents to help the Pharaoh and the Egyptians prepare for possible famine. Joseph was not a priest, prophet, elder or teacher. He was a government official in a pluralistic, nonbelieving government and culture. Yet God used Joseph amazingly!
“Dick Lucas, an English Anglican preacher, once preached a sermon on the story of Joseph. . . He said that if you were to go to a book table at a church and see a biography with the title The Man God Uses or The Woman God Uses, you would immediately think it was the story of a missionary, teacher, church leader, or specialist in some sort of spiritual work. He points out that what you have in the story of Joseph is a highly successful secular official. Lucas says, “In the long term I think being a preacher, missionary, or leading a Bible study group in many ways is easier. There is a certain spiritual glamour in doing it, and what we should be doing each day is easier to discern more black and white, not so gray. It is often hard to get Christians to see that God is willing not just to use men and women in ministry, but in law, in medicine, in business, in the arts. This is the great shortfall today.”
A Prayer for Government Workers
Father God, we recognize there is no authority on earth that has not been provided by you, our local authorities among them. We want to pray for those who work in our local government. We know you have entrusted them with great responsibility and pray that you will help us honor and respect them. We pray you give them guidance and wisdom to lead our city into flourishing that is more reflective of your kingdom.
We pray these leaders will look to you and that you would protect them from the temptation to engage in behavior that may be dishonoring of the responsibility you have given them. May every decision they make contribute to the well-being of our citizens and our city.
We pray you would protect those in government from falling into fear. Our authorities need you, please make them aware that they are in your service for the good of society. We pray you would protect those in government from danger and animosity. That they would be open to listening to perspectives that are different from their own and that you would grant them wisdom to make decisions in the best interest of those they serve. We pray you will use every government official for your glory.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
© 2021 Global Faith & Work Initiative
