“It is pure invention [fiction] that Pope, bishops, priests,
and monks are called the ‘spiritual estate’ while princes, lords, artisans, and
farmers are called the ‘temporal estate.’ This is indeed a piece of deceit and
hypocrisy. Yet no one need be intimidated by it, and that for this reason: all
Christians are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among
them except that of office… We are all consecrated priests by baptism, as St.
Peter says: ‘You are a royal priesthood and a priestly realm’ (1 Pet. 2:9).”
I’ve been thinking quite a lot about the priesthood of all
believers. We’ve fallen into the same trap that Luther observed in the 16th
century of treating some professions as more holy or more worthy than others.
The work of the church is often assumed to be the work of the pastor and staff.
And yet all believers are members of the Body of Christ and we all have a
special role to play through our daily life and work. Tim Keller, in his book Every Good Endeavor, points out that
especially in America
We need step back and look at our motivations for work in
whatever our chosen field may be. Is it a means of funding a comfortable
lifestyle? Is it a way of serving a particular group of people? Is it a
“necessary evil”? Or is it a calling and a ministry? Paul writes, “Whatever you
do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord
you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ”
(Col. 3:23-24). And he wasn’t just talking to the church leaders, but to all
the believers. Elton Trueblood stated, “It is a gross error to suppose that the
Christian cause goes forward solely or chiefly on weekends. What happens on the
regular weekdays may be far more important, so far as the Christian faith is
concerned, than what happens on Sunday” (Your
Other Vocation).
Certainly some jobs are more overtly ministerial than
others, but all jobs have worth. If nothing else, you can pray for your fellow
workers and model godly love and integrity even if you aren’t free to discuss
your beliefs. You can pray for the recipients of whatever service or product
you provide. If the product is actually harmful, you have an ethical decision
to make about whether you should be involved in that business or not. In fact,
we all have ethical choices to make. Should we mark up prices in order to make
a greater profit, or should we keep them as low as possible in order to serve
more people? Are we using our profits to help others or to line our own
pockets? Is it okay to lie for the boss? Is our lifestyle a witness to or a
contradiction of our beliefs?
Regardless of what work we do, we need to remember that
ultimately we will be held accountable by the King of kings, not just any individual,
company, or government. Even in the so-called ministerial professions, though
we may report directly or indirectly to a church board, conference, or
denomination, the ultimate authority is God. In Your Work Matters to God, by Doug Sherman and William Hendricks,
they write, “if you are a sales representative in computer software, then your
job and how you do it is tied up with God’s work. If you are a naval officer on
a ship, your command and how you perform it is tied up with God’s work. If you
are a career homemaker, your work in the home with your husband and children
and how you do it is tied up with God’s work… If I tell you that your daily
work has no value to God, then I’m giving you no reason to honor Him in your
work. Result: You might as well do as you please.”
In the midst of his lamentations on the vanity of work,
Solomon states, “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat
and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of
God, for apart from Him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?” (Eccl.
2:24-25). When work seems toilsome, pointless, and dreary, we can remember that
it is God who gives all good things—the ability to work, a paying job, and
provision for our needs. First Corinthians 15 includes this interesting verse
following the teaching on death and resurrection, “Therefore, my beloved
brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (v. 58). If we believe that
our work truly does matter to God, then this verse applies to all of us. We may
not see all the fruits of our labor in this lifetime, but God sees and will
reward us accordingly.
“Slaves, obey your
earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would
Christ, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of
Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good
will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever anyone does, this he
will receive back from the Lord” (Eph. 6:5-8).
