What exactly does “sacred” work consist of? I suspect it is broader than most believers think it is.
You may have heard the phrase “the sacred and secular divide.” This concept has been around, unfortunately, for probably thousands of years. It puts human vocations into two categories – sacred or secular. The sacred jobs are ones that are considered to be vocational Christian ministry; i.e., clergy, missionaries, evangelists, Christian college or seminary professors, etc. Secular jobs would be everything else. What is wrong with this popular view of work is that it unnecessarily elevates vocational Christian ministry and diminishes all other occupations where most Christians are called to serve.
What I intend to do in this discussion is to take a fresh look at breaking down the sacred-secular divide. I have a new idea that may cause us to think a little deeper about this critical topic in the theology of work.
To illustrate, let us take a trip to a church ministry that nearly every church will invest a great deal of time, money, and volunteer support to sustain. This ministry is universally understood to be sacred work, and it is. However, it does not contribute directly to evangelism and discipleship efforts. As we analyze what happens here, we may find a model for the majority of us who hold ordinary jobs.
The church nursery
Let us take an honest look at the things that happen in a church nursery with young children, two years and younger.
The primary mission is to keep the kids safe. They are given toys to play with. Some will sleep. They may hear Bible stories and sing Christian songs. Although seeds may be sown, there are generally no attempts to preach a gospel message or teach the Word of God. However, no one would deny that this is a valid ministry. For example, changing a diaper is ministry since it meets a physical need for the child (and for all of the others in the room). The work required to meet the needs expressed loudly by these little ones if they are not met has eternal value because they have eternal value.
In addition to loving the children, the church nursery also blesses the parents in practical ways. It allows them to fully experience worship without the distraction of a fussy baby or fidgety toddler. Although there is some value in teaching our children to worship by watching us do it, if you understand child development at all, you know that little ones generally cannot quietly sit still for an hour. Parents with children in their laps or next to them trying to keep them busy will not be able to focus on prayer, singing, and listening to a message from God’s Word, which is what they and God deserve.
If the work that is done to meet the practical needs of children (and their parents) on Sunday mornings is considered sacred, why could we not agree that the jobs we do to meet the needs of our bosses and customers Monday through Friday are of eternal value and are sacred as well?
All work can be sacred
Gene Veith, in his book, God at Work teaches, “Every kind of work, including what had heretofore been looked down upon—the work of peasants and craftsmen—is an occasion for priesthood, for exercising a holy service to God and to one’s neighbor.” This concept properly empowers the common, ordinary worker by giving their work meaning, value, and purpose.
The great reformer, Martin Luther emphasized the priesthood of the believer as taught in 1 Peter 2:9. Sherman and Hendricks help us to understand this idea:
Peter calls us a royal priesthood. A priest is a person authorized to stand between God and people … Where then do we function as priests? Peter says we do it out in society “among the Gentiles” [or pagans] (1 Peter 2:12); in human institutions (2:13); in employer-employee relationships (2:18f); in marriages (3:1f); and so forth. These are the arenas in which people, both Christians and non-Christians, need a priest, someone to stand between them and God as an agent of reconciliation and hope.
Sherman and Hendricks in Your Work Matters to God wrote this profound statement regarding ordinary work: “In addition to salvation – obviously a need with eternal implications – mankind has many other needs. Just because many of them are temporal needs does not diminish their importance to God, nor does it diminish the value of the work done to meet those needs.”
The assumption by many Christians that worldly work is unworthy is clearly off the mark. I think it is safe to conclude that all work, done in faith, in the presence of God, and performed as unto the Lord can be considered sacred.
What does Scripture say about the value of secular work?
Let me share a few examples from the Bible where Jesus or others highlighted the value of meeting the wide spectrum of human needs:
- Physical – Jesus commended giving water to a child (Matt. 10:42)
- Mental – Some members of the Body of Christ have the gift of teaching (Eph. 4:11)
- Emotional – God comforts us so that we can in turn comfort others (2 Cor. 1:3-4)
- Social – the blessings of brothers and sisters in Christ having fellowship (Ps. 133)
- Psychological – Jesus set free many who were demon-possessed (Matt. 4:24)
The Apostle Paul writes in Col. 3:17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” He adds, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men” (Col. 3:23).
Closing thoughts
Perhaps my assessment of what takes place in the church nursery every Sunday will help us to appreciate the eternal value of all work that meets the full range of human needs. The ministry that happens is a model for those of us who are not called to vocational Christian ministry. It is not so much about where the work happens or what it is, but who it is done for that truly matters.
Joseph demonstrated that God’s presence with us at work will bless those whom we work for (Gen. 39:2-5). As we labor in God’s presence, He will work through us to love those around us by meeting their needs (physical, mental, emotional, social, and psychological). And so, we will be simply doing what God calls each of us to do, to love our neighbor in practical ways, just as the Good Samaritan did.
I have heard many times Christians are not just put here on earth to get folks to heaven; we are saved to bring heaven down to earth. Thus, our purpose for working in the world to do an ordinary job is not to merely evangelize everyone we work with every chance we get, but to demonstrate to those we work with (i.e., our neighbors) who Jesus is by allowing Him to love them through our work. If what we do is sacred, then the place our feet touch is holy ground. When we think about that, we can see God do great things through us as we work for Jesus and His eternal kingdom.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Russ Gehrlein
Featured Image by Fabian Kragenings from Pixabay
