Dear brothers and sisters,

I am Won KIM voicing Pastor Caleb Soo Lee Chong. Shalom. We are now into the final segment on the topic of how we view work.

We have talked about work as not being a curse, but a blessing from the Almighty. This is because God gave Man the sacred mission of work before he sinned and wanted him to take care of the earth and rule over it.

Do you feel that work is a curse? If so, that’s because you have the wrong ideas about work. Work is an opportunity where we express the gifts and talents given to us from God. It also leads us to bring up others and allow them access to these blessings. The resulting service in our work would be totally different if we are very clear about this. We would be deeply motivated as such work maximizes our capabilities to draw benefits from these blessings and abilities from God.

Where Passion and Drive Comes From

Someone once asked Thomas Edison, “Don’t you feel exhausted working in the laboratory day in day out with little rest or sleep?” To everyone’s surprise, he said “I never did a day's work in my life; it was all fun.”

My point is this: Edison was saying that he became fully engaged in his work as he found great interest in it. When our work turns out to be dull and dreary, we become agonized and feel so stressed that we don’t feel like showing up for work. What a torture it must be! Hence, we must look for work that we find to be interesting and able to tap into our gifts from God. Imagine coaxing a bird to swim, a swine to sing or a dog to climb up a tree. They would not be jumping for joy, would they? Of course, not! Not that they are wired to perform these tasks! They would be the happiest animals around if they were!

When a person is working on his area of interest, his creativity would be fired up as a sense of achievement radiates from within, spreading its influence to others to work together in unseen ways. In his book “The Joy of Working”, the American motivational speaker, writer and consultant spoke of how passionate leaders inspire others at work. It would be difficult to stay aloof when your teammates are sizzling with a passion that is highly contagious. On the other hand, one would be shuffling his feet when everyone else is not even lukewarm to what is taking place.

The great American thinker Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” Simply put, you need to have fire in your belly if you want to get somewhere in your work. Doesn’t water needs to boil and get converted into steam before it can fire machines and engines into action? Similarly, one needs to have enthusiasm in his work too! I am thankful for God’s call to be a pastor. I can feel the overwhelming joy of being a pastor each time I brim over with enthusiasm. No, I have not felt it to be a burden at all. That I have found my purpose and meaning in this service injects tremendous joy in me, too!

Meaning and purposeful work shows the way ahead

The Bible says that work is not the result from a curse; rather it is a sacred mission from God. That being the case, we must get to the bottom of the true nature of its target and purpose of this hallowed mission and apply it as best as we can.

A story tells of a foreman asking his three bricklayers what they do at work. The first one replied, “I am laying bricks” while the second one said he was erecting a wall. The third one gave this answer, “I am building a beautiful mansion.” Needless to say, it is the third man’s response that stirs the heart. Such a person works whole-heartedly because he is clear on what he is working for. The meaning of his work lives in the role he plays towards realizing the magnificent mansion.

We see how purpose and meaning impart a sense of direction into one’s life: what one lives for, where one is heading, what one’s target is, and so on. All of these will provide her with the motivation to soldier on. She who lacks this driver would be frittering her life away with her “devil-may-care” attitude. 

The truth is that many wealthy people (including the 'rich second generation', a Chinese term for the children of the nouveau riche in China) and even well-known personalities out there are under medication, turned to drugs, hit the bottle or took their own lives. They have lost their bearings as they are unable to find their purpose in life. The 16^th Century French thinker Michel de Montaigne sized up the situation well when he said that a soul that fails to find a clear purpose in life would lose his way. Once again, we see how important it is for one to have a purpose in life.

It is exceedingly imperative for one to set up this purpose. Yale University conducted a longitudinal study lasting 20 years on their graduates, and found out that throughout this period, the wealth and career achievements of the three percent of these graduates with purposes set right from the start exceeds the total of the remaining 97% of graduates without such purposes in mind.

Guiding principles for the choice of career

Dear brothers and sisters, what should be our purpose when deciding on our career paths as Christians? We can examine this from three levels.

The first purpose of work for Christians is To Glorify God

In the Bible, in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 31 it says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

First and foremost, our purpose must be to glorify God. Just think about this: if you take up a job relating to the gambling industry, will this bring glory to God? Or, if we are not motivated in our work, loaf around, behave in an irresponsible manner, do you think that this will bear witness to God? The answers to all of these questions will be certainly in negative territory, as none of these can bring glory to God.

Honouring God is the ultimate purpose of our work. Regardless of what the nature of the work is or our working attitude may be, we are to satisfy this great teaching in the Bible. May we glorify Him, may people see the glory of God in us or in whatever we are doing!

The second purpose of work for Christians is to Bring up or benefit others

In the Bible in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 9 verses 8-11 it says: “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: they have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

And in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 23-24

23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

In addition to honouring God, work can also be used to express our purpose to show our love by serving our neighbours and building up other people around us. If the money we make can bring blessings to our family, lessen their burdens or share their loads, we would have edified them. If my work has made me wealthy, then I would use this wealth to support the poor and underfed as well as those who are orphaned and widowed, so that they can have access to education and training, and feed the hungry stomachs of the lonely and vagrant ones. Dear brothers and sisters, this is bringing blessing to others, and is of major importance.

Martin Luther once said, “All manner of work has been designed to complement one another in service” I serve you with what I do, my products will be of help to you; in the same manner, what you have made will meet my needs adequately. We are thus serving one another. If I am working in an organization that provides social care, I would be frequently serving my fellow countrymen and benefit these needy ones through these labours of mine. And that is how I am serving them.

John Calvin said when man was first created, he was to work for and seek the benefits of his fellow-men. Not just to benefit himself, but to help others for the benefit of one and all. Dear brothers and sisters, may I ask if your work honours God or edifies others? Does it bring blessings to others as a result?

The third purpose of work for Christians is to Benefit oneself

In the Bible in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 1-2 it says: “4 This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”

Later in the book of 1 Corinthians, in chapter 6 verse 12, it says: “12 ‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say—but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but I will not be mastered by anything.”

This third principle says that it benefits myself. This work brings benefits and joy to me; it allows me to get the most out of these gifts from God Himself. I find fun in such work and therefore enjoy doing it; it has produced in me a sense of satisfaction as well.

Happy is the worker who finds joy in what he is doing. Imagine someone putting on a long face at work that takes up more than 100,000 hours of one’s lifetime -- or about half the total number of hours in the awaking life of an adult. How can such a life be a happy one? Even so, why he is still working so hard at all?

In other words, making money is not the main purpose of our work.  If you like that job, you should show great passion and unquenchable vitality, even seeking at your own accord to excel and upgrade your quality of life through it. Hence, it is of utmost importance to take an interest in what you are doing. This would strengthen you and move your attention away from cares and worries, increase your income, because you have put yourself into it. That will, in turn, bring about more opportunities to move on to the next level.

Dear brothers and sisters, it is extremely important for us to draw benefits from our work. If I can be a loyal steward, do my job well, I would be on my way to bring up others and glorify God upon satisfying these basic conditions.  Thus, the main aim of work would be to glorify God and do good for our society. If we are able to grow up spiritually and ethically at a personal level along the way, that job would be most perfect and ideal.

Rest

Lastly, I would like to say that by the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so, on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

This is documented in the Bible in the book of Genesis chapter 2 verses 20-23. That is to say, it is not Man for work, but work for Man. Man needs to rest, remember God, His Creation and Salvation beside carrying out work. Since Man is the master of work, he does not come under its control – and neither is work his entire being for that matter. Thus, Man must rest. That is unambiguously put across when the bible states that God, too, rested from all his work. Taking a rest would invigorate us for our longer journey ahead. It keeps our bodies whole as it provides us with the faith to put our trust in God and pray to Him. Even if there is no income on account of this, it is a beautiful thing for us to come together to honour and worship Him as a church. May God give us the wisdom to preserve this in our hearts forever!

Let’s pray

Dear Heavenly Father, we are indeed most thankful to You for giving work to us as a blessing. Thus, we would be able to enjoy this gift, and exert it to its fullest. It would be a means for us to earn our keep, even to bless others, and glorify Your Holy Name. What a beautiful act this is! We pray that you will help us to find a suitable job that can honour you, bless others as well as benefitting ourselves at the same time. This is our prayer, O Lord. We pray for your Presence, that you may give us constant guidance so that work does not take control of us, but enable us to take control of it instead. Teach us to understand the significance of rest, put down our work to worship you and follow you. We pray in the Lord Jesus’ name, Amen!

Recommendations by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong

The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong are worthy books to edify disciples. In order to minimize differences in the qualities amongst Christians, our churches need to set up basic courses to address these issues. In turn, this will enable all disciples to incorporate their faith into their lives and allow changes to take place through renewal of minds. May God make use of these basic courses to edify more disciples to strengthen His soldiers and claim victory on His battle-ground!

The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” are suitable course materials for anyone who wish to acquire understanding of the Christian faith in a more comprehensive manner. The contents are easy to grasp and relate to the real world that we are living in. They are written with an eye for the man-in-the-street and explore how to make our faith come alive in our daily social interactions.

In particular, these are suitable if you  

1. are someone who wants to understand the Christian faith or,

2. are someone who has just accepted the Christian faith or,

3. have been a Christian for many years but still hungering for a firmer grounding in the faith or,

4. are a pastor or co-worker who plans to use these materials for teaching purposes.

If you need to take up learning or use these materials in a systematic manner, please us contact at this email address.： [email protected]