Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am Won KIM voicing Pastor Caleb Soo Lee Chong. Shalom. Today, we’ll get into “Work View of the Disciple”.

There are people who take work as a place to seek refuge and devote themselves to it all day long. Others avoid and abhor work, and spend their time doing nothing. Some see work as a means towards success and wealth; others work just to pass their time…. All of these views are closely coupled to how they view work.

The reason why the average man works

Let us begin by discussing the reasons why the average person works. See if you can relate. The main reasons could be:

1. To make money, to have a better or more affluent life; to satisfy one’s vanity.
2. To feed the family. Money is needed to keep the entire family afloat.
3. To stretch one’s potential to its fullest. I can find a sense of achievements through the different gifts and talents from God in my work.
4. To pursue my interests. I cannot do anything outside my interests.
5. To give my parents comfort. I do not want to disappoint them and take me for a greedy and useless parasite.
6. To kill time. Some people work because they have too much time on their hands. At the same time, they feel that they can’t be glued to the TV screen chasing serials all the time either.
7. To serve others. They take part in volunteer work or activities to help the less privileged. Such work has a sheen of honour to it.

…or perhaps there are other reasons besides these.  Now, chew on this: what am I working for? Your motive will obviously have an influence on your moods and work performance.

Different work motives will lead to different results.

Dear brothers and sisters. Pore over why you are working and what your true motive is. I hope that revisiting this subject will benefit you. Just as ends have an influence on means, means too, can bring about their own impacts or consequences. Generally speaking, proper means are used to get to proper ends, which will bear you good fruit in time.

1. If you work with a view to chasing after greater pleasure, you will easily fall for temptations to seek promotions, pay rises and greater wealth. You will not spare any means to “get there” and in the process, trade away your relationships with God, family, colleagues and peers in the industry, as you bull-doze your way towards that singular target, brushing aside all else that is “not relevant”.
2. If you need the job to keep the entire family going as there is no other way out, you will find it dreary and run into frustration very soon. Seeking joy in work is totally out of the question; on the contrary, it is driving you to a dead end.
3. If you are working out of interest, you will naturally go for something that suits this criterion. You would be less picky about longer working hours and salary amount as you feel happier here. You will feel your life to be more exciting as you are realizing a healthier motive here.
4. Some people work to console and please their parents, and make them feel that their own children are doing something useful. Such workers would show up at their work stations as required, muck around their assignments with a devil-may-care attitude, and ... that’s it!
5. There would be no sense of commitment of an employee to his job if his purpose is just to kill time. He is not bothered by what his boss thinks of him, as he has little financial burden to worry about. If he is not too pleased with his boss or the duties assigned to him, he will call it quits at the snap of his fingers. Remember: he is here to kill time; making money is not his prime concern at all.
6. If he is motivated by a desire to serve others, that would be a noble motive to work towards. Such a person would enjoy what he is doing, and would find a deep sense of satisfaction in his engagement. He will be self-driven to show concern for and provide service to others, and would not be too fussy over what he is paid.

By the way, if you still have motives outside of those listed above, can you deliberate over what may result from such motives of yours? Should I be working past my retirement age?

Next, let’s look into this frequently asked question: should I be working past my retirement age? Some of us think that the golden years should be a season to relax and do nothing at home. The fact is this: work is a sacred gift from above and no one should cease to work. One has to do their job in their younger days, so it is when they are into their twilight years! However, the type of work would have to be different here. For instance, it would not be suitable for the elderly to perform hard labour, but they can switch to jobs involving charity and care for others. An elderly person who is not working tends to lose their self-confidence as time slips by, as they feel that they have outlived their usefulness. They may lose emotional control, and this may lead to various ailments. A way out would be for them to contribute in a meaningful way as they tap into their treasure trove of past experiences. That is why I said that no one should cease to work.

It is a common sight these days to see young parents leaving their kids in the care of their domestic helpers -- and the accompanying after-effects.  With such scaled-down parental involvement in their formative years, these vulnerable kids may, albeit unwittingly, adopt many of their traits and speak, talk and even behave like them as such mannerisms get picked up by the innocent charges. There is no intention on my part to run down these helpers here; they are indispensable as double income is needed to maintain the current standard of living.

The above situation makes part-time occupation and providing childcare at home all the more sacred. Martin Luther once said, “Household chores may not seem to be sacred by themselves. These tasks are more enviable than those performed by priests and nuns in that they have much to do with the family.” In other words, it is a sacred task.

An elderly person would be feeling most miserable indeed, if they are left with nothing to do after retirement. Perhaps they may have enjoyed a carefree life free from the hustle and bustle of the workplace for the first few months or so. As the “honeymoon” peters out with the passage of time, they would find it increasingly difficult to put up with such boredom any longer.

I know of an elderly man who had been working all of his life. When he hit 75 years of age, his boss handed a letter to him telling him that that was his last day of work. It was time for him to take a rest at home at this age. He became inconsolably disappointed and could not lift himself from the doom and gloom surrounding him and passed away a year later. His wife related to me how frustrated he felt with himself as he opened his eyes in the mornings with nothing to keep him busy. He slipped into depression and died a miserable death without being able to come out of it.

Thus, it is important for Man to do work; indeed, he should not cease doing so. There are tasks cut out for the elderly too! Helping to take care of the grandchildren at home is a great blessing by itself -- indeed a most sacred mission, and should not be sniffed at. On top of this, one can start looking into new areas of interest in preparation for retirement. Such can include healthy hobbies like gardening, fishing and going out to have fun with old friends. Maybe, you can consider volunteering your services to the poor and needy ones around us. It does not matter where these activities are carried out. You can also become a part of such meaningful social work carried out by Christian organizations by approaching them. That would be doing yourself a great favour.

Why is it difficult for the elderly to land a job?

Some older folks say, “It is not as if I did not try hard; no one wants me to work for him!” Why is it so difficult for the elderly to land a job? The people best positioned to answer this question are those who have been through such experiences or the bosses themselves. I, for one, can only say that part of the reason lies in the way these bosses do their sums.  It is known for a fact that the elderly comes with a load of experiences and have been drawing higher salaries. That could be a matter of major consideration here. On top of this, it would be easier for the younger employees to accept postings offered to them; they pick up new skills faster, too. These seniors would find it tougher to take instructions and/or comments, being more experienced--- or at least that is what they think themselves to be.

On the other hand, many seniors hope that they would be rewarded with salaries to match what they have been drawing in the past; otherwise, it would be seen as a loss of respect. Let’s face it: respect towards someone does not have be commensurate with the size of his paycheck. Let us be more proactive and say to the boss when we wish to go on working, “I would be happy to consider to carry on with you for a smaller salary.” That would be a win-win proposition, and may help you keep your employment.

Our God is always at His work

Work is sacred, whichever way we look at it. The Bible starts with a simple but clear message: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (This is from the book of Genesis chapter 1 verse 1). In the book of John chapter 5 verse 17, it reads, “...Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.’”

Dear brothers and sisters, these two biblical verses tell us our God is always at His work. He did not stop at Creation, but went on to protect and preserve all that He has created.

Our God is neither a principle nor a philosophy. Our God exists as or in three equally divine “Persons”, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is also full of activity. Not only did God carry out the work of Creation, he followed up to work on its care and preservation as well. With His Power, He holds this entire Creation together and ensures that everything in it moves according to the order as intended by Him. That is what Jesus meant when He said, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” He continues to work – His work of salvation, work of selection and work of protection and preservation.

O, Lord, we thank Thee! This is grace from God. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, work is sacred. May we continue to do this work. May it continue to be a gift from you, O merciful God, for then, we would work in happiness and joy. May God bless you all!

Let’s pray

Dear Heavenly Father,

We thank you for your blessings, because you have provided humanity with work right from the very beginning, so that we can express the potential that you have deposited within us right from the very beginning. And that we would be able to bless others through our work and make our lives healthier for it. This is a blessing. May You continue to lead us forward, O Lord, so that we may get to know the sacred nature of work that comes from You. Please teach us to respect and cherish the gift of work, and do it well. We pray in the holy name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 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]