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October 18, 2007
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
Work as Witness, by Rubel Shelly
Centuries ago somebody began spreading the false idea that the
Christian life is to be understood in terms of two arenas -- sacred and
secular. Sacred places are church buildings. Sacred events are those
such as worship or baptism or weddings. Sacred people are preachers or
church officers.
The remainder of life was declared secular. So farms, stores, and
schools were secular places. Surgery and manufacturing, accounting and
teaching, driving and watching TV -- all were labeled secular. And
ordinary people doing the routine and humdrum things of shopping,
eating, and reading are secular.
But that is so terribly wrong. In God's plan for human existence, it
makes no sense. In light of Christ's teaching, work is witness.
I can grant that there is a sense of the sacred and holy in a church
assembled for worship that is missing from a crowded, noisy office.
But, work is sacred, too. It is holy by virtue of divine presence you
bring to it as a person filled with God's Spirit and participating in
God's creative work.
Work isn't an unspiritual curse!
Writing letters, hiring people, selling lumber, stocking shelves,
firing someone who broke company policy again, answering phones --
these and whatever other things you will be expected to do today are
not secular. They're not, that is, unless you misunderstand your role
in them. You and I are in the world to continue the work of God.
Creating. Improving. Empowering. Doing things that we and others will
look at and say are "good" or even "very good."
My appeal is not that we should become workaholics. Instead, it is that
we see ourselves as God sees us. We are extensions of his presence into
the nooks and crannies of the world. If Paul could tell slaves to do
their chores "with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women"
(Ephesians 6:5-8 NRS), surely some of us could take a more elevated
view of our tasks in the workplace.
Work isn't an unspiritual curse from which you should desire freedom in
order to visit retreats, seminars, and workshops on spiritual life. It
is your lab for turning lead to gold, humdrum to holy by the
Spirit-presence you take to life.
Your spiritual life won't be on hold as you work today. It will be on
display.
---------
(c) 2007 Used by permission. From Rubel Shelly's "FAX of Life"
printed each Tuesday. See Faith Matters for previous issues of
the "FAX of Life."
RELATED LINKS:
* The Miraculous Influence of a True Lighthouse
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200607/20060702_lighthouse.html
* Prayer Work
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200105/20010501_prayerwork.html
* An Honest Day's Work
http://www.heartlight.org/feature/sf_990721_honest.html
* RubelShelly.com
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200710/20071018_workaswitness.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
THE SECRET MESSAGE OF JESUS: UNCOVERING THE TRUTH THAT COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING, by Brian McLaren
Unafraid of controversy or the uncomfortable gray areas of life,
McLaren's quest is to find the essential message of Jesus' life - even
if it overturns our conventional ideas, priorities, and practices.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?253
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