Has your work become an idol?
I’m not suggesting you commissioned a giant golden statue in your backyard (I’m guessing your home owners’ association would frown on that). But as fallen human beings, you and I do have a propensity for making idols. An idol is anything we place our trust in or find our identity in outside of God himself. Idols are God replacements.
And our work can easily become one of these idols. We place our trust in our paycheck. We find our identity int he social status of our work. We define ourselves by what we do, how early we get to the office, how fast we clean out our inboxes, how many overtime hours we’re willing to put in, how our particular line of work makes us feel in comparison to others. We are tempted to try and define, fix, and even save ourselves through the work of our hands.
But the Gospel changes all of that!
When Jesus died on the cross, He cried “It is finished!” The Greek word is Tetelestai. Some scholars believe this was a business term, a word stamped on ancient receipts to mark them “paid in full.” I have this word framed and hanging over my desk in my office because I never want to forget that Jesus’ finished work is the foundation for my work.
We don’t work to make ourselves right with God. We don’t work to earn a name for ourselves. We don’t work to manufacture meaning in our life.
We work from the place of Jesus’ “It is finished.”
When my work is my idol, when my career is my identity, then it defines my worth, my value, my acceptance, my status, my pride, or maybe even my shame. But when the Gospel redeems my work, then my identity, my worth, and my status are ground eternally in Jesus Christ! Then my work, no matter what it may be, becomes a daily opportunity to honor God and love my neighbor. The Great Commandment.
We get the opportunity every day, in big and small ways, to worship God and love people through our jobs. What if we began to see our everyday work that way?
Season 1 of the Missional Marketplace podcast is now available in its entirety! This content was created to last, so please continue to listen, rate, and share with others. That goes a long way to helping us establish the podcast for future seasons. We are exploring some new ideas for Season 2 and will back with fresh content and conversations in the near future.
The Missional Marketplace Podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Anchor, and most other podcast platforms!
THIS WEEK ON THE WEBSITE:
PODCAST: Episode 12: The Currency of the Kingdom
VIDEO: Unreached People Groups in Your Own Backyard
ARTICLE: Women and Men – Together for the Gospel
Accelerating the Great Commission through the Marketplace,
Erik Cooper | The Stone Table
AVAILABLE NOW! The Missional Marketplace Podcast! Available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and most other podcast platforms!
Don’t forget to pick up your copy of Missional Marketplace: Finding Your Everyday Work in God’s Eternal Plan in your choice of print, e-book, or audiobook by clicking here!
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