(Holy) Workin' For A Livin'

There's a strange notion that many people have when it comes to what they consider "spiritual" activities as opposed to "non-spiritual."  This contrast has also been described as the difference between what is "secular" and what is "sacred."  

For example, going to church has often been classified as a "spiritual" or "sacred" activity, whereas meeting friends for dinner at the pub is described as "secular."  

Some people might take this farther and extend the descriptions to vocation.  Being a pastor, for instance, is considered by many people to be a sacred vocation, whereas being a businessperson is considered a secular one.  

I can't tell you how many times I've had conversations with people about their life of faith and they will say things to me like, "Well, I'm just a banker, not a pastor..." or "I'm only a stay at home mom, not a minister..."  

The great Christian mystic Thomas Merton once wrote, "You can tell more about a monk by the way he uses a broom than by anything he says."  The 16th-century reformer Martin Luther summed it like this:  "Even dirty and unpleasant work...is pure and holy work if it comes from a pure heart."  

For Luther and for Merton, even the most mundane of tasks was made holy by the intent and heart of the doer.  

We should embrace this idea wholeheartedly in all aspects of our life of following Jesus.  No matter what we do, we should do it with the notion that we are doing it for the glory of God.  

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Colosse about this very idea:  

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. (Col 3:17)

Today as you work--whatever your work might be--do it in the name of Jesus.  Whether you are cleaning your house, caring for an elderly parent, changing diapers, doing home repairs, going to a meeting, selling real estate, driving the kids to school or to dance class, or to summer camp... It is all holy work when you do it with what the Apostle Paul called "the mind of Christ."  

May you find ways today to see all your work, your vocation, your calling in life--as holy, and worthy of being done in the name of Jesus to the glory of God the Father.  May you discover worth and purpose you have never experienced in the mundane and even the exasperating aspects of the ordinary.  

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always.  Amen.

Counting it all Joy, Pastor Leon