Debbie and I participate in conversations about work life balance regularly. We each have unique perspectives on the topic – Debbie has always worked, even while raising (and homeschooling!!) four children. I am currently a stay at home mom but for the first seven years of my marriage I pursued a doctoral degree. Since graduating I have stayed home full time with our three children.
Regardless of what career you have or choose not to have, I think most of us, whether single, married, divorced, with or without children, struggle with whether we are making the right choices between people and work. While considering how to think about this biblically I realized the answer to the question “What should I do?” is really about heart attitudes and priorities.
The Bible commends working and not being idle or lazy. There are wayyy too many passages on this topic to list here (e.g: Prov 6:6-12; Prov 21:25; Prov 24:30-34) but we should remember that work is a good thing! God ordained work as one of the purposes of mankind (Genesis 1:28). Because of the fall, our work became harder (Genesis 3:16-19). However, in Christ our work has been redeemed. In Ephesians 2:10, Paul writes that we are created “for good works.” Later, in 1 Thessalonians 4:11 Paul reminds the Thessalonians that he commanded them to work, and later in 2 Thessalonians he rebukes those who are lazy, tells the church to stay away from them, and says if someone isn’t willing to work, they shouldn’t eat (2 Thess 3:10).
Biblically, how we work is just as important as the fact that we work and are not idle or lazy. First, we are to work for the Lord. Colossians 3:23-24 says that we are to do everything as for the Lord and not just to please people. Ultimately we are working to please our heavenly Father and not just to make our boss/customer/client/children happy. This profoundly shapes our attitude and disposition while working. Second, we are to work to serve others. Ephesians 4:28 says that the reason a man is to work is to share with others. “Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need.” Thus the purpose of our work mirrors the two greatest commandments – loving God and loving others.
You might be thinking “That’s nice, but how does this help me with my decision making?” The verses I cited above have several important implications for how we make decisions regarding our work. The first is that we have to honestly ask ourselves “For whom, or for what, am I working?” Our core purpose in working should be an outworking of our love for God. Therefore our answer to that question, at least in part, should involve obeying God and a desire to reflect Him in our work. If the answer is solely limited to a pursuit of wealth and pleasure, we have soul work to do. The Bible is very clear on where the pursuit of wealth for wealth’s sake leads (hint: it’s nowhere good (1 Tim 6:9-10)). The second implication is that we have to make room in our lives for others. After providing for our families, we need to use our resources, gifts, talents and jobs to serve others.
I’ve had to apply these principles in my own life as I have thought about my work choices. My husband and I founded a technology startup in 2015. At the beginning I naively thought it would take off right away but instead it has been a slow and steady road to success. As a result, I’ve often become frustrated and thought about looking for other work. I wholeheartedly believe the Bible gives me the freedom to work outside the home (see also Debbie’s post from last week) and that contributing to my family income is a good thing. However, I had to apply the principles we discussed above. First, what “good works” has God called me to? In my case, I am the primary caretaker of our children and I also play the role of our eldest daughter’s teacher by homeschooling her. Secondly, in pursuing work outside the home, am I doing it for the glory of God? For me, the answer was that those job searches were more motivated by a lack of trust in God and a frustration with the work He had called me to rather than a true desire to please Him. Thirdly, how would this additional work help or hinder my ability to serve others? This was ultimately why we decided that I should not look for work outside the home. We had what we needed financially and my pursuit of full time employment would limit my ability to adequately meet the needs of our children as well as to educate my oldest daughter. I expect that at some point we will enroll our children in a traditional school setting and I will work outside the home, but for now, this is the work I am called to. As you can see, the real world application of these principles can be complex!
Let us all prayerfully consider our work and ask ourselves are we serving God? Are we serving others? And let us all strive to run this race with endurance, “keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).