On The Office there is a character named Angela – it’s apparent she’s a Christian. It’s not apparent through her sharing her faith or attending church, rather it’s because she’s so judgemental about certain things, the producers have drawn a caricature of a real phenomenon where many Christians don’t know how to reconcile work and their beliefs.
At its worst, this confusion can come out as prejudice, anger or manipulation. Or it can be inappropriate and insensitive attempts to convert everyone they work with.
Instead, sometimes Christians will withdraw. They can either quit working in their industry, feeling the only way to be true to their faith is to work at a Christian ministry. Or they might find a company where all their co-workers are Christian. Or, Christians might compartmentalize their lives and give up their beliefs Monday-Friday, and only live out their faith on Sundays.
Neither extreme is good. In one Christians withdraw from the world that God created. In the other, they see their contribution only as moral police and evangelists.
What if God is calling us to do good work in his world? What if God is calling us to be serving others and creating – not just in Christian ministries, but in industry, education, art, media, business, civil service and more?
How could you tell the difference between a Christian doing God’s work, then, and anyone else? What difference does being a Christian make? Clue in this short little bit of a Psalm, a kind of musical poetry in the Bible:
Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Psalm 127:1-1 ESV
We come back to foundations…something we looked at in last series. The image is of two subcontractors – say two carpenters, perhaps even working for the same general contractor. Or the second image: two soldiers guarding a base. They could both be in the same country, same regiment, same platoon. The difference is one works for God, and the other works for something else. You can imagine the possibilities, they could simply work for the company, dad, greed, comfort and security in life, ego, etc.
That kind of work, the Psalm says, is in vain. It’s an exercise in frustration.
When we think the world revolves around us, we can’t stop. Can’t rest. Up early, go go go, late to bed. Not because there’s something to be done, but something to be proven.
But the one who works for God first, and humans and himself second, does work with purpose – it’s not in vain. Most tellingly, it leads to the kind of satisfied rest in knowing you’ve done your part, and the world doesn’t revolve around you. “God gives his beloved sleep.”
We’ll explore tomorrow how work, of various kinds, can be “for God”.
Question: What kind of work have you done that felt like it was “in vain”? How did it feel useless?
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There is some teaching, especially when it's unoriginal and shallow, that you can take under advisement. You can simply say, "That’s interesting" and then move on with your life.
We read stuff like this all the time. Magazine articles. Newspaper. Blogs. Facebook posts. Some people are very skilled at rehashing other people’s research in entertaining and interesting ways.
I often read things that are of little value to me. They're just interesting, and not going to change my life.
I hope the Sermon on the Mount we've been studying is not that way for you.
We saw last week – hearing and living these words is like building upon a stone foundation for life. Hearing and ignoring these words is like building on a sand
foundation that washes away.
How you hear the Sermon on the Mount is like the difference between a wedding announcement and invitation.
With a wedding announcement in the newspaper or on Facebook, you say, "Oh, look, they’re getting married, how nice".
An invitation is quite different, since it has your name on it. It’s for you. We want you to come.
The Kingdom of heaven is often described as a party, and it would be a party with the most original, profound teacher ever at its centre. The very source of truth, wisdom is the attraction.
His way of life would now be the only reality. The kingdom he’s been describing, would be there in living colour.
He’s issued that invitation to you. Come to my kingdom, my celebration, my party. And this is not just a future reality, somewhere else. It’s something we are called to start practicing now, really living it out, to be ready for the full production .
Life on earth is meant to be a practice party, and you’re invited.
We're establishing a new church, or Christian community, in Ajax – and it will be built on the model of a party with Jesus at the center.
It will be like nothing you've ever experienced before. We're planning our first party for this fall.
Challenge: We're running a poll right now, that you can find in our app or here on our web site: http://bit.ly/15B2yry Tell us what kind of party you could RSVP to!
