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| 22 Nov 2011 Planning the Curriculum for a New Medical School |
'Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don't know if profit will come from one activity or another - or maybe both' Ecclesiastes 11:3-6 (NLT)
A familiar hymn 'Behold Us Lord A Little Space' extols the relationship between work and worship, particularly this stanza:
Work shall be prayer, if all be wrought
as You would have it done;
And prayer, by You inspired and taught,
shall then with work be one.
I have worked for 47 years and I have always treated careers and tasks as part of Christian service. That work and worship are inseparable was also the view of Martin Luther the reformer, "Every occupation has its own honour before God. Ordinary work is a divine vocation or calling. In our daily work no matter how important or mundane, we serve God by serving the neighbour and we participate in God's ongoing providence for the human race." Martin Luther dignified all work, even the most menial and unsavory. He described work as the place to serve God and people.
In more modern times, Martin Luther King also expounded the sanctity of work. He said, “No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. Whatever your life’s work is, do it well.”
Recently in a newsletter, Lam Kok Hiang, Leadership Mentor for Campus Crusade for Christ in Singapore, wrote, "Steward well what has been entrusted to us. We reap what we sow. We must be diligent in our assigned roles and responsibilities. When we steward well what God has entrusted to us and spend each day wisely, we can rest assured that He will bless and establish the work of our hands, for His glory."
Apichai Chenrungrotsakun, fondly known as Loong, introduced me to the Hebrew word Avodah (עֲבוֹדָה). Do you know that in the Bible the English translated work, worship and service all originated from one Hebrew word, Avodah? For example,
“Then man goes out to his work (avodah), to his labor until evening.” – Psalm 104:23
“This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship (avodah) me.” – Exodus 8:1
“But as for me and my household, we will serve (avodah) the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15
Using Avodah, William Perkins puts it altogether, "The main end of our lives…is to serve God (worship) in the serving of men (service) in the works of our calling (work)." Our work, our service and our worship are all intertwined because it is all part of living our lives devoted to Christ Jesus. And St Paul summed up,
There is no separation between the spiritual and the secular. Every moment, every hour, everyday we are living for Christ, whether we are missionaries or plumbers, doctors or gardeners we are working and serving God and treating every action as an act of worship. This changes everything, no task in life is too hard and or too menial.
John Wesley had this to say about Christian industry, "Use all possible diligence in your calling. Lose no time. If you understand yourself and your relation to God and man . . .If you understand your particular calling as you ought, you will have no time that hangs upon your hands. . . . Never leave anything till tomorrow, which you can do to-day. And do it as well as possible. Do not sleep or yawn over it: Put your whole strength to the work. Spare no pains. . . ." (Ref 1)
Minister Lawrence Wong, Singapore's Finance Minister and the designated next Prime Minister said, "I suppose in the Methodist tradition, you would say your work is your worship, right? You don't delink faith from day to day. Whatever you do on a day-to-day basis, if you do it well, if you take responsibility, that in itself is a testimony of how you as a person are an example, you know, a light for the world." (Ref 2)
Jesus Christ worked to do the will of His Father with a single minded purpose and mission, He said 'Work for the Night is Coming,'
Work for the night is coming
Work thru the morning hours;
Work while the dew is sparkling,
Work ‘mid springing flow’rs.
Work when the day grows brighter,
Work in the glowing sun;
Work, for the night is coming,
When man’s work is done.
Work, for the night is coming,
Work thru the sunny noon;
Fill brightest hours with labor –
Rest comes sure and soon.
Give ev’ry flying minute
Something to keep in store;
Work, for the night is coming,
When man works no more.
Work, for the night is coming,
Under the sunset skies;
While their bright tints are glowing,
Work, for daylight flies.
Work till the last beam fadeth,
Fadeth to shine no more;
Work, while the night is dark’ning,
When man’s work is o’er.
President Ronald Reagan once quipped, "There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit."
'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working to the Lord, not for human masters.' Col 3:23
Lionel
Ref 1: Christian History Institute, Christian History, Issue 110, 2014
Ref 2: The Straits Times, Lunch with Sumiko, 1 Nov 2020
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