J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings, wrote a fictional story entitled “Leaf: by Niggle” that inspired the conversation of productivity in the workplace and allows us to see how the gospel ensures our work will have an impact in this age and in the age to come. Tolkien, a perfectionist dissatisfied …
Thank God It’s Monday: Renewal
Why does work have to feel so much like… work? Whether we are bagging groceries, taking care of children, cooking food, serving at church, or running a company, we find ourselves glancing over at the clock now and then to see how much longer until our shift is over. Is it Friday yet? And work can be hard and boring …
Thank God It’s Monday: Fall
Whether we love our jobs or love to be away from them, it’s safe to assume that humanity’s relationship with working is complicated. As we struggle and toil through the workweek, we can’t help but wonder why work feels the way that it does. The very thing we spend most of our lives doing, we often do as a means …
Thank God It’s Monday: Creation
In the beginning, God worked. And in that work, He created mankind and promptly told them to work. God created everything, including work, by working. When God created the universe, He showed us many traits that characterize who He is. We see His mighty power, where He created something out of nothing. We see His purpose, where He created everything for a …
Thank God It’s Monday: Overview
“For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” (1 Timothy 4:10 ESV) Fulfillment and frustration are both found in our vocations. If we’ve worked long enough, we have discovered that we typically experience the latter more often than …
Work Cursed and Redeemed
Editor’s note: This is the third of four articles by Bob Thune on “A Theology of Work.” Read the first two articles: What Are You Called to Do? Created for Work Work is what we were created for. It is part of God’s good design. But when sin entered the picture, work was cursed. Then to Adam [God] said . …
Created for Work
Editor’s note: This is the second of four articles by Bob Thune on “A Theology of Work.” Read the first article, “What Are You Called to Do?” To straighten out our malformed theology of work, we need to go all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and …
What Are You Called to Do? A Theology of Work
A friend of mine left a well-paying job to join the staff of a Christian ministry. She described her decision something like this: “Working a normal job, I had to spend 40 or 50 hours a week doing what my employer wants. Ministry had to come second. But now, I’ll be free to devote all my time to God and …