WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:05.960 Well, again, let me say welcome to all of you, and in particular those of you who may 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:07.240 be joining us for the first time. 00:00:07.780 --> 00:00:10.339 We're glad to gather here as we do every week. 00:00:11.179 --> 00:00:16.019 We're glad for this time in the service when we can turn our attention to God's Word. 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:22.539 We've been in a series over the last few weeks called Foundations, where we've been asking 00:00:22.539 --> 00:00:30.480 foundational questions about what it means to be human beings, how to make sense of 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:35.640 the world that we live in, and ultimately how to understand the God who made all of this. 00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:41.719 The idea being that if we understand how things were made and why they were made, then we'll 00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:46.519 know how to make sense of them today, including all of the various aspects of our lives. 00:00:46.520 --> 00:00:56.680 And so last week we started looking at this rhythm that God establishes in creation, and 00:00:56.680 --> 00:00:59.620 this rhythm is a part of what it means to be human. 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:05.680 It's a part of our design to live out this rhythm, and that is the rhythm of rest and work, Sabbath 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:08.020 rest and work. 00:01:08.019 --> 00:01:16.799 And as we said last week, working all of the time dehumanizes us. 00:01:17.299 --> 00:01:18.420 It's dehumanizing. 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:24.579 And working none of the time, never working, also dehumanizes us. 00:01:25.179 --> 00:01:30.259 That what we see in creation is that we were created for a rhythm of both rest and work. 00:01:30.539 --> 00:01:35.299 And last week we took a look at the first part of this, Sabbath rest, and this week we're 00:01:35.299 --> 00:01:38.739 looking at the second component, which is our work. 00:01:39.799 --> 00:01:44.439 And for most of us here in D.C., when I bring up work, I think I don't have to convince you 00:01:44.439 --> 00:01:48.979 that work is absolutely central to our lives. 00:01:49.019 --> 00:01:52.159 It is central to how we organize our time. 00:01:52.579 --> 00:01:55.679 It's central to how we think of our identities. 00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:04.140 I think we probably, if we're honest, spend more time working or thinking about work than 00:02:04.140 --> 00:02:06.000 virtually anything else. 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:10.620 One of the curses that we all seem to have fallen under is that when we are at work, we 00:02:10.620 --> 00:02:12.300 are thinking about everything but work. 00:02:12.379 --> 00:02:15.800 And when we're away from work, we're thinking about nothing but work. 00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:19.939 It's almost perverse, and yet I think this is true for all of us. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:25.219 I think we said last week that the Washington Post said this year that we are, Washington, 00:02:25.340 --> 00:02:32.139 D.C., rather, that we have the second highest average work week, the second longest average 00:02:32.139 --> 00:02:35.119 work week of any city in the United States. 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:39.399 That's pretty impressive, depending on your scale of impressiveness. 00:02:39.939 --> 00:02:45.479 I think most of us, if we're honest, work pretty much determines everything else about 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:45.919 our lives. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:47.319 It determines our relationships. 00:02:48.359 --> 00:02:49.639 It determines our priorities. 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:54.639 I think for most of us, work is what brought us to D.C., and for those of us who leave, it 00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:59.419 will probably be work or something work-related that takes us away. 00:02:59.419 --> 00:03:07.719 So I think it's obvious that we need to reevaluate on a major level our relationship with our 00:03:07.719 --> 00:03:08.199 work. 00:03:08.399 --> 00:03:10.759 And this starts by asking, what's the foundation? 00:03:11.639 --> 00:03:14.579 How should we think about our jobs, our vocation? 00:03:14.699 --> 00:03:17.399 What does our work have to do with being human? 00:03:17.819 --> 00:03:19.919 And that's why we're looking at Genesis chapter 2. 00:03:20.019 --> 00:03:21.859 We're looking at two verses in particular. 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:26.560 Chapter 2, verse 5, and then we'll skip down and look at verse 15. 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:28.460 So I'll read those two verses. 00:03:30.219 --> 00:03:34.420 When no bush of the field was yet in the land, and no small plant of the field had yet sprung 00:03:34.420 --> 00:03:39.420 up, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to 00:03:39.420 --> 00:03:40.400 work the ground. 00:03:41.860 --> 00:03:42.900 We'll stop right there. 00:03:42.980 --> 00:03:44.219 We'll move down to verse 15. 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:50.099 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work and to keep it. 00:03:50.099 --> 00:03:56.340 So we're going to look at these two verses, and we're going to see three things about 00:03:56.340 --> 00:03:56.759 our work. 00:03:56.840 --> 00:03:58.379 We're going to see the necessity of work. 00:03:58.859 --> 00:04:01.379 We're going to see the distortion of work. 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:03.819 How does it become so distorted? 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:07.699 And then lastly, the rebalancing of our work. 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:12.419 So the necessity of work, the distortion of work, and the rebalancing of work in our lives, 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:13.139 how that happens. 00:04:13.699 --> 00:04:14.319 Let's pray. 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:21.219 Lord, we do thank you and recognize that you not only promise your presence, but you 00:04:21.219 --> 00:04:22.099 promise your voice. 00:04:23.939 --> 00:04:30.500 And we know that apart from you, these would be merely human words, interpreting words 00:04:30.500 --> 00:04:38.399 on a page, but that through your Spirit, you actually speak through your Word to us. 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:44.159 And, Lord, I know I need to hear from you tonight, and we all need to hear from you tonight, and 00:04:44.159 --> 00:04:48.539 we pray that by your grace we would, for our good and ultimately for your glory. 00:04:48.779 --> 00:04:50.000 In your Son's name, amen. 00:04:51.399 --> 00:04:56.279 So first of all, as we look at these passages, we see the necessity of work, that work is actually 00:04:56.279 --> 00:05:01.679 a necessary component of a healthy life and what it means to be a human being. 00:05:02.799 --> 00:05:06.739 Essentially, we see this, that in the beginning there was work. 00:05:06.740 --> 00:05:11.639 If you look at the story of creation, we see, first of all, God going to work. 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:13.519 And we've looked at this in previous weeks. 00:05:13.620 --> 00:05:16.400 We see God going to work precisely by what? 00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:24.920 He encounters chaos and void, in other words, undifferentiated matter, and He goes to work. 00:05:25.540 --> 00:05:28.600 And He begins to order the chaos. 00:05:28.840 --> 00:05:30.220 He begins to bring order. 00:05:30.379 --> 00:05:33.920 He creates the light and separates it from the dark, day and night. 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:41.480 He creates the expanse above, the waters above and the waters below and an expanse in between. 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:44.699 And then He creates the land and separates it from the sea. 00:05:44.860 --> 00:05:46.819 And we see God ordering creation. 00:05:48.460 --> 00:05:56.759 And the fruit of God's labor is that chaos and death and meaninglessness becomes a cosmos. 00:05:56.759 --> 00:06:03.819 We see domains established where life can not only exist, but it can flourish. 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:09.300 Ideal conditions for the flourishing of all manner of life. 00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:11.399 This is the work that God's doing. 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:19.360 And we see here that God is in some ways the ultimate entrepreneur, creating something that 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:20.399 wasn't there before. 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:22.039 He's in the business of creation. 00:06:22.040 --> 00:06:29.400 But then very quickly in Genesis chapter 2 verse 5, the first problem arises in creation. 00:06:30.340 --> 00:06:32.060 And that problem is in verse 5. 00:06:32.340 --> 00:06:33.260 Everything's in place. 00:06:33.379 --> 00:06:34.040 Everything's good. 00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:35.320 Everything's been pronounced good. 00:06:35.460 --> 00:06:38.560 And yet, there is no one to work the ground. 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:40.360 That's a problem. 00:06:41.580 --> 00:06:44.460 And we need to understand the significance of this. 00:06:44.459 --> 00:06:52.019 That the story actually begins by God creating and ordering a world that is by definition unfinished. 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:55.060 It's by definition incomplete. 00:06:56.519 --> 00:07:00.759 See, He could have created the world as a complete thing. 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:05.859 But He chooses to create a world that is full of potential. 00:07:05.860 --> 00:07:12.060 But that potential, the stuff of creation, is only in seed form. 00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:12.939 It's an acorn. 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:16.300 And it needs to be cultivated. 00:07:16.780 --> 00:07:18.280 It needs to be built. 00:07:18.500 --> 00:07:24.759 It needs to grow into the fullness of what it was created to be. 00:07:24.900 --> 00:07:29.780 And for that, God creates human beings. 00:07:29.779 --> 00:07:36.619 And that's a fascinating departure from the other ancient Near Eastern myths. 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:46.959 Which essentially state that the gods, normally through violence, slitting the throats of other gods and filleting their corpses and slinging them into the sky. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:49.179 That's a Numa Elish. 00:07:49.180 --> 00:07:59.280 And the gods are, you know, work is so far beneath them that they need someone to uphold and to maintain this. 00:07:59.379 --> 00:08:04.780 And so, human beings, these lowly creatures are created to sort of, because gods would never work. 00:08:06.019 --> 00:08:11.120 Or we see the Greek and Roman philosophers abhorring the idea of work and saying, 00:08:11.240 --> 00:08:13.399 you should do whatever you can to not work. 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:20.479 Because it's all about the richness of the mind and the cultivation of the mind and labor, special menial labor. 00:08:20.620 --> 00:08:22.219 That's below you. 00:08:23.539 --> 00:08:29.879 And yet we see here that God is actually doing work, and then he's creating human beings to continue the same kind of work. 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:36.199 This work of creating and cultivating and actualizing the potential of the world that he's made. 00:08:36.200 --> 00:08:43.440 And this, I think, not only departs from the ancient stories, it departs from our modern myth of a happy life. 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:49.920 Most people I went to school with said, I want to go to school, I want to make a lot of money, I want to retire as soon as I can. 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:53.220 And the goal of all this is so that I can not work. 00:08:54.800 --> 00:08:58.460 You know, retire as early as you can so that you can do everything that you want to do. 00:08:58.560 --> 00:09:01.920 The assumption being nobody in their right mind would actually want to work. 00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:06.539 And there's a funny insight, I've always loved that movie WALL-E, 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:13.620 and the statement that it makes, or rather the picture that it paints of what human beings would look like 00:09:13.620 --> 00:09:18.679 if we took a permanent hiatus from work for multiple generations. 00:09:18.979 --> 00:09:27.519 These humans have, I won't say evolved, devolved into slug-like creatures that have tiny little baby arms and legs, 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:33.460 and they can no longer stand on their own strength, and so they're carried around all day on floating chairs. 00:09:34.860 --> 00:09:41.519 And one of the great victories of the movie is when the captain is actually able to stand up on his own two feet, 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:44.679 more physical exertion than he's probably ever done in his life. 00:09:44.679 --> 00:09:55.099 So human beings are actually created to work, and the Bible actually says that God made us and this world in such a way that our work is necessary. 00:09:55.459 --> 00:09:57.120 It's necessary for us. 00:09:58.959 --> 00:10:03.799 Work is as much a part of your basic human needs as food or sleep. 00:10:05.899 --> 00:10:07.699 You're created to need work. 00:10:07.700 --> 00:10:14.180 So we need it, and also the work is necessary for the world, because God made a world that needs our care. 00:10:14.379 --> 00:10:17.660 It needs to be developed and maintained by human beings. 00:10:17.740 --> 00:10:19.560 So this is the way God designed things. 00:10:20.400 --> 00:10:27.620 But, as you're probably thinking, this is not exactly the beautiful, harmonious way in which the world actually functions today. 00:10:27.620 --> 00:10:28.340 And you're right. 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:35.780 God created things to function this way, but things have become, you might say, a bit distorted. 00:10:35.779 --> 00:10:38.839 Our work has become distorted. 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:46.720 We just looked at how work was created to be, but that assumes that human beings have a right relationship with God. 00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:51.919 And if human beings did, then this is how work would function in the world. 00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:56.079 But the problem is, human beings on their own don't have a right relationship with God. 00:10:58.159 --> 00:10:59.579 And here's the simple fact. 00:10:59.580 --> 00:11:06.360 When your relationship with God is distorted, all of your other relationships become distorted. 00:11:06.520 --> 00:11:08.240 It's just simply the way it works. 00:11:08.360 --> 00:11:14.580 The distortion flows into every other area of life, including our relationship with our work. 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:18.800 And apart from God, there are two primary ways, I think, that our work becomes distorted. 00:11:19.240 --> 00:11:23.320 It becomes distorted when we believe, or we come to believe more and more, that our work is meaningless. 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:25.120 That's a distortion. 00:11:25.940 --> 00:11:26.879 Apart from God. 00:11:27.160 --> 00:11:33.000 And also, apart from God, I think that some of us can tend toward the distortion of thinking that our work is a source of meaning. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:35.280 So I want to look at both of these. 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:40.220 I think these are two of the primary distortions that affect most of us in how we think about our jobs. 00:11:41.060 --> 00:11:45.379 The first distortion, apart from God, is that we believe that our work is meaningless. 00:11:45.379 --> 00:11:51.740 I think some of us, as we're listening to this and maybe rolling your eyes and thinking, oh, all this talk about work, 00:11:51.820 --> 00:11:56.019 and the last thing I want to do on a Sunday night in my last few precious hours, 00:11:56.580 --> 00:11:59.799 before I go to sleep and have to wake up earlier than I would like and go to work, 00:12:00.200 --> 00:12:02.519 the last thing I want to do is think about work. 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:03.500 And why do you think that? 00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:07.860 Because when you go to work, you think, you look at all of the work that you do, 00:12:07.960 --> 00:12:10.620 you look at the fact that you're sitting behind a desk all day, 00:12:10.679 --> 00:12:14.000 maybe answering emails, and maybe they're not even your own emails. 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:16.620 Maybe it's somebody else's emails. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:19.539 Or you're a part of this massive bureaucracy, 00:12:20.179 --> 00:12:25.840 and you look at the labor that you pour in, and it feels like water on sand, 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:30.159 and you think, I'm not making any difference, any dent, any impact. 00:12:30.500 --> 00:12:32.139 My boss doesn't even know my name. 00:12:32.419 --> 00:12:33.159 I feel like a number. 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:39.000 And some of us think this, and some of us feel meaningless in our jobs. 00:12:39.139 --> 00:12:41.440 We struggle to be motivated. 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:43.740 And, you know, when you feel like that, 00:12:43.880 --> 00:12:48.520 it's tempting to begin to fantasize about other jobs that would give you more meaning. 00:12:49.980 --> 00:12:56.680 It's tempting to begin to think about jobs in terms of the relative meaningfulness 00:12:56.680 --> 00:12:58.040 that they might offer you. 00:12:58.100 --> 00:13:01.780 You may think of certain jobs as being more meaningful, 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:04.600 and other jobs as being less meaningful, 00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:07.800 whether you think of sacred versus secular jobs, 00:13:07.899 --> 00:13:09.639 or you think of helping professions, 00:13:09.820 --> 00:13:12.379 or you think of nonprofit versus for-profit, 00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:18.019 or all of the different, I would say, artificial divisions in vocation 00:13:18.019 --> 00:13:19.659 in terms of meaningfulness, 00:13:19.659 --> 00:13:21.159 but we begin to think that way. 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:24.700 But here's the key as we understand creation. 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:26.460 All work has meaning, 00:13:26.460 --> 00:13:29.480 and all work has dignity. 00:13:31.160 --> 00:13:32.440 But here's the key. 00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:36.180 It's your work does not have meaning because of what you produce. 00:13:38.740 --> 00:13:40.379 What you produce has value, 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:43.639 and hopefully it's adding value somewhere, 00:13:43.980 --> 00:13:47.860 but that's not the source of the meaningfulness of your work. 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:50.379 Your work doesn't have meaning because of what it produces. 00:13:50.379 --> 00:13:53.299 It has meaning because of the one whom it reflects. 00:13:55.240 --> 00:13:56.779 That's where the meaning come from. 00:13:57.500 --> 00:14:01.899 So our work reflects a God who made all things and sustains all things, 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:04.340 and a God who made us to reflect His image 00:14:04.340 --> 00:14:08.820 in the sustaining, the cultivating, the creating out of what He's made. 00:14:09.659 --> 00:14:11.960 So just as we see God bringing order to chaos, 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:13.820 making it possible for life to flourish, 00:14:14.100 --> 00:14:16.100 we continue in the work of what? 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:17.360 Bringing order to chaos. 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:21.620 So those of you who work in NGO worlds, 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:23.039 or in non-profit, 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:25.340 or international development spheres, 00:14:25.620 --> 00:14:27.080 those of you who do that kind of work, 00:14:27.180 --> 00:14:30.360 you are trying to get resources 00:14:30.899 --> 00:14:32.419 from this place to this place. 00:14:32.500 --> 00:14:34.779 You're looking and trying to understand the problems 00:14:34.779 --> 00:14:37.480 that result in poverty and oppression, 00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:40.220 and you're trying to funnel resources 00:14:40.220 --> 00:14:42.039 and to develop strategies to what? 00:14:42.680 --> 00:14:44.139 To bring order to chaos. 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:46.940 You're bringing order to chaos. 00:14:46.940 --> 00:14:49.680 You're trying to create a society 00:14:49.680 --> 00:14:51.160 or to create a community 00:14:51.160 --> 00:14:53.680 where life can flourish better than it is. 00:14:54.180 --> 00:14:55.620 If you start a business, 00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:58.440 or you code and you build software, 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:02.620 or you develop strategies and different ways of thinking, 00:15:03.100 --> 00:15:04.860 you're taking the stuff of creation, 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:07.480 and you're making something that wasn't there before. 00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:10.860 You're reflecting the image of a creator God. 00:15:11.160 --> 00:15:12.740 When you do that, you say, 00:15:12.820 --> 00:15:14.200 well, I build websites. 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:15.340 That's an act of creation? 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:15.720 Yes. 00:15:16.460 --> 00:15:17.680 That's an act of creation. 00:15:19.040 --> 00:15:21.840 If you manage people or you manage teams, 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:25.420 you're bringing order to priorities 00:15:25.420 --> 00:15:28.320 and people to maximize and draw out their potential. 00:15:28.640 --> 00:15:29.520 If you teach, 00:15:30.540 --> 00:15:32.860 teachers, their whole job is to cultivate 00:15:32.860 --> 00:15:35.259 like you would cultivate a garden 00:15:35.259 --> 00:15:38.020 and to draw the potential out of their students. 00:15:38.019 --> 00:15:42.699 musicians take disparate, disordered sound 00:15:42.699 --> 00:15:46.100 and they bring order and produce beautiful melody. 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:48.699 Artists take disparate stuff 00:15:48.699 --> 00:15:51.340 and they order it and create beautiful things 00:15:51.340 --> 00:15:53.100 like paintings and sculptures. 00:15:53.340 --> 00:15:56.179 People who work in hospitality or customer service 00:15:56.179 --> 00:15:57.179 create what? 00:15:57.559 --> 00:15:58.120 Experiences. 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:01.500 You create encounters. 00:16:01.700 --> 00:16:03.519 You have the opportunity to serve 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:05.720 and to treat another human being 00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:07.460 with humanizing dignity 00:16:07.460 --> 00:16:08.639 even when they're behaving 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:11.259 in an undignified way. 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:16.240 People who are administrative assistants 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:18.779 serve and empower those that they work for. 00:16:19.940 --> 00:16:21.279 You bring order to details. 00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:22.539 You bring order to emails. 00:16:22.740 --> 00:16:23.840 You bring order to schedules. 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:26.899 You facilitate relationships and connections 00:16:26.899 --> 00:16:28.500 and enhance productivity. 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:30.800 You're like the fertilizer 00:16:30.800 --> 00:16:34.200 that makes everybody else do their job better. 00:16:35.660 --> 00:16:36.259 Right? 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:39.240 I actually believe that stay-at-home parents 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:41.820 and homemakers are probably the clearest reflection 00:16:41.820 --> 00:16:42.800 of the divine image 00:16:42.800 --> 00:16:45.100 in that they are actually creating 00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:47.360 and maintaining a place where life can flourish, 00:16:47.460 --> 00:16:47.960 a home. 00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:51.040 They're nurturing and sustaining human life 00:16:51.040 --> 00:16:51.940 for those who have children. 00:16:51.940 --> 00:16:53.920 They're forming the souls 00:16:53.920 --> 00:16:56.600 and the characters of human beings. 00:16:57.320 --> 00:16:59.040 All of these kinds of work, 00:16:59.100 --> 00:16:59.920 and these are just tiny, 00:17:00.060 --> 00:17:01.200 just a few examples, 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:03.260 they're all ways in which we, 00:17:03.380 --> 00:17:03.780 in our work, 00:17:03.860 --> 00:17:05.920 are reflecting a creator God. 00:17:06.840 --> 00:17:08.400 But the key to sensing 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:10.320 and seeing the meaning in your work, 00:17:11.259 --> 00:17:12.220 the key is this, 00:17:12.340 --> 00:17:14.880 don't measure meaning by what you produce. 00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:18.740 Measure meaning by the one whom you reflect. 00:17:18.740 --> 00:17:22.120 Don't measure meaning by what you produce. 00:17:23.180 --> 00:17:25.019 Measure meaning by the one whom you reflect. 00:17:25.259 --> 00:17:26.120 In a fallen world, 00:17:26.180 --> 00:17:27.220 as Genesis 3 says, 00:17:27.299 --> 00:17:29.319 there will be thorns and thiscerals. 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:30.839 There will be futility. 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:32.220 There will be resistance. 00:17:32.500 --> 00:17:34.720 There will be days and stretches of time 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:36.120 when our productivity is very low 00:17:36.120 --> 00:17:37.299 or even in the negative. 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:40.180 Don't measure it by that. 00:17:40.279 --> 00:17:42.519 Measure it by the one whom you reflect 00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:44.779 when you're working in the image 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:46.400 of Him who made you. 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:49.620 So that's distortion number one, 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:52.200 coming to believe, apart from God, 00:17:52.300 --> 00:17:54.480 that my work has no meaning. 00:17:56.040 --> 00:17:57.300 All work has meaning. 00:17:57.660 --> 00:17:58.620 Distortion number two 00:17:58.620 --> 00:17:59.660 goes in the other direction, 00:17:59.800 --> 00:18:00.540 believing that our work 00:18:00.540 --> 00:18:02.380 is actually the source of meaning. 00:18:03.100 --> 00:18:04.240 My work gives me meaning. 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:05.519 It gives me identity. 00:18:05.720 --> 00:18:06.920 And this, in D.C., 00:18:06.920 --> 00:18:08.700 when the first or second question you're asked 00:18:08.700 --> 00:18:09.759 is what do you do, 00:18:09.840 --> 00:18:11.259 there is that immediate assumption 00:18:11.259 --> 00:18:13.220 that the most important thing about you, 00:18:13.300 --> 00:18:14.700 maybe even more so than your name, 00:18:14.700 --> 00:18:15.580 is your career. 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:18.940 Are you somebody that I should be talking to? 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:21.640 Or should I excuse myself 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:22.740 to get another drink from the bar 00:18:22.740 --> 00:18:24.780 and find somebody more important? 00:18:24.940 --> 00:18:27.540 What you do defines who you are in our culture. 00:18:28.460 --> 00:18:30.440 You know, there's that great, often used, 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:33.120 but never overused example, in my opinion, 00:18:33.460 --> 00:18:34.420 of chariots of fire. 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:37.120 And Harold Abraham, 00:18:37.280 --> 00:18:39.000 you've heard many preachers, including me, 00:18:39.040 --> 00:18:40.380 use this a zillion times, 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:41.759 and it's because it's a great example. 00:18:42.580 --> 00:18:44.140 Harold, that's the disclaimer, 00:18:44.140 --> 00:18:46.600 Harold Abraham is a runner. 00:18:46.759 --> 00:18:48.400 He and Eric Little are sort of rivals. 00:18:49.320 --> 00:18:50.759 And Harold Abraham is, 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:52.960 he runs the dash, 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:55.480 and he says of the dash, 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:58.880 he says that when that gun goes off, 00:18:58.940 --> 00:18:59.240 he says, 00:18:59.340 --> 00:19:02.520 I have ten seconds to justify my existence. 00:19:02.519 --> 00:19:05.740 And I think it's a great example 00:19:05.740 --> 00:19:07.299 because I do think that in many ways 00:19:07.299 --> 00:19:08.940 that reflects the distortion 00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:11.799 that occurs in our hearts over time. 00:19:13.160 --> 00:19:15.579 That my ability to do this thing 00:19:15.579 --> 00:19:17.000 justifies my existence. 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:19.019 If I'm not able to do this thing, 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:20.639 then what am I? 00:19:22.099 --> 00:19:24.480 You know, especially people in the helping professions. 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:25.920 You get all these degrees 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:27.440 and all these credentials that say, 00:19:27.539 --> 00:19:28.839 this person's good at helping. 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:32.039 And then you get a job in social work. 00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:34.379 And you try to help people. 00:19:35.379 --> 00:19:37.259 And you realize how hard it is. 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:38.279 And you realize that a lot of times 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:39.399 people don't appreciate you. 00:19:39.419 --> 00:19:40.339 And they actually resent 00:19:40.339 --> 00:19:42.720 that they even need help. 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:44.639 And you give what you think is great advice, 00:19:44.839 --> 00:19:45.579 learned advice, 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:47.679 advice that you've read in books 00:19:47.679 --> 00:19:49.359 and learned from prior experience 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:50.439 of what would be good 00:19:50.439 --> 00:19:51.379 in this or that situation. 00:19:51.500 --> 00:19:53.599 And they reject your advice. 00:19:53.659 --> 00:19:54.559 How dare they? 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:58.579 And you think, well, 00:19:59.619 --> 00:20:01.859 what worth am I? 00:20:03.779 --> 00:20:05.519 So we sacrifice our relationships. 00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:06.700 We sacrifice sanity. 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:08.679 We sacrifice our own health for our work. 00:20:09.019 --> 00:20:09.980 We're never content. 00:20:10.119 --> 00:20:12.039 We're always wondering about other jobs 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:15.119 that might do a better job at justifying us. 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:16.940 Many of us wait, 00:20:17.019 --> 00:20:17.859 many of us wait 00:20:17.859 --> 00:20:19.480 to even think about getting married. 00:20:19.480 --> 00:20:22.519 You wait to even think about getting married 00:20:22.519 --> 00:20:24.960 until our career is secure. 00:20:25.900 --> 00:20:27.120 And then we begin to look around 00:20:27.120 --> 00:20:28.380 and realize that the pool 00:20:28.380 --> 00:20:30.819 of eligible partners 00:20:30.819 --> 00:20:33.860 has dwindled somewhat since undergrad. 00:20:34.380 --> 00:20:36.539 And we wonder, what happened? 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:38.940 You know, for those of us 00:20:38.940 --> 00:20:41.339 who are unemployed or underemployed, 00:20:41.620 --> 00:20:45.099 you struggle not just with a lack of income, 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:46.700 you struggle with a lack of identity. 00:20:46.700 --> 00:20:50.080 But the problem is, 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:51.460 our work was never meant to be 00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:53.920 a source of meaning in the first place. 00:20:53.980 --> 00:20:55.180 And if we spend our life 00:20:55.180 --> 00:20:56.700 trying to find meaning, 00:20:57.420 --> 00:20:59.120 identity, purpose in our jobs, 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:01.700 it will lead to profound disillusionment. 00:21:03.500 --> 00:21:05.100 The late Lens Redding 00:21:05.100 --> 00:21:06.819 is a great example of this. 00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:08.500 He is a New Zealand-based 00:21:08.500 --> 00:21:09.900 or was a New Zealand-based 00:21:09.900 --> 00:21:12.340 art director, advertising guru. 00:21:12.539 --> 00:21:13.480 By every standard, 00:21:13.580 --> 00:21:14.740 he had achieved success 00:21:14.740 --> 00:21:17.120 in a very cool and sexy field. 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:19.440 And he died at age 52 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:22.519 from inoperable esophageal cancer. 00:21:23.799 --> 00:21:25.480 And after being diagnosed, 00:21:26.620 --> 00:21:28.120 things began to shift for him. 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:30.680 And he wrote an essay 00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:33.200 that was published after his death 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:34.120 called, 00:21:34.259 --> 00:21:36.079 A Short Lesson in Perspective. 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:38.539 So I want to read an excerpt from this, 00:21:38.579 --> 00:21:40.120 and it's edited somewhat for language. 00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:44.219 He says, 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:45.059 And here's the thing. 00:21:46.179 --> 00:21:48.399 It turns out I didn't actually like my old life 00:21:48.399 --> 00:21:49.659 nearly as much as I thought I did. 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:51.479 I know this now 00:21:51.479 --> 00:21:52.859 because I occasionally catch up 00:21:52.859 --> 00:21:54.379 with my old colleagues and workmates. 00:21:55.019 --> 00:21:56.339 They fall over each other 00:21:56.339 --> 00:21:57.819 to enthusiastically show me 00:21:57.819 --> 00:21:59.559 the latest project they're working on, 00:22:00.279 --> 00:22:01.199 ask my opinion, 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:03.539 proudly show off their technical prowess, 00:22:03.559 --> 00:22:04.119 which is not inconsiderable. 00:22:04.119 --> 00:22:07.000 I find myself glazing over 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:08.099 but politely listening 00:22:08.099 --> 00:22:09.299 as they brag about 00:22:09.299 --> 00:22:10.639 who's had the least sleep 00:22:10.639 --> 00:22:12.219 and the most takeaway food. 00:22:12.879 --> 00:22:14.539 I haven't seen my wife since January. 00:22:14.959 --> 00:22:16.399 I can't feel my legs anymore. 00:22:16.739 --> 00:22:17.899 I think I have scurvy. 00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:21.459 But another three weeks 00:22:21.459 --> 00:22:22.179 and we'll be done. 00:22:22.419 --> 00:22:23.739 It's got to be done by then. 00:22:23.799 --> 00:22:25.159 The client's going on holiday. 00:22:25.500 --> 00:22:26.219 What do I think? 00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:28.159 And he says, 00:22:28.239 --> 00:22:28.899 What do I think? 00:22:28.900 --> 00:22:31.720 I think you're all effing mad. 00:22:33.160 --> 00:22:33.640 Deranged. 00:22:34.060 --> 00:22:35.780 So disengaged from reality 00:22:35.780 --> 00:22:36.660 it's not even funny. 00:22:37.840 --> 00:22:39.780 It's an effing TV commercial. 00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:42.140 Nobody cares. 00:22:43.600 --> 00:22:44.280 And he says, 00:22:44.340 --> 00:22:45.600 This has come as quite a shock, 00:22:45.640 --> 00:22:46.360 I can tell you. 00:22:47.259 --> 00:22:49.120 I think I've come to the conclusion 00:22:49.120 --> 00:22:49.980 that the whole thing 00:22:49.980 --> 00:22:50.920 was a bit of a con. 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:52.440 A scam. 00:22:53.280 --> 00:22:54.519 An elaborate hoax. 00:22:55.660 --> 00:22:57.340 Countless late nights and weekends. 00:22:58.340 --> 00:22:58.740 Holidays. 00:22:59.900 --> 00:23:00.500 Birthdays. 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:01.960 School recitals. 00:23:02.500 --> 00:23:03.460 Anniversary dinners 00:23:03.460 --> 00:23:04.759 were willingly sacrificed 00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:07.080 at the altar of some intangible 00:23:07.080 --> 00:23:09.620 but infinitely worthy higher cause. 00:23:09.780 --> 00:23:11.100 It would all be worth it 00:23:11.100 --> 00:23:12.140 in the long run. 00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:13.840 This was the con. 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:16.440 Convincing myself 00:23:16.440 --> 00:23:17.780 that there was nowhere I'd rather be 00:23:17.780 --> 00:23:19.080 was just a coping mechanism. 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:21.660 I can see that now. 00:23:22.580 --> 00:23:24.620 It wasn't really important 00:23:24.620 --> 00:23:27.680 or of any consequence at all, really. 00:23:28.180 --> 00:23:28.900 How could it be? 00:23:29.560 --> 00:23:31.019 We were just shifting product. 00:23:31.240 --> 00:23:32.600 Our product and the clients. 00:23:32.860 --> 00:23:33.799 Just meeting the quota. 00:23:34.220 --> 00:23:34.900 Feeding the beast, 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:36.580 as I called it on my more cynical days. 00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:37.980 So was it worth it? 00:23:39.900 --> 00:23:40.960 Well, of course not. 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:44.000 It turns out it was just advertising. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:47.279 So the point is, 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:49.340 on the one hand, 00:23:49.460 --> 00:23:52.519 I want to impress upon you 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:53.840 this fact that work, 00:23:53.980 --> 00:23:54.559 our work, 00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:55.340 all work, 00:23:55.339 --> 00:23:58.240 has inherent dignity, 00:23:58.439 --> 00:23:59.259 inherent meaning, 00:23:59.439 --> 00:24:00.199 inherent worth. 00:24:02.759 --> 00:24:04.179 But on the other hand, 00:24:05.539 --> 00:24:07.679 our work can never be a source 00:24:07.679 --> 00:24:09.379 of meaning 00:24:09.379 --> 00:24:10.599 and of value 00:24:10.599 --> 00:24:11.759 and of worth. 00:24:11.980 --> 00:24:13.179 And that altar 00:24:13.179 --> 00:24:15.339 that Lens Redding talks about, 00:24:15.419 --> 00:24:16.419 that altar on which 00:24:16.419 --> 00:24:17.519 so many of us sacrifice 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:18.720 so many things, 00:24:19.059 --> 00:24:20.000 so many people, 00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:21.759 so many possibilities, 00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:23.539 that is an altar 00:24:23.539 --> 00:24:24.640 to an empty idol. 00:24:25.700 --> 00:24:27.019 And the idol of work 00:24:27.019 --> 00:24:29.119 is just like any other idol. 00:24:30.299 --> 00:24:32.119 It never, ever, ever promises, 00:24:32.980 --> 00:24:34.359 or never, ever, ever delivers 00:24:34.359 --> 00:24:35.079 what it promises. 00:24:35.079 --> 00:24:38.039 So this brings us 00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:39.159 to the third point then. 00:24:39.379 --> 00:24:40.119 If that's the, 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:42.039 if work is necessary 00:24:42.039 --> 00:24:44.679 and work does have 00:24:44.679 --> 00:24:45.619 inherent meaning, 00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:46.960 but that meaning, 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:48.480 it's not a source of meaning. 00:24:48.619 --> 00:24:50.059 The meaning comes from the one 00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:51.159 whom we reflect 00:24:51.159 --> 00:24:51.839 when we work. 00:24:51.919 --> 00:24:53.599 If these are true things, 00:24:54.359 --> 00:24:55.339 then we have to ask, 00:24:55.460 --> 00:24:56.619 how do we then rebalance 00:24:56.619 --> 00:24:57.460 work? 00:24:57.500 --> 00:24:58.619 Because I know myself, 00:24:59.679 --> 00:25:01.220 and I know most of you 00:25:01.220 --> 00:25:01.960 well enough to know 00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:02.939 that I think that our 00:25:02.939 --> 00:25:04.119 work lives are pretty 00:25:04.119 --> 00:25:04.859 out of whack. 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:07.099 So knowing this, 00:25:07.159 --> 00:25:07.859 how do we rebalance 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:08.759 work in our lives 00:25:08.759 --> 00:25:10.259 and maintain this balance 00:25:10.259 --> 00:25:11.159 over time 00:25:11.159 --> 00:25:12.879 so that we don't 00:25:12.879 --> 00:25:14.579 slide into meaningless despair, 00:25:15.259 --> 00:25:15.899 so that we don't 00:25:15.899 --> 00:25:16.819 sacrifice ourselves 00:25:16.819 --> 00:25:17.899 on the altar of our jobs. 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:18.779 And this is actually 00:25:18.779 --> 00:25:19.839 where last week's sermon 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:20.879 and this week 00:25:20.879 --> 00:25:21.559 come together. 00:25:22.519 --> 00:25:23.359 And for those of you 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:24.619 who weren't here last week, 00:25:24.659 --> 00:25:25.960 I can sort of bring us 00:25:25.960 --> 00:25:27.259 back up to speed on that, 00:25:28.039 --> 00:25:28.740 that the only way 00:25:28.740 --> 00:25:29.379 to have a healthy, 00:25:29.579 --> 00:25:30.579 balanced work life 00:25:30.579 --> 00:25:32.419 is if that life 00:25:32.419 --> 00:25:34.099 is part of a larger rhythm 00:25:34.099 --> 00:25:36.039 of work and rest, 00:25:36.379 --> 00:25:38.079 work and Sabbath rest. 00:25:38.119 --> 00:25:39.139 That's the only way. 00:25:39.659 --> 00:25:40.740 And as we said last week, 00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:41.980 Sabbath is much more 00:25:41.980 --> 00:25:43.139 than just taking a day off. 00:25:43.399 --> 00:25:44.139 Taking a day off 00:25:44.139 --> 00:25:45.399 is kind of and can be 00:25:45.399 --> 00:25:46.319 a counterfeit Sabbath 00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:48.079 because it's not just 00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:49.259 about taking a day off. 00:25:50.699 --> 00:25:51.679 Sabbath means 00:25:51.679 --> 00:25:53.799 ceasing from our work 00:25:53.799 --> 00:25:57.039 so that we can celebrate 00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:57.679 God's work. 00:25:57.680 --> 00:26:00.500 It's a reorienting 00:26:00.500 --> 00:26:01.560 of our souls. 00:26:03.240 --> 00:26:04.160 Ceasing our work 00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:05.120 so that we can celebrate 00:26:05.120 --> 00:26:05.799 God's work. 00:26:05.880 --> 00:26:07.560 And this only fully makes sense 00:26:07.560 --> 00:26:09.360 when we look at Jesus Christ 00:26:09.360 --> 00:26:11.080 because in Mark chapter 2, 00:26:11.120 --> 00:26:11.680 verse 28, 00:26:11.960 --> 00:26:13.279 Jesus says something profound. 00:26:13.560 --> 00:26:13.920 He says, 00:26:14.279 --> 00:26:15.680 I am the Lord of the Sabbath. 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:16.779 The Son of the Man 00:26:16.779 --> 00:26:17.860 is Lord of the Sabbath. 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:18.640 What is He saying? 00:26:19.660 --> 00:26:21.120 I'm the Lord of rest. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:23.500 I'm the one to whom 00:26:23.500 --> 00:26:24.640 the Sabbath points. 00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:25.540 When the Sabbath 00:26:25.540 --> 00:26:27.160 was established in creation, 00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:29.640 it was a giant signpost 00:26:29.640 --> 00:26:30.700 pointing to the rest 00:26:30.700 --> 00:26:31.940 that I would one day 00:26:31.940 --> 00:26:33.860 make possible. 00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:36.800 So when Jesus dies on the cross 00:26:36.800 --> 00:26:37.560 and He cries out, 00:26:37.660 --> 00:26:38.420 it is finished, 00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:40.120 He's not just talking 00:26:40.120 --> 00:26:42.180 about His heart. 00:26:43.300 --> 00:26:44.160 He's not just talking 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:46.280 about His earthly life. 00:26:47.640 --> 00:26:48.880 When He cries out, 00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:49.800 it is finished, 00:26:50.620 --> 00:26:52.060 He's saying that He has now 00:26:52.060 --> 00:26:54.100 accomplished everything necessary 00:26:54.099 --> 00:26:56.299 to give us that rest. 00:26:56.439 --> 00:26:58.359 He's done everything necessary 00:26:58.359 --> 00:27:00.799 to reconcile us to God. 00:27:01.139 --> 00:27:02.639 And in that reconciliation, 00:27:03.099 --> 00:27:03.779 we know, 00:27:04.959 --> 00:27:06.539 as we come into the embrace 00:27:06.539 --> 00:27:07.339 of that God, 00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:09.199 we know that we have found 00:27:09.199 --> 00:27:12.480 the only place in the universe 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:16.339 where we can know 00:27:16.339 --> 00:27:19.219 that everything's going to be okay, 00:27:20.159 --> 00:27:22.059 that we don't have to strive 00:27:22.059 --> 00:27:22.639 any longer, 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:23.359 that there's nothing 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:24.159 that we lack, 00:27:24.539 --> 00:27:25.960 that our future is uncertain. 00:27:27.019 --> 00:27:28.579 All of that is done away with. 00:27:28.740 --> 00:27:29.559 And every Sabbath 00:27:29.559 --> 00:27:30.319 is an opportunity 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:31.220 for us to gather 00:27:31.220 --> 00:27:32.460 as we are now, 00:27:33.460 --> 00:27:35.220 to cease from our work, 00:27:35.259 --> 00:27:35.839 and if any of you 00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:36.779 are working right now 00:27:36.779 --> 00:27:37.659 on your devices, 00:27:37.899 --> 00:27:39.480 cease just for right now. 00:27:41.399 --> 00:27:42.599 Because right now, 00:27:42.759 --> 00:27:43.599 at this minute, 00:27:43.700 --> 00:27:44.339 it's an opportunity 00:27:44.339 --> 00:27:45.279 for us to gather 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:47.220 as Christians 00:27:47.220 --> 00:27:50.180 and to celebrate 00:27:50.180 --> 00:27:51.400 the finished work of God 00:27:51.400 --> 00:27:52.799 on our behalf, 00:27:52.900 --> 00:27:53.819 to actually remember 00:27:53.819 --> 00:27:54.700 that all of our hope 00:27:54.700 --> 00:27:55.500 and all of our meaning 00:27:55.500 --> 00:27:56.360 and all of our purpose 00:27:56.360 --> 00:27:58.120 will never be found 00:27:58.120 --> 00:27:58.900 in this world, 00:27:59.120 --> 00:28:00.180 especially in our work, 00:28:00.220 --> 00:28:01.019 and it can only be found 00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:01.460 in Jesus. 00:28:02.860 --> 00:28:03.860 So in light of this, 00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:05.220 in light of the Lord 00:28:05.220 --> 00:28:05.779 of the Sabbath 00:28:05.779 --> 00:28:06.600 and what we have, 00:28:06.680 --> 00:28:07.559 those of us who have come 00:28:07.559 --> 00:28:08.019 to Him 00:28:08.019 --> 00:28:09.299 and put our hope 00:28:09.299 --> 00:28:09.920 not in our work 00:28:09.920 --> 00:28:11.079 but in His finished work, 00:28:11.140 --> 00:28:11.720 that's what makes you 00:28:11.720 --> 00:28:12.100 a Christian. 00:28:12.099 --> 00:28:14.519 In light of this, 00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:15.799 what's a balanced perspective 00:28:15.799 --> 00:28:17.719 on work actually look like? 00:28:18.159 --> 00:28:19.199 What does it actually look like? 00:28:19.240 --> 00:28:20.000 How should we think 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:21.459 about our work 00:28:21.459 --> 00:28:22.939 as you go to work, 00:28:22.980 --> 00:28:23.480 most of you, 00:28:23.619 --> 00:28:23.980 tomorrow? 00:28:25.319 --> 00:28:26.059 And I would say 00:28:26.059 --> 00:28:26.899 a balanced perspective 00:28:26.899 --> 00:28:28.079 on work looks like this. 00:28:28.099 --> 00:28:29.039 It's all wrapped up 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:30.059 in the word 00:28:30.059 --> 00:28:31.299 that the Bible uses 00:28:31.299 --> 00:28:32.759 for work. 00:28:33.719 --> 00:28:34.779 The word that the Bible 00:28:34.779 --> 00:28:36.500 uses here in Genesis chapter 2 00:28:36.500 --> 00:28:37.419 for work. 00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:38.139 The Hebrew word 00:28:38.139 --> 00:28:39.000 is avodah. 00:28:40.859 --> 00:28:41.339 Avodah. 00:28:41.339 --> 00:28:42.919 And this first appears 00:28:42.919 --> 00:28:43.679 in our passage, 00:28:44.039 --> 00:28:44.879 but it's used all 00:28:44.879 --> 00:28:45.759 throughout the Old Testament. 00:28:47.679 --> 00:28:49.079 And in the Old Testament, 00:28:49.220 --> 00:28:50.240 if you look at all the ways 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:50.679 it's used, 00:28:50.740 --> 00:28:51.839 if you do a word search, 00:28:52.359 --> 00:28:53.319 you'll find something 00:28:53.319 --> 00:28:54.159 pretty fascinating 00:28:54.159 --> 00:28:55.220 and that is this word 00:28:55.220 --> 00:28:58.240 has three interrelated usages. 00:28:58.459 --> 00:28:59.539 It has three ways 00:28:59.539 --> 00:29:00.220 or three ways 00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:01.119 that it's translated 00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:01.879 in the Old Testament. 00:29:02.279 --> 00:29:03.819 It's translated as work 00:29:03.819 --> 00:29:04.500 or labor 00:29:04.500 --> 00:29:06.000 or career 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:06.959 or occupation. 00:29:07.980 --> 00:29:08.919 That's the first meaning. 00:29:09.480 --> 00:29:10.339 That's the one 00:29:10.339 --> 00:29:11.439 that we're most familiar with. 00:29:11.980 --> 00:29:13.059 But it's also used 00:29:13.059 --> 00:29:14.619 to describe service 00:29:14.619 --> 00:29:17.480 as in serving one another, 00:29:18.179 --> 00:29:18.899 being a servant. 00:29:19.679 --> 00:29:20.899 And then thirdly, 00:29:21.019 --> 00:29:23.000 it's used to describe worship. 00:29:24.699 --> 00:29:25.179 Worship. 00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:27.720 So in the Bible, 00:29:27.799 --> 00:29:28.379 what you see 00:29:28.379 --> 00:29:29.379 in this one word 00:29:29.379 --> 00:29:29.899 is that there is 00:29:29.899 --> 00:29:31.699 a seamless connection, 00:29:32.399 --> 00:29:34.079 a seamless understanding 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:35.359 of the relationship 00:29:35.359 --> 00:29:36.379 between our work, 00:29:36.539 --> 00:29:37.039 our career, 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:37.899 our vocation, 00:29:38.579 --> 00:29:40.680 our call to serve 00:29:40.680 --> 00:29:41.259 one another, 00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:43.480 and our purpose 00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:45.339 as worshipers of God. 00:29:46.440 --> 00:29:47.539 And what we see 00:29:47.539 --> 00:29:48.319 is that those aren't 00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:49.639 three separate activities. 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:51.539 I don't worship on Sunday, 00:29:51.960 --> 00:29:53.079 serve at the soup kitchen 00:29:53.079 --> 00:29:53.599 on Wednesday, 00:29:54.099 --> 00:29:55.480 and then work 00:29:55.480 --> 00:29:56.339 Monday to Friday. 00:29:57.379 --> 00:29:58.339 That instead, 00:29:58.519 --> 00:29:59.159 my work 00:29:59.159 --> 00:30:01.960 is a place 00:30:01.960 --> 00:30:03.059 where I worship. 00:30:03.059 --> 00:30:04.519 And my work 00:30:04.519 --> 00:30:05.200 is a place 00:30:05.200 --> 00:30:06.679 where I have opportunities 00:30:06.679 --> 00:30:08.099 to serve 00:30:08.099 --> 00:30:09.599 other people 00:30:09.599 --> 00:30:10.379 and the Lord. 00:30:10.500 --> 00:30:11.059 So work 00:30:11.059 --> 00:30:11.819 and worship 00:30:11.819 --> 00:30:12.480 and service, 00:30:12.599 --> 00:30:13.559 they're all one and the same. 00:30:13.819 --> 00:30:14.319 Your work 00:30:14.319 --> 00:30:15.500 is your worship. 00:30:16.179 --> 00:30:17.119 And for most of us, 00:30:17.379 --> 00:30:18.399 your primary place 00:30:18.399 --> 00:30:18.980 of ministry, 00:30:19.159 --> 00:30:20.019 your primary place 00:30:20.019 --> 00:30:21.159 of evangelism, 00:30:21.259 --> 00:30:22.039 your primary place 00:30:22.039 --> 00:30:22.839 of service, 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:23.879 your primary place 00:30:23.879 --> 00:30:24.779 of bringing justice, 00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:26.099 your primary place 00:30:26.099 --> 00:30:27.359 of bringing glory to God 00:30:27.359 --> 00:30:28.379 and worshiping the Lord, 00:30:28.379 --> 00:30:29.399 the primary place 00:30:29.399 --> 00:30:29.899 you're going to do that 00:30:29.899 --> 00:30:30.419 is your job. 00:30:30.420 --> 00:30:33.200 That's the primary place. 00:30:33.940 --> 00:30:35.200 And so while we as a church 00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:36.660 have ways 00:30:36.660 --> 00:30:37.920 that we serve initiatives 00:30:37.920 --> 00:30:38.960 like DUC 127, 00:30:39.320 --> 00:30:40.240 while we encourage 00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:41.460 our core groups 00:30:41.460 --> 00:30:43.180 to come up with ways 00:30:43.180 --> 00:30:43.920 that they want to serve 00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:44.800 together in the community, 00:30:44.980 --> 00:30:46.100 we never want to lose sight 00:30:46.100 --> 00:30:46.480 of the fact 00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:48.080 that your primary calling 00:30:48.080 --> 00:30:51.060 is to the Lord Jesus Christ 00:30:51.060 --> 00:30:53.279 and next to that 00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:54.160 you are called 00:30:54.160 --> 00:30:55.259 to a vocation 00:30:55.259 --> 00:30:56.320 and that is the way 00:30:56.320 --> 00:30:57.700 that God has built you 00:30:57.700 --> 00:30:58.759 and provided you 00:30:58.759 --> 00:30:59.339 an opportunity 00:30:59.339 --> 00:31:00.920 to do His mission 00:31:00.920 --> 00:31:01.440 in the world. 00:31:01.879 --> 00:31:02.579 That is it. 00:31:03.740 --> 00:31:04.920 And so if nothing else, 00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:06.119 for all of our core groups 00:31:06.119 --> 00:31:07.019 who, you know, 00:31:07.079 --> 00:31:08.039 who think that they need 00:31:08.039 --> 00:31:08.519 to come up with 00:31:08.519 --> 00:31:09.460 an elaborate vision 00:31:09.460 --> 00:31:10.079 for serving, 00:31:10.200 --> 00:31:10.920 no, it is enough 00:31:10.920 --> 00:31:11.740 for you to simply say 00:31:11.740 --> 00:31:12.900 our group exists 00:31:12.900 --> 00:31:14.519 to support and empower 00:31:14.519 --> 00:31:15.480 our people 00:31:15.480 --> 00:31:16.539 to see their jobs 00:31:16.539 --> 00:31:18.480 as the primary way 00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:19.319 that they serve 00:31:19.319 --> 00:31:20.420 and worship the Lord. 00:31:21.099 --> 00:31:22.259 That's a great focus 00:31:22.259 --> 00:31:23.000 for a core group 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:26.099 because that is what 00:31:26.099 --> 00:31:27.779 our vocation means, 00:31:27.779 --> 00:31:28.420 Avodah. 00:31:28.700 --> 00:31:29.720 And when you see someone 00:31:29.720 --> 00:31:30.980 who lives this balance 00:31:30.980 --> 00:31:32.579 of work and rest, 00:31:33.399 --> 00:31:34.259 someone who has 00:31:34.259 --> 00:31:35.039 their work life 00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:35.819 in balance 00:31:35.819 --> 00:31:37.819 and sees it as Avodah, 00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:38.579 sees it as a way 00:31:38.579 --> 00:31:40.339 to serve and to glorify God, 00:31:40.639 --> 00:31:41.639 when you see a life 00:31:41.639 --> 00:31:42.259 like that, 00:31:42.399 --> 00:31:43.259 what you see is someone 00:31:43.259 --> 00:31:44.200 who's been liberated 00:31:44.200 --> 00:31:45.000 from their work 00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:46.379 so that they may fully 00:31:46.379 --> 00:31:47.339 enjoy their work. 00:31:47.779 --> 00:31:48.440 And I'll just give you 00:31:48.440 --> 00:31:49.259 two quick examples 00:31:49.259 --> 00:31:49.859 to close 00:31:49.859 --> 00:31:51.019 of people who have 00:31:51.019 --> 00:31:52.639 this kind of understanding 00:31:52.639 --> 00:31:53.779 of their Avodah, 00:31:53.859 --> 00:31:54.759 their work. 00:31:54.759 --> 00:31:56.420 The first is 00:31:56.420 --> 00:31:57.879 the other character 00:31:57.879 --> 00:31:59.000 in Chariots of Fire, 00:31:59.119 --> 00:32:00.019 Eric Little. 00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:01.879 We have Harold Abraham 00:32:01.879 --> 00:32:02.559 who says, 00:32:02.879 --> 00:32:03.920 I have ten seconds 00:32:03.920 --> 00:32:05.119 to justify my existence, 00:32:05.400 --> 00:32:06.420 and we have Eric Little, 00:32:06.619 --> 00:32:07.680 a very talented runner. 00:32:08.140 --> 00:32:09.660 And in the story, 00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:10.980 one of the, 00:32:11.319 --> 00:32:11.500 you know, 00:32:11.539 --> 00:32:12.940 a medal race comes up. 00:32:14.339 --> 00:32:15.660 It's a race 00:32:15.660 --> 00:32:16.400 where they can medal, 00:32:16.920 --> 00:32:18.039 but this medal race 00:32:18.039 --> 00:32:19.119 is held on the Sabbath. 00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:22.000 And so Eric Little, 00:32:22.139 --> 00:32:22.799 follower of Jesus 00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:23.359 that he is, 00:32:23.719 --> 00:32:25.019 Sabbath keeper that he is, 00:32:25.699 --> 00:32:26.179 says, 00:32:26.439 --> 00:32:28.239 I'm not going to do it. 00:32:28.699 --> 00:32:29.899 And he doesn't race. 00:32:31.279 --> 00:32:32.719 And Harold Abraham 00:32:32.719 --> 00:32:33.519 ends up racing, 00:32:33.799 --> 00:32:35.000 ends up eventually winning 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:36.339 the medal 00:32:36.339 --> 00:32:36.899 that he's worked 00:32:36.899 --> 00:32:37.639 so long for, 00:32:37.699 --> 00:32:38.159 but in the end 00:32:38.159 --> 00:32:38.799 he realizes 00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:41.659 it's just a medal. 00:32:42.659 --> 00:32:44.099 And it doesn't satisfy him 00:32:44.099 --> 00:32:44.959 the way he thought it would. 00:32:45.359 --> 00:32:46.099 He's a lot like 00:32:46.099 --> 00:32:46.799 Linz Redding 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:47.319 who says, 00:32:47.459 --> 00:32:48.659 it's just a commercial. 00:32:49.439 --> 00:32:50.739 It's just advertising. 00:32:51.839 --> 00:32:53.039 It wasn't worth it. 00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:55.339 And then by contrast, 00:32:55.459 --> 00:32:56.199 you see Eric 00:32:56.199 --> 00:32:57.919 who goes on to serve 00:32:57.919 --> 00:32:59.259 and love the people of China 00:32:59.259 --> 00:33:00.000 for years 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:01.339 before being put 00:33:01.339 --> 00:33:02.559 in a Japanese prison camp 00:33:02.559 --> 00:33:03.659 where he eventually dies. 00:33:03.959 --> 00:33:04.859 And a few years ago 00:33:04.859 --> 00:33:05.879 it was found out 00:33:05.879 --> 00:33:06.500 that he was actually 00:33:06.500 --> 00:33:07.319 given an opportunity 00:33:07.319 --> 00:33:09.459 to leave that camp, 00:33:09.599 --> 00:33:10.899 but he traded places 00:33:10.899 --> 00:33:12.239 with a pregnant woman. 00:33:13.399 --> 00:33:14.699 And so she went free 00:33:14.699 --> 00:33:15.279 and he ended up 00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:16.099 dying in the camp. 00:33:16.099 --> 00:33:18.959 And the world 00:33:18.959 --> 00:33:20.059 looks at a story like this 00:33:20.059 --> 00:33:20.319 and says, 00:33:20.559 --> 00:33:21.139 what a waste, 00:33:21.240 --> 00:33:22.459 what a colossal waste. 00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:24.439 But when Eric describes 00:33:24.439 --> 00:33:25.679 the reason he runs, 00:33:25.879 --> 00:33:26.980 it's not to get medals, 00:33:27.119 --> 00:33:28.039 it's not to get fame, 00:33:28.119 --> 00:33:29.059 it's not to get acclamation, 00:33:29.179 --> 00:33:29.879 it's not to get money. 00:33:29.959 --> 00:33:30.259 He says, 00:33:30.419 --> 00:33:31.039 when I run, 00:33:31.139 --> 00:33:32.219 I feel God's smile. 00:33:34.299 --> 00:33:35.399 This is Avodah. 00:33:36.619 --> 00:33:37.759 That's what it looks like 00:33:37.759 --> 00:33:38.359 in a life. 00:33:38.599 --> 00:33:39.659 And the second example, 00:33:39.740 --> 00:33:40.699 the last example I'll give 00:33:40.699 --> 00:33:42.059 is the life of Lilius Trotter. 00:33:42.940 --> 00:33:43.839 We've been immersed 00:33:43.839 --> 00:33:45.000 in this story, 00:33:45.139 --> 00:33:46.139 this amazing story 00:33:46.139 --> 00:33:46.819 of Lilius Trotter 00:33:46.819 --> 00:33:47.720 because my wife 00:33:47.720 --> 00:33:49.000 has actually made 00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:49.500 a documentary 00:33:49.500 --> 00:33:50.639 about Lilius Trotter, 00:33:50.740 --> 00:33:51.799 so I may be a little biased, 00:33:51.899 --> 00:33:52.539 but I think when you 00:33:52.539 --> 00:33:54.359 see the story for yourself, 00:33:54.440 --> 00:33:55.539 you will understand 00:33:55.539 --> 00:33:56.579 the beauty of it. 00:33:57.460 --> 00:33:58.819 And it will actually 00:33:58.819 --> 00:34:00.399 be premiering here in D.C. 00:34:00.460 --> 00:34:02.099 on February 6th 00:34:02.099 --> 00:34:03.519 at the National Gallery of Art. 00:34:03.980 --> 00:34:04.819 So that's pretty exciting. 00:34:06.179 --> 00:34:06.960 So our church 00:34:06.960 --> 00:34:07.679 will be a part of that. 00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:11.380 But when you look 00:34:11.380 --> 00:34:12.519 at the life of Lilius Trotter, 00:34:12.740 --> 00:34:13.400 here's a woman 00:34:13.400 --> 00:34:15.900 who was a very gifted painter 00:34:15.900 --> 00:34:16.860 who was told 00:34:16.860 --> 00:34:18.680 by the great art critic 00:34:18.680 --> 00:34:19.920 of her day in England, 00:34:20.059 --> 00:34:20.659 John Ruskin, 00:34:21.559 --> 00:34:22.980 you can be England's 00:34:22.980 --> 00:34:23.980 greatest living painter. 00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:26.740 I have the power 00:34:26.740 --> 00:34:28.880 to bestow that upon you, 00:34:28.920 --> 00:34:29.840 and you have the talent. 00:34:30.280 --> 00:34:31.440 I can open the right doors 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:31.800 for you, 00:34:32.099 --> 00:34:33.139 make all the right connections, 00:34:33.680 --> 00:34:34.340 one condition. 00:34:35.720 --> 00:34:36.940 See, Lilius had been spending 00:34:36.940 --> 00:34:38.519 a lot of her free time 00:34:38.519 --> 00:34:40.380 serving the poor of London, 00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:42.320 the women and the orphans. 00:34:43.240 --> 00:34:45.000 And Ruskin saw this 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:46.139 as being in competition 00:34:46.139 --> 00:34:47.179 with her art and said, 00:34:47.440 --> 00:34:48.500 you have to stop that. 00:34:49.380 --> 00:34:50.579 You have to leave all of that 00:34:50.579 --> 00:34:51.460 and devote yourself 00:34:51.460 --> 00:34:53.260 exclusively to your art. 00:34:53.880 --> 00:34:54.639 And if you do that, 00:34:54.740 --> 00:34:56.920 I will make you 00:34:56.920 --> 00:34:58.260 England's greatest living painter. 00:34:58.500 --> 00:34:59.460 She takes three days 00:34:59.460 --> 00:35:01.519 of prayer and discernment 00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:03.480 and ultimately refuses Ruskin. 00:35:04.659 --> 00:35:05.579 But the greatest thing 00:35:05.579 --> 00:35:06.280 about the story is 00:35:06.280 --> 00:35:07.480 she doesn't actually give up 00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:09.180 her vocation as a painter. 00:35:09.580 --> 00:35:10.940 She continues to paint. 00:35:11.280 --> 00:35:12.840 What she gives up is fame. 00:35:13.260 --> 00:35:14.220 What she gives up 00:35:14.220 --> 00:35:16.680 is the chance at notoriety. 00:35:17.040 --> 00:35:17.900 She gives all that up, 00:35:17.960 --> 00:35:18.660 not because fame 00:35:18.660 --> 00:35:19.540 is inherently bad, 00:35:19.600 --> 00:35:20.640 but because for her, 00:35:21.640 --> 00:35:24.220 for her, 00:35:24.320 --> 00:35:25.900 the sacrifice would mean 00:35:25.900 --> 00:35:28.380 sacrificing what it means 00:35:28.380 --> 00:35:29.680 to be faithful to God. 00:35:30.580 --> 00:35:31.980 And when she had to choose, 00:35:32.060 --> 00:35:33.200 she chose faithfulness 00:35:33.200 --> 00:35:34.340 over fame. 00:35:34.340 --> 00:35:36.180 And where that took her, 00:35:36.240 --> 00:35:36.920 it doesn't need to take 00:35:36.920 --> 00:35:37.579 all of us here, 00:35:37.640 --> 00:35:38.600 but where it took her 00:35:38.600 --> 00:35:40.940 is actually to North Africa. 00:35:41.220 --> 00:35:42.260 And she spent the rest 00:35:42.260 --> 00:35:44.019 of her life in total obscurity 00:35:44.019 --> 00:35:46.460 as a missionary in Algeria. 00:35:47.880 --> 00:35:48.440 Painting, 00:35:49.280 --> 00:35:49.900 painting, 00:35:50.740 --> 00:35:51.900 growing as an artist, 00:35:52.440 --> 00:35:54.860 but painting not for the elite 00:35:54.860 --> 00:35:56.280 art critics of England, 00:35:56.280 --> 00:35:59.440 but rather painting 00:35:59.440 --> 00:36:01.600 for an audience of one 00:36:01.600 --> 00:36:04.540 in the margins of her journals. 00:36:08.180 --> 00:36:09.120 Like Eric Little, 00:36:09.240 --> 00:36:10.500 she had a balanced view 00:36:10.500 --> 00:36:11.480 of her vocation. 00:36:11.680 --> 00:36:12.740 She saw her work 00:36:12.740 --> 00:36:14.740 as a way to serve others. 00:36:15.100 --> 00:36:17.180 She actually used her painting 00:36:17.180 --> 00:36:20.019 to illuminate Arab text 00:36:20.019 --> 00:36:21.940 to try to convey 00:36:21.940 --> 00:36:23.560 to the Arab world 00:36:23.560 --> 00:36:24.720 the beauty of Jesus. 00:36:24.719 --> 00:36:25.859 And she knew that they took 00:36:25.859 --> 00:36:26.839 the word seriously. 00:36:27.259 --> 00:36:28.299 They took the written word 00:36:28.299 --> 00:36:28.919 very seriously. 00:36:29.059 --> 00:36:30.199 And so she used her 00:36:30.199 --> 00:36:31.139 watercolor abilities 00:36:31.139 --> 00:36:32.719 to create beautiful tracts 00:36:33.259 --> 00:36:34.439 that would tell people 00:36:34.439 --> 00:36:35.619 about Jesus. 00:36:37.659 --> 00:36:38.939 Because that's what she believed 00:36:38.939 --> 00:36:40.059 that she was called to do. 00:36:41.719 --> 00:36:44.139 So as we gather together tonight 00:36:44.139 --> 00:36:45.119 on this Sabbath day, 00:36:45.239 --> 00:36:47.139 may the Lord rebalance 00:36:47.139 --> 00:36:49.559 the way we see our work. 00:36:49.559 --> 00:36:52.019 that we would see it 00:36:52.019 --> 00:36:52.980 as Avodah, 00:36:53.099 --> 00:36:53.759 that we would see 00:36:53.759 --> 00:36:54.679 that all of our work 00:36:54.679 --> 00:36:56.099 reflects the God 00:36:56.099 --> 00:36:57.779 who made us 00:36:57.779 --> 00:36:59.099 in his image to work. 00:37:00.779 --> 00:37:01.739 That we would see 00:37:01.739 --> 00:37:02.460 how we're called 00:37:02.460 --> 00:37:04.219 both to serve those around us 00:37:04.219 --> 00:37:05.820 and to glorify God 00:37:05.820 --> 00:37:06.659 in all that we do. 00:37:06.719 --> 00:37:07.679 And I pray that we would all 00:37:07.679 --> 00:37:08.920 gain a vision for that 00:37:08.920 --> 00:37:09.860 and what it looks like 00:37:09.860 --> 00:37:10.519 in our lives. 00:37:11.279 --> 00:37:11.900 And Lord, 00:37:11.940 --> 00:37:12.860 as we do ask you 00:37:12.860 --> 00:37:14.299 to bless us in this, 00:37:14.380 --> 00:37:15.779 we ask you to enable us, 00:37:16.199 --> 00:37:17.119 as your word says, 00:37:17.119 --> 00:37:19.119 to give us everything 00:37:19.119 --> 00:37:19.759 that we need 00:37:19.759 --> 00:37:21.539 to accomplish the work 00:37:21.539 --> 00:37:22.319 that you've prepared 00:37:22.319 --> 00:37:23.859 for us beforehand, 00:37:24.159 --> 00:37:25.940 that we should walk 00:37:25.940 --> 00:37:26.799 in those good works. 00:37:26.960 --> 00:37:27.859 We pray for your, 00:37:28.519 --> 00:37:29.480 not only your vision, 00:37:29.619 --> 00:37:31.219 but also the empowering presence 00:37:31.219 --> 00:37:31.920 of your spirit 00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:32.980 to help us live 00:37:32.980 --> 00:37:34.799 lives of faithfulness, Lord. 00:37:35.579 --> 00:37:36.239 And we ask this 00:37:36.239 --> 00:37:37.239 in your Son's holy name. 00:37:37.579 --> 00:37:37.799 Amen.