Let's hear the word of God.
And God said, Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds,
the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground,
and the wild animals, each according to its kind.
And it was so.
God made the wild animals according to their kinds,
the livestock according to their kinds,
and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.
And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,
so that they may rule over the fish in the sea, and birds in the sky,
over the livestock, and all the wild animals,
and over all the creatures that move along the ground.
So God created mankind in His own image.
In the image of God, He created them.
Male and female, He created them.
God blessed them and said to them,
Be fruitful and increase in number.
Fill the earth and subdue it.
Rule over the fish in the sea, and the birds in the sky,
and over every living creature that moves on the ground.
Then God said,
I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth,
and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.
They will be yours for food.
And to all the beasts of the earth,
and all the birds in the sky,
and all the creatures that move along the ground,
everything that has the breath of life in it,
I give every green plant for food.
And it was so.
God saw all that He had made,
and it was very good.
And there was evening,
and there was morning,
the sixth day.
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
when I studied in my seminary in Jakarta,
I remember once a lecturer taught us
that there are four big questions in our lives
that each of us needs to answer.
There are four big life questions.
The first one is about the object of our worship.
Who is it that we worship?
Everyone must have an object of the worship,
whether it is God, or money, or ourselves.
There should be object that we worship.
Who is it?
The second one is,
how do we live our lives?
Our answer to the first question
will determine how we live our lives.
Then the third one is,
whom will we spend our lives with?
This is about choosing a spouse.
If he or she is not the right one,
then we might suffer for the rest of our lives.
So this is a very important question.
And the fourth question is,
what are we going to do in our lives?
This is about our job.
This evening,
I will address this fourth question.
How should we view our work?
What does the Bible say about it?
I want to start this evening with a story
about three bricklayers.
Maybe you are familiar with this.
A traveler came upon three men working.
He asked the first man what he was doing.
And the man said he was laying bricks.
Then the traveler asked,
why are you doing this job?
The man said,
of course, to make money.
What else?
Oh, I see.
Then the traveler asked the second man
with the same question.
What are you doing?
Oh, I'm laying bricks.
And then he asked the same,
another question.
Why are you doing this?
Then the second man said,
because I like this job.
This is my expertise.
I heard that we are building a church
and it will be the most beautiful church in town.
I just take a small part,
but I'm proud of it.
Oh, I see.
That's wonderful.
Then the traveler asked the third man
the same question.
He gave the same answer.
What are you doing?
I'm laying bricks.
But when the traveler asked,
why question?
Why are you doing this?
He said like this,
we are building a church
and I pray that the people in this town
will come to this church
and worship the Lord together.
So these three men
with the same job,
same activity,
but different attitudes.
If I ask you,
what's the difference among them?
For myself,
I will conclude that the first man
worked for money.
The second man worked for himself,
for his self-actualization.
And the third bricklayer
worked for God.
Now, how does the Bible view
the job that we do?
We have already read
from Genesis chapter 1,
especially verse 26 and 27.
Let us make mankind in our image,
in our likeness,
so that they may rule
over the fish in the sea
and the birds in the sky,
over the livestock,
and all the wild animals,
and over all the creatures
that move along the ground.
So there are two great tasks
God gave to the humankind,
to multiply and fill the earth,
and to rule over God's creation,
or subdue the earth.
It is important to note that
it is the second task
that makes humans unique.
If God only gave one task,
the first task,
that is just to increase in number,
then humans are not different
from animals.
I would like to read
from the verse 21 and 22
from Genesis chapter 1.
So God created
the great creatures of the sea
and every living thing
with which the water teems
and that moves about in it
according to their kinds
and every winged bird
according to its kind.
And God saw that it was good.
And look at verse 22.
God blessed them and said,
Be fruitful and increase in number
and fill the water in the seas
and let the birds increase on the earth.
So dominion over the creation
is what makes humans special.
Based on the story of creation,
how we as Christians
should view our job?
I want to emphasize one point
this evening.
That job is a call from God.
Every work is a call from God.
It is one aspect of being a human,
of being God's image.
Many people in this world
do not like going to work.
You might be familiar with the phrase,
I hate Mondays.
I don't like Mondays.
For many people,
weekend is so enjoyable
that Monday is seen to
rob the fun or the enjoyment.
Then why do people still go to work on Monday
if it's not fun?
Of course, because of money.
If money comes from heaven,
then I will stop working.
Or I will do that as a hobby.
No wonder nowadays,
some best-selling books
sell an idea of how to get more money
with less work.
If you can get more money
with less work,
then it will be great.
In my country,
multi-level marketing
is still very popular.
How to invest money?
The idea is,
don't work for money.
Make it work for you.
Ah, it's beautiful, eh?
Don't work for money.
Make it work for you.
But I want to remind us
that behind this idea,
we can identify a concept
that job is a curse.
Job is torturing.
Avoid it if you can.
And this belief is not biblical.
The passage that we have read in Genesis
reminds us that working
is God's command.
He's calling for us
a part of being a human.
And then we can see
how Adam's sons
responded to this call.
If we skip several chapters
to Genesis chapter 4,
verse 2 said,
Now Abel kept flocks,
and Cain worked the soil.
So here we can see
Abel became a shepherd,
while Cain became a farmer.
They fulfilled their role
to serve God
as his vice regents
over creation.
And so we are called
to do the same role.
In the ancient Near East,
a king would set up
statues of himself
across the land
to manifest his sovereignty
over his kingdom.
In reading that man
is the image of God,
Moses' original audience
would have understood
that as they reproduce
and fill the earth,
they would be
representing
the sovereign creator
to his creation.
Subduing the earth
or having dominion
over it
does not mean
exploiting it,
but nurturing
and protecting it,
caring for it.
A theologian wrote
that work
is part of
God's loving plan.
We are called
to cultivate
and care
for all the goods
of creation.
So I want to emphasize
again this point.
All kinds of good job
can be a calling
from God.
Whether you are
a businessman,
a teacher,
a scientist,
a cleaner,
all kinds of good job
can be a calling
from God.
Some people may think
that only pastors
or church ministers
who are called
by God.
In some contexts,
especially in my own country,
if people ask me,
why do you want
to become a pastor?
I should say,
it's God's call for me.
I cannot say,
it's a hobby.
It's my,
I love to be a pastor.
No,
it should be God's call.
It should be a good answer.
But then,
many Christians
still think
that apart from
being church ministers,
other jobs
are nothing to do
with God's call.
No,
we should remember
that doing our job,
any kind of good job,
is one way
to serve God.
This includes
being a mother
or a housewife.
You know,
William Tyndale,
William Tyndale
is an English scholar
who became
a leading figure
in the Protestant Reformation.
he once wrote,
this is William Tyndale,
if we look externally,
there is difference
between washing dishes
and preaching
the word of God.
But as touching
to please God,
there is no difference
at all.
That's biblical view
of work,
that there's no difference
when done
to the honor
of the Lord
between preaching
and washing dishes.
So,
this is
what should be
biblical view.
We understand
that being a housewife
or a mother
is not easy.
Once,
my wife told me
that she has a friend
who found
raising little children
frustrating.
She couldn't stand
yelling at them
again
and again.
She had
promised to herself,
I don't want to yell
at my kids,
but it doesn't work.
She felt that
it seems easier
for her
to become a missionary
to other parts
of the world
than being patient
to her own
small children.
Being a mother
does not get paid.
There's no promotion
for mothers.
But if you happen
to be one,
that is God's call
for you.
So is the image
of God,
we should find
our own vocation.
Then the problem is,
why cannot we view
our job this way?
Why do people
still say
that they hate Mondays?
We know the answer
from the Bible.
It's because
of the curse
of sin.
I want to read
to you
Genesis chapter 3
verse 17
to 19.
This is the story
after the fall.
Then God
said to Adam,
Genesis chapter 3
verse 17
the second part,
Cursed is the ground
because of you.
Through painful toil
you will eat
food from it
all the days
of your life.
It will produce
thorns and thissers
for you
and you will eat
the plants
of the field.
By the sweat
of your brow
you will eat
your food
until you return
to the ground
since from it
you were taken.
For thus you are
and to thus
you will return.
So we can see
that after the fall
work
was not a blessing
anymore.
If people
hate Mondays
it's because
painful toil,
thorns and thistles,
sweat of your brow
have become
part of
people's daily
experience
when they work.
but more
than the painful toil
people
who are
outside of Christ
have also
lost the meaning
of work.
God is the one
who gives
humans the call
to work
and in this call
lies the purpose
the joy
and the blessing.
But when people
reject God
then they don't know
why they have
to work.
They lose
the original purpose
and the blessing.
Now if people
do not work
to respond
to God's call
then what
is their motivation?
I believe
there are
at least
some ways
of how people
view their job
as a consequence
of the fall.
Let's back
to our story
of the three
big layers.
You remember
that the first man
works only
for money.
I believe
that for many people
what motivates
them to work
is to get money.
Money
and money.
I did not say
that working
to get some money
is not biblical.
Don't get me wrong.
Paul wrote
in 2 Thessalonians
3 chapter 10
that the one
who is unwilling
to work
shall not eat.
The problem
is not money itself
but when money
becomes the focus
of their lives.
What Bible
calls the love
of money.
We know
the saying
time is money.
All is
about money.
These people
believe
that money
can buy
anything they want
including happiness.
Then they teach
this belief
to their children
since they first
go to school
at least
in my culture.
So when we ask
parents
why do we have
to go to school
every day?
Then the parents
will teach us
so that when you
grow up
you can work
and make
some money
or make
a lot of money
and live a good life.
That's it.
Then these children
when they grow up
they focus on money
in taking
all important
decisions in life
which subject
to take
when they want
to study
which company
or institution
to work with
all depends
on how much
money that
they will
or can get
in return.
But let us
be careful
with this belief.
What does
Bible say?
The Bible say
about the danger
of the love
of money.
I believe
that you are
familiar with this.
Paul again
wrote
in the first
Timothy
chapter 6
verse 10
for the love
of money
is the root
of evil.
The love
of money
is the root
of evil.
Instead of
bringing happiness
the love
of money
bring destruction
to the world
bring destruction
to the human
relationships.
Because of money
people don't
care about
God's creation.
They can
exploit the earth.
They don't
care about
other people.
Other people
are just
viewed as
a means
to get
more money
and more profit.
That's the
first view.
The second view
as a consequence
of the fall
is working
to pursue
self-glory.
For those
who like
their job
so much
money
might not
tempt them.
These people
are passionate
with their job
achieve many
things
and do
their job
excellently.
It's like
the view
of the second
bricklayer
in our story.
But then
they are not
satisfied
with just
being excellent.
They might
become thirst
for praise
and admiration
from other
people.
Our world
adores the
greatest,
the fastest,
the strongest,
the best,
and the
otherest.
For some
people,
work is
like an
arena
where they
compete with
others
and makes
effort so hard
to defeat
their rivals
and to be
number one,
to prove
themselves.
When they
find someone
else is
better than
them,
they feel
so envious
and so
resentful.
I believe
this is what
Apostle John
called in
1 John 2
as pride
of life.
When we
pursue self-glory
in anything
we do.
These ways
of viewing
work
is also
dangerous
because people
who seek
after approval
and admiration
from others
would easily
feel envious
toward those
who are better
or more
successful
than them.
And the
Bible also
says something
about this
feeling of
envy.
This is my
favorite verse
from Ecclesiastes
chapter 4
verse 4.
It's very easy.
Ecclesiastes
chapter 4
verse 4.
It is said,
And I saw
that all
toil
and all
achievement
spring
from one
person's
envy
of another.
This too
is meaningless.
A chasing
after the
win.
It's interesting
for me.
I used to
believe
and I heard
from one
great preacher
that envy
has a negative
side
and has a
positive side.
The negative
side is that
envy can
make us
hate our
rivals
and want
to harm
them.
But it
also has
a positive
side.
It can
push
ourselves
to the
limit
to learn
more
skills
and to
be as
good
or even
better
than
our
rivals.
However,
the Bible
says
differently.
Envy
is
meaningless.
Brothers
and sisters
in Christ,
do we still
view work
only as
a means
to make
money
or to
get
others'
approval?
There was
one person
in the
Bible
who had
it all,
but he
was not
happy at
all.
I want
to read
the last
passage for
us this
evening,
again,
from
Ecclesiastes
chapter 2.
Ecclesiastes
is believed
to be written
by King
Solomon,
and we
can believe
that it
might be
his own
experience.
Ecclesiastes
chapter 2
verse 4
to 11.
I will
read this
passage for
you.
I
undertook
great
projects.
I built
houses for
myself
and planted
vineyards.
I made
gardens and
parks and
planted all
kinds of
fruit trees
in them.
I made
a service
to water
growth of
flourishing
trees.
I bought
male and
female slaves
and had
other slaves
who were
born in
my house.
I also
own more
herds and
flocks than
anyone in
Jerusalem
before me.
I gathered
silver and
gold for
myself and
the treasure
of kings
and provinces.
He's very
wealthy.
I acquired
male and
female singers
and had
them as
well.
the
delights of
a man's
heart.
I became
greater by
far than
anyone in
Jerusalem
before me.
In all
this,
my wisdom
stayed with
me.
And
then
chapter,
verse 10,
I denied
myself
nothing,
my eyes
desired.
I refused
my heart
no pleasure.
My heart
took delight
in all
my labor,
and this
was the
reward for
all my
toil.
And then
comes
verse 11,
one.
Yet,
when I
surveyed
all that
my hands
had done
and what
I had
toiled to
achieve,
everything
was
meaningless.
A chasing
after the
wind,
nothing was
gained under
the sun.
Let us
not try to
find happiness
and satisfaction
in wealth,
in pleasure,
or fame.
King Solomon
had them
all,
but he
said they
were
meaningless.
That's why
Jesus Christ
came and
saved us,
so that we
can be
delivered from
the curse
of sin,
and gave
us a
meaningful
and abundant
life.
Our
happiness
does not
depend on
wealth or
pleasure,
but on
our relationship
with God.
God in
Christ has
loved us
and accepted
us just
as the way
we are.
there is
nothing we
should prove.
Furthermore,
God's salvation
has enabled
us to live
as God's
image.
We are
enabled to
recover the
joy and
meaning of
our work
as God's
call for
us.
Let's
bear this
in mind,
and tomorrow
when we
wake up
in the
morning,
let us
remember
that we
are God's
representative
in subduing
this earth
by doing
our job.
Not for the
love of money,
nor for the
glory of
ourselves,
but for the
glory of
God.
Hmm.
And
remember,
of
maybe
do
nothing for the
Lord,
what I
I
ever