Genesis chapter two says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (2:15). The Hebrew word for work in Genesis frequents the Old Testament and is surprisingly often used in conjunction with the Levites, the priests selected to usher in God’s people to worship the Lord.1 Scripture makes clear to us that mankind was made to work, and that work is more than simply plowing fields to grow food and sustain our lives. In God’s creation, plowing fields and growing food is one form of worship that brings glory to God. Why? In the same way that God provides and grows his creation, we provide and grow food for those we take care of. Our work therefore reflects God’s character in the world. A barber shapes chaotic hair into beauty. A nurse brings dignity to those in pain. A university student seeks knowledge to bring value to the world around them. Author Amy Sherman writes, “We flourish when we inhabit this vocation, and others flourish when we discharge it in God’s strength and according to God’s ways”.
What I want to draw our attention to, today, is that our Creator God’s love for his people often leads him to collaborate with those who seek after him. Sherman writes that God’s people are “commissioned to live as royal priests, spreading the good news of the kingdom throughout the nations”. The apostle Peter does not just imagine the kingdom spreading through word, but deed as well. In fact, he states that believers should “live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse [believers] of doing wrong, they may see [believer’s] good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Pt. 2:12). The body of believers has been given the task of seeking the flourishing of others. This flourishing is within all aspects of life; spiritually, socially, 1 The word is עָבַד (āḇaḏ). See Num. 4:23, 24, 26, 30, 37, 41, 47 for the word’s use in a single chapter.
economically, and politically. In exile, Jeremiah’s letter reminds God’s people to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jer. 29:7). Paul reminds the Galatians to do good within the church, stressing the importance of doing good to all peoples. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Gal. 6:9-10). When we recognize our work as not just a means to a paycheck, but as a way to contribute to the flourishing of others, we align ourselves with God’s mission for his creation. This realization should also change the way we think about worship, church, and our Sunday services. How might we think about Monday worship if our work then satisfies both roles of royal priests, to worship our God and to proclaim his grandeur through our participation in renewal and new life in our community?
Rev. Justin Siemens