An acronym for how to love your job without making it an idol
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Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. —1 John 5:21
An idol is anything you can't live without. It's anything other than God that functions as your deepest source of joy.
And so, if we want to keep our work from becoming an idol, we would be wise to voluntarily practice self-denial—resting from the good gift of work as a means of proving to ourselves that God is the only thing we ultimately need.
Pastor Joe Rigney says this about self-denial: "Biblical self-denial is the voluntary giving up of good things for the sake of better things…[it] keeps our legitimate love of earthly things [like work] in check. We enjoy them when we have them. But we don't covet and crave them….We can voluntarily give them up for the sake of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord."
That brings us to our principle for enjoying our work without turning it into an idol. Here's Principle 4:Limit your labor regularly.
How? Here are two ideas for practicing this principle.
First, take a full day off once a week.AKA Sabbath. While this ancient rhythm is not commanded under the New Covenant, it still stands as wisdom. Sabbath is one way to once a week declare that you have joy apart from the gift of work—a way of loving and worshiping God apart from your vocation.
Second, choose the Word before work, rather than work before the Word.According to a 2016 study from Deloitte more than half of Americans check their phones within five minutes of waking up. Be counter-cultural here. Before you check email or the day's news, commit to time in God's Word. Limiting your labor in this way is a powerful way of saying, "As good as your gift of work is, Lord, I choose You before all things."
My goal with this series has been to provide us with a biblical and practical framework for enjoying our work without turning it into an idol.
Here's a summary of the four principles we explored (which just so happen to spell out IDOL for those who love memorable acronyms):
- Insist that Jesus is betterthan your work or any other created thing
- Delight in your work freely and fullyas a means of better appreciating the "betterness" of Jesus
- Offer your talents generously in service of others
- Limit your labor regularlyvia self-denying rhythms of rest
Your work is a good thing, believer. But only God is the ultimate good. Enjoy his good gifts today, and as you do, I pray you will delight in the Gift-Giver all the more!
 | Jordan Raynor helps Christians respond to the radical, biblical truth that their work matters for eternity. He does this through his bestselling books (The Creator in You, Redeeming Your Time, Master of One, and Called to Create), podcast (The Call to Mastery), and weekly devotional (The Word Before Work)—content that has served millions of Christ-followers in every country on earth. A sixth-generation Floridian, Jordan lives in Tampa with his wife and their three young daughters. Learn More » |
More on Faith in the Workplace
- There are no excuses for not sharing your faith (by Tom Crenshaw)
- Steps to Launching Your Personal Workplace Ministry (by )
- Why politically driven CEOs are prone to breaking the rules (by Christian Muntean)
- At work…on two jobs! (by WorkLife Success)
