My Theology Of Work
Over the past ten weeks, I have gained much new knowledge in regards to faith and vocation. I will look back at the new knowledge that I have gained and ask myself how has my view of work and vocation been impacted by the studies in this course, what is my “theology of work”, what are my hopes for my vocation and career, what might redeemed work look like for me as I progress through my studies and possibly enter the legal profession or engage my legal training in other areas of life and work, how will I discern my vocational calling (whether in the legal profession or elsewhere) as I continue in life or help others in discerning their vocational callings, what tools will I use and what questions will I ask, and how would I describe a “successful”
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With this new mindset, however, work is seen less of as a struggle which leads in earthly gains and more of a gift from God. The change of mindset to work changed my outlook of work.
My ‘theology of work’ consists of two branches, one branch being the natural, or seen result of work, and the other being the blessing revealed by God in his holy scriptures. The natural view of work is that work is the means by which an individual gains funds to live his life, pursue his happiness, and in the end acquire nothing more than vanity. Believing work is no more than this will cause one to say with Solomon in his first chapters of Ecclesiastes, “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh… Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.” This branch shows …show more content…
Palmer said in his book, Let Your Life Speak, “Each time a door closes, the rest of the world opens up.” A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps. Although I plan my way as I believe I know what my vocational calling is, the Lord directs my steps. God may close a small world to perhaps allow me to see the whole world open up with the opportunity to contribute to the ‘grand tapestry of life’. However, before I walk up to to the first door in the road I must first pray and seek God’s word for guidance. As William Messenger and Gordon Preece write in their book Calling a Biblical Perspective, “The work we do is important to God. It makes sense to ask what work God wants us to do.” Then, I must ask myself does this job require me to commit act will lead to a violation of God’s laws. As William Messenger and Gordon Preece also write in their book Calling a Biblical Perspective, “The only jobs that do not have equal status in God’s eyes are those that require work forbidden by the Bible or are incompatible with its values. For example, jobs requiring murder, adultery, stealing, false witness or greed (Exodus 20:13-17), usu-ry (Leviticus 25:26), damage to health (Matthew 10:8), or harm to the environment (Genesis 2:15) are illegitimate in God’s sight.” If taking that job will not put me in violation of God’s laws, then I would walk up to the door and see if it is God’s perfect plan for my
With this new mindset, however, work is seen less of as a struggle which leads in earthly gains and more of a gift from God. The change of mindset to work changed my outlook of work.
My ‘theology of work’ consists of two branches, one branch being the natural, or seen result of work, and the other being the blessing revealed by God in his holy scriptures. The natural view of work is that work is the means by which an individual gains funds to live his life, pursue his happiness, and in the end acquire nothing more than vanity. Believing work is no more than this will cause one to say with Solomon in his first chapters of Ecclesiastes, “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh… Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.” This branch shows …show more content…
Palmer said in his book, Let Your Life Speak, “Each time a door closes, the rest of the world opens up.” A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps. Although I plan my way as I believe I know what my vocational calling is, the Lord directs my steps. God may close a small world to perhaps allow me to see the whole world open up with the opportunity to contribute to the ‘grand tapestry of life’. However, before I walk up to to the first door in the road I must first pray and seek God’s word for guidance. As William Messenger and Gordon Preece write in their book Calling a Biblical Perspective, “The work we do is important to God. It makes sense to ask what work God wants us to do.” Then, I must ask myself does this job require me to commit act will lead to a violation of God’s laws. As William Messenger and Gordon Preece also write in their book Calling a Biblical Perspective, “The only jobs that do not have equal status in God’s eyes are those that require work forbidden by the Bible or are incompatible with its values. For example, jobs requiring murder, adultery, stealing, false witness or greed (Exodus 20:13-17), usu-ry (Leviticus 25:26), damage to health (Matthew 10:8), or harm to the environment (Genesis 2:15) are illegitimate in God’s sight.” If taking that job will not put me in violation of God’s laws, then I would walk up to the door and see if it is God’s perfect plan for my