Work: the First Ministry
Work: The First Ministry
The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. (Gen. 2:15)
Working Man
When God created man, the first task God gave him was not “religious” in character, at least in the way we typically think of religious work. His first field of service was actually a field, not a temple or church. His first task was more like that of a gardener or farmer than a priest or minister. This is not to minimize the fact that the highest priority for man is to worship God. But in this case man worshipped and served God through his work—his normal, everyday, nonreligious work. This was God’s idea.
The True Original
Our work is no substitute for the gathered worship of the church on the Lord’s Day, but it is a real ministry. All work that is done unto the Lord is true service for the Lord. Martin Luther once said, “The works of monks and priests, however holy and arduous they may be, do not differ one whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer in the field or the woman going about her household tasks, but that all works are measured before God by faith alone.” Do you see your work that way? When we understand the value and dignity and holiness of all legitimate work, it takes on a whole new excitement.
Bottom Line
Your work is your ministry, and you should treat it with the same sense of accountability and responsibility to God that you would expect of your pastor.