Sunday Thoughts: When Work Becomes Worship

I’ve had jobs that I love, and I’ve had jobs where I dreaded going to work every day. I’m sure most everybody can relate to that.

Of course, as believers, we’re called to bring glory to God in everything we do, and that includes our work. In the Bible, we see admonitions about how we are to approach our work and the attitude with which we should approach our careers.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, the Teacher (Kohelet), whom scholars believe to be King Solomon, makes some comments about our work. “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil,” he writes in Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 (ESV). “This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?”

Later, he writes, “I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man” (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13, ESV).

Finally, the Teacher notes that “Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God” (Ecclesiastes 5:19, ESV). The theme we see in these verses is that God gave us the ability to work — the word “toil” is on-brand with the sense of resignation that permeates Ecclesiastes — and that we should take joy in what we do.

The New Testament has similar encouragements to treat our work as something bigger than just punching in and punching out. The Apostle Paul told his protégé Timothy to encourage his congregation to see what they do for a living as pointing to greater things.

“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy,” Paul writes. “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19, ESV).

There it is again: enjoying our work (and our pay) because it’s a gift from God. We should see the fruits of our labor as opportunities to serve, to give, to save, and to take joy.

Two other scriptures come to mind when I think of work as worship. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,” Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV). Elsewhere, he writes, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24, ESV).

I’ll admit that it’s not always easy to find joy in your workday. You may have a stressful or difficult day. You might be in a dead-end job that doesn’t fit your passions or even your skillset. You might be counting the days to retirement so that you don’t have to commute or clock in ever again. But if you shift your mindset to knowing that what you’re doing is for God’s glory, it might change the way you approach the day.

“Most of life happens between the highlights, a recent Betterman devotional email points out. “The mountaintop moments — weddings, births, breakthroughs — are rare. Most days are marked by errands, meals, conversations, and commutes. Yet the gospel dignifies the ordinary. The Incarnation itself — God in flesh — declared once and for all that heaven touches earth not in the spectacular but in the simple. Jesus spent thirty years in a carpenter’s shop before three years on a public platform. That’s ten thousand days of sawdust, not spotlights. God is not allergic to the mundane; He inhabits it.”

It's a tricky mindset to keep, but it’s crucial. If we look at work, even the most rote and boring parts of it as worship and an opportunity to glorify God, our attitude can change.

“Your routine is not wasted; it is the raw material of worship. God calls you to holiness in the hallway as much as in the sanctuary, the Betterman devotion continues. “When you do ordinary work with extraordinary love, heaven notices. The world may call it routine, but the Father calls it obedience.”

How could it change your view of your job if you saw it as obedience to God? What would seeing your job as a gift from God and an opportunity to bring glory to Him affect your workday? How would this attitude and mindset shift help you on tough days? It’s worth trying out.

Most of life happens between the highlights — and that’s where God shows up. When you see your work as worship, even the ordinary becomes holy ground.

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