Does our work reflect an attitude of worship? Is that even a thing?
Let’s start with a quick story.
[20] Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” [21] Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. [22] You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. [23] But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. [24] God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” [25] The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” [26] Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” - John 4
So how in the world does this story have anything to do with work?! Glad you asked. Let’s unpack that.
First, a bit of commentary that will provide context and history to help flush out more understanding. Note: most of this commentary covers information in the Scripture itself in v01-15. Jesus is in the middle of a journey, now taking a break at the well. It’s about noon when a Samaritan woman comes to get water. They have a conversation where he asks her to give him a drink. She was perplexed by that because Jews didn’t mingle with Samaritans as they were considered unclean. They had some Jewish blood in their heritage through intermarriage and even adopted some Jewish tradition. But they were not pure-blood, so they were looked down upon by the Jewish elite. For a more thorough history on Samaritan lineage and why they were considered unclean by the Jews, go here. And Jesus was asking for a drink, which really goes beyond simple conversation. he uses the conversation to introduce the topic of living water as an illustration for salvation, and the conversation continues where she eventually acknowledges him as a prophet.
Now we drop back into the story where we started at the top of this post. Now she brings up the topic of worship. Her view of worship was limited to what she knew…fathers worshiping on the mountain. Jesus in verses 21-24 essentially untethers the act of worship from the limitations of physical construct.
So why does worship matter to disciples of Christ with respect to work? Isn’t worship something we do in church on Sunday when we sing?
Let’s quickly define worship. In short, when sourcing the original Greek text (proskuneo), worship is defined as a literal or figurative forward-leaning (crouch) posture of homage or reverence. Worship is not limited by the constructs of a building, a location, or designated time.
Framed another way, worship is a deliberate act of reverent attitude of the human spirit (or heart) towards God. This is a way to look at what Jesus is saying in v24 when he says “...must worship in spirit and truth”. The truth is Jesus himself (John 14.6). Indisputable. Fact.
Ok, so while Jesus does not explicitly call out work in this text, he does not exclude it either. So, then we ask if the application of the text conflicts with any other part of the Bible. I don’t know about you, but I cannot find any Scripture where worshiping God with my mind in my work is bad.
But how do we actually do it? What is the practical execution of this? Three things to prayerfully consider (but be a doer of the word and not a hearer only - see James 1 for more on taking action)...
Pray without ceasing. Praying requires a mental posture of reverence toward God (worship). And remember, praying doesn’t require closed eyes and a bowed head every time. By the power of the Holy Spirit, you can pray at any time, in any place. Pray before you get to the office. Pray while in the office. Pray during your work. I’ve been praying as I write this, asking God to focus my thoughts and fingers on what he wants to see from me. You can pray during meetings, before them, after them. You can pray for your co-workers. There are no limitations to your opportunities to pray.
Decide you will use your time wisely (for the days are evil)...to honor God. If you’re like me, this will take #1 (pray without ceasing) to support this decided mindset. I think we all fall into the busy trap, telling ourselves if we are busy, we are honoring God with our work. But we know that’s often not true. For me, this is a decision I need the Holy Spirit to refresh in my mind multiple times throughout a single day. Can you imagine how much more effective we can be in our work, how much better we will feel about the quality of our productivity if we would do this?! I’m fired up just writing this!
Commit to share the Gospel with at least one person in the next week at work. Maybe it’s someone on the team, or a vendor, or a client, or a prospect. The more you do this, the easier it becomes. Look, I get it...that probably creates some anxiety for many of us. But it’s our mission - go make disciples of all the nations. The tip of that mission is to share the Gospel with the lost. While it’s not the only thing in discipleship, it is a big thing. Hard to make disciples of Christ from people who don’t have Christ. And our practical work missions are the doorway to fulfill that great commission from Jesus. If you don’t know how you’d even start such a conversation, check out Inflooent 101. Yes, this is a product plug. No, I am not ashamed of equipping men to be bold for Jesus in the marketplace. Informed by Scripture, Inflooent 101 will provide biblical, practical guidance on how to have Gospel conversations with people in the marketplace.
If you have any stories you’d like to share about work as worship, share in the comments! Questions and comments are welcome too!